The technique of blending melodies and lyrics from different—sometimes widely divergent—artists and genres is not new. It's at least as old as rock'n'roll; there were novelty hits back in the 1950s, such as Dickie Goodman's 1956 "The Flying Saucer,"…
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As rules of thumb go, this one is pretty infallible: By the time we've heard about it, a trend's hippest participants will think it's on the decline. That means that mashups, or the manipulation of the musical genetic material of several different songs to create a new song, may be on their way out, because we've become infatuated with them.
Once upon a time, business competitors relied on the quality of their products and services to hang onto their shares of the market. That's the myth, at least. Increasingly, it seems they rely on regulatory and judicial intervention to stay afloat.
A request for a regulatory crackdown is the tack that US radio broadcasters are taking in response to a move into local weather and traffic reporting by satellite startups XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. Over the past couple of months, the satellite services have begun offering local weather and traffic reports…
At the start of his review of the Balanced Audio Technology VK-D5 CD player, Jonathan Scull observes, "Man, has Balanced Audio Technology come a long way in a short time." Scull goes in-depth with the VK-D5 to explain just what he's found.
With the emphasis on digital components these days, a reasonably-priced phono preamp can become a critical part of a high-end system. Wes Phillips may have found true romance as he notes that the $1200 AcousTech Electronics PH-1 phono preamplifier "is a love letter to analog posted by Acoustic Sounds' Chad Kassem and high-end designer Ron Sutherland."…
Yet another major music company has joined the digital downloading stampede, in the wake of the Secure Digital Music Initiative's (SDMI) recent progress toward formulating copyright standards. On July 19, Universal Music Group announced its intention to make its titles available for downloading to the coming generation of portable audio players. New devices from Diamond Multimedia, Toshiba, and Panasonic—all expected to hit the market by the winter holiday season—will play encrypted tunes from Universal and other big labels.
Copyright security has been a major focus in the music industry…
Satellite radio goes high-end: Beginning early next year, Krell Industries will enter the booming market for satellite radio receivers with an XM Radio tuner. The $4000 unit will reportedly also receive traditional AM and FM broadcasts; an optional module will let it stream Internet audio via 802.11g wireless connection to a broadband modem, according to the September 27 edition of This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE). The tuner will join Krell's line of custom installation products. In a similar but less expensive vein will be new Sirius tuners from Russound. At $699 and $999, the two…
Historically, radio stations have only partially cooperated with record label attempts to control when and where an important new record is first aired. It's not unusual for a new album or single to be "embargoed" until a specific date by the labels, with stations often competing with each other to find ways to get around this restriction and be first to air a hot new song.
The accepted ways to break a new record include running midnight spins or sneak peaks to gain listener attention, but there will always be the renegades who jump the gun. Once the disc is mailed (sometimes via…
In his review of the Music Reference RM-200 power amplifier, Michael Fremer claims, "Reviewing a vacuum-tube power amplifier is like having your pants pulled down in front of a large crowd of people." MF explains why he reviewed the RM-200 despite the inevitable public humiliation.
Where to jump next when it comes to a digital source component? SACD? DVD-Audio? CD? Nothing? Sam Tellig runs down the options and offers advice in his review of the new Musical Fidelity A324 D/A processor. "In my October 1989 report on the Digilog, I questioned the wisdom of sinking much dough into digital.…
Like the companies in most high-tech industries, audio businesses are a volatile lot, with startups, mergers, acquisitions—and the occasional bankruptcy or flame-out—not uncommon. In that ongoing tradition, at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ultralink Products announced on January 7 its intention to purchase the assets of cable manufacturer XLO Electric.
Last week, Ultralink, which itself manufactures audio and home-theater cables and interconnects, revealed that it has finalized its operating plans in light of its purchase of the assets of XLO Electric. Ultralink says it…
Now there are four. The music industry's "Big Five" record labels officially became the "Big Four" on Thursday, August 5, as Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) finalized a merger months in the making. The partners are the music divisions of Sony Corporation and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, respectively.
The new venture, Sony BMG, will be based in New York City and will be owned 50/50 by the two partners. Excluded from the deal are the parent companies' music publishing operations, as well as their disc manufacturing and distribution businesses. Sony's…
National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) president C. Michael Greene has abruptly resigned in the wake of sexual harassment allegations by female executives at the nonprofit organization, which produces the annual Grammy Music Awards show.
Greene's resignation took place Saturday evening, April 27, during an emergency meeting of the organization's board of trustees at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, attended by 38 of the board's 42 members. At issue were the results of an extensive investigation into Greene's behavior by Los Angeles private investigator Jack Palladino. The…