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The legal molasses in which MP3.com is mired got thicker and deeper in mid-March, when MPL Communications launched a lawsuit against the Internet music company. MPL, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney's publishing house, joined the attack begun months ago by the Recording Industries Association of America. McCartney's firm filed suit in a New York US District Court against the San Diego–based startup over copyrights on intellectual properties owned by MPL, whose catalog includes McCartney's solo work, as well as the works of Buddy Holly, Hoagy Carmichael, Sammy Cahn, and other songwriters and…
Things are looking up for high-resolution audio, with price drops for DVD-Audio discs announced by one major record label in a move to attract a larger audience.
In mid-June, Warner Music Group (WMG) issued a statement that it would begin pricing its DVD-A titles "as equivalent to CD pricing as possible." The decision means an effective reduction of 25–35% in DVD-A prices, according to the announcement. WMG believes that equivalent pricing will induce consumers to opt for the DVDs rather than the CDs, especially because Warner discs are encoded with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks that can play…
With new music download services, including the move to higher resolutions, one vital question still remains for the music business: Will the majority of consumers prefer to continue purchasing music à la carte, one track or album at a time, or will they prefer to subscribe to an unlimited library?
It's an important distinction, and one that goes to the heart of the music industry's future business model. Companies that guess correctly will tap into the music-buying mind successfully, and continue to develop their online businesses. And there's always the possibility that both methods for…
English digital audio company dCS has announced a major change in its management and ownership structure. David Steven, marketing manager for the last four years, has purchased the majority shareholding in the company. Derek Fuller, who was the business manager, has left the company, while Mike Story, dCS's founder, will continue as chief digital designer. A dCS press release says that the change should result in "products and programs that have a much more customer-centric focus."
In other news, the dCS Verdi LaScala upsampling transport, one of Stereophile's two Joint Digital Products for…
They've been around for years, under a variety of guises and from an evolving list of manufacturers and distributors. But the BBC LS3/5a loudspeakers still cling to their legendary status. We provide not only J. Gordon Holt's original 1977 review for Stereophile, but also follow-ups from 1984, 1989, and 1993. Read about the little speaker that could.
Another hallmark of speaker design is the Uni-Q driver, put to use in the KEF Reference Series Model Four loudspeaker, reviewed by Thomas J. Norton in 1996. About the Uni-Q, Norton writes: "The advantages: a coherent radiator, free from…
If you haven't seen much in the mainstream press about the new satellite radio services from XM and Sirius, both poised to launch before the end of the year, you soon will. First out of the chute with the big media bucks, XM Satellite Radio unveiled last week its national advertising campaign called "Radio to the Power of X."
XM says it plans to spend $100 million in a national advertising push and "multimedia effort" anchored by a television campaign featuring musicians BB King, David Bowie, and Snoop Dogg. XM is also targeting traditional radio, magazines, newspapers, direct mail,…
Primedia has announced The Connected Guide To The Digital Home, the first consumer magazine dedicated entirely to adopting and integrating audio, video, information, telecommunications, security, and other personal and home technologies. Formerly known as Audio Video Interiors (AVI), the standard-bearer for the home theater revolution, The Connected Guide To The Digital Home is being introduced as the natural evolution of AVI.
Bill Gloede, previously editor of Mediaweek and Cable World, will assume the role of "Connected's" editorial director. Gloede, a noted industry arbiter of media…
While the sudden popularity of MP3 files caught many audio and music industry players by surprise, the budding home media server market is being watched closely from its inception. As defined by In-Stat/MDR, media server products are either PC-based, using an operating system such as Microsoft's Media Center Edition OS, or consumer electronics devices, like advanced set-top boxes, that offer both broadband connectivity and hard-disk-drive–based storage.
And although the current number of home media server products in actual use is modest, new research from In-Stat projects that worldwide…
Are there differences between an American hi-fi show and the British variety? A few---the biggest is the extent to which all the real business takes place at the bar. This is true for the audio press (okay, not all that different from an American show), but it's true for manufacturers as well. After Show hours, the boozer is jammed with everybody in the business sharing a few pints, smoking, and talking shop. It's not unusual to see business rivals chatting amiably about the state of the industry---and even discussing distribution in some detail.
Yesterday evening I was doing some…
On day two of Revel's early-March press junket, Stereophile and Guide to Home Theater writers and editors were treated to a discussion and demonstration of some superb audio and video equipment at Kevin Voecks' spacious home in the San Fernando Valley. Voecks spoke at length about the extensive research his company has done on the perceived realism of reproduced sound, under the leadership of Dr. Floyd Toole.
One of the most persistent beliefs among audiophiles and speaker designers is that a loudspeaker's step response or square wave response has a significant effect on the perceived…