The brainchild of college student Shawn Fanning, Napster originated as a "peer-to-peer" audio file sharing system that let users upload and access music files on the hard drives of all connected users. Massive law suits by the music industry followed. In a case before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, Napster's defense has been that it is an Internet service provider and therefore not liable for the behavior…
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Money and legal pressure can make even the fiercest tiger change its stripes. Nearing the end of prolonged litigation with the music industry, Napster has begun to go commercial.
The Home Entertainment Show, scheduled to take place in NYC April 28–May 1, is only weeks away! Throughout the Show, ticket holders can experience the finest consumer electronics and convergence products on the planet—PLUS enjoy a variety of live music performances by popular jazz, folk, rap, blues, and classical music recording artists.
A benefit concert sponsored by XM Satellite Radio will be held Friday, April 29 at 8pm, with a headline performance by improvisational jazz-funk ensemble Medeski Martin + Wood. Tickets to this special concert are available at www.mooreatix.com—proceeds to…
Despite the almost daily news reports that some music company has found a way to make people pay for music over the Internet, the fact is that very few people have done so. Most people who are getting their music on the Net are getting it free and like it that way---regardless of the quality. A survey released June 9 and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts---a long-term supporter of National Public Radio---appears to validate this common observation.
Called the Pew Internet Project, the study investigates the Internet’s effect on society. Part of the study published in April includes…
The final piece of the TGI/Mordaunt-Short/Epos jigsaw puzzle (see previous story) seems to have fallen into place, with the news that Mike Creek (of the UK's Creek Audio) is purchasing the Epos loudspeaker brand, effective March 1.
The saga began last fall, when the TGI Group (Tannoy Goodmans International) announced that it was planning to close its Mordaunt-Short/Epos operation within the next three months. However, between Christmas and the New Year came the announcement that M-S/Epos had been purchased by the Audio Partnership, a British manufacturing/sourcing operation that includes…
CD prices have been a sore spot for many music lovers. Our own online polls indicate that Stereophile readers think CDs cost too much (most think they should be under $10), while Stereophile editor John Atkinson has pointed out that for smaller labels, the economics of CD production only work when the prices are kept higher.
But what about online music pricing? Grabbing a song off of iTunes gets you the music, but with no full color booklet or CD in a jewel case that you can eventually trade or sell, are you still willing to pay CD-like prices? And consider that to fully load up a single…
We get so confused department: Officially, it's day one of the show, even though we've already been here a whole day. But—as we keep having to remind ourselves—it's not all about us. Today was the day the showgoers arrived.
The difference in energy level was remarkable. Yesterday was the busiest press day ever at a Home Entertainment Show, but today, the halls were abuzz with excitement and anticipation. Us too, actually.
With good reason. Our first stop was Ray Kimber's IsoMike room. IsoMike is a baffle system Kimber developed that increases the apparent separation between two (…
The mid-20th century was a time of tremendous political and social upheaval, technological advancement, and artistic innovation. Jazz---an American invention---is arguably the greatest single development in the history of modern music. Most of its pioneers are gone now, but their legacy lives on in their recordings---and in photographs.
The Golden Age of Jazz---loosely defined as the era from the 1930s through the 1960s---was a period when legends as diverse as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington were extremely…
The marque may be gone, but Proceed's PAV audio/video preamplifier is not forgotten. In 1994, Thomas J. Norton examined the breakthrough the PAV represented, stating, "It was inevitable that traditional high-end audio manufacturers would begin producing equipment for the fast-growing home-theater market."
Both J. Gordon Holt and Anthony H. Cordesman tackle the Audio Research SP-11 preamplifier, which represented a milestone for the company back in the mid '80s. JGH notes, "The control lineup on the SP-11 is awesome." And then there is the sound, which gets JGH hopping: "Sometimes I…
Three reviews from January: First, Art Dudley gives us his take on the Final Laboratory Music-4 phono preamplifier, Music-5 line preamplifier, and Music-6 power amplifier. Art writes, "Modern hi-fi is little more than a way of getting electricity to pretend that it's music."
Next, Brian Damkroger listens to the Kirksaeter Silverline 60 loudspeaker, remarking, "One of the nicest surprises at any audio show is encountering a new—to me, at least—manufacturer whose products seem to stand out from the competition."
Then, Chip Stern fires up the Rogue Audio Magnum Ninety-Nine preamplifier…
Warner's new e-label: In an announcement datelined "Aspen, CO," many news services reported, Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr. introduced a new Internet music distribution system called an "e-label," which would eschew CDs by allowing artists to issue their music in clusters of three songs every few months.
Bronfman explained that Warner's e-label scheme would create a "supportive, lower-risk environment," presumably as compared to the current system that demands complete albums and blockbuster commercial hits. "Rather than releasing an album every couple of years,…