But precious few CDs, LPs, or DVDs will be available for purchase at the Venetian—virtually all vendors of audiophile recordings are either boycotting the hotel entirely, or have committed to display…
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Despite griping and grumbling about the change, many makers of high-performance audio gear appear to have settled on their new official venue at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. Two months before the start of the 2007 CES (to be held January 8–11), all but 12 of the Venetian's 198 exhibit rooms and suites had already been sold.
On November 22, the Librarian of Congress issued a—take a deep breath— declaration of exemption from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. In other words, the LOC decreed that six classes of "non-infringing rights" were exempt from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which criminalized "production and dissemination of technology whose primary purpose is to circumvent measures taken to protect copyright."
The exemptions are:
1) Educational libraries can make copies of audiovisual works "when circumvention is…
We received an interesting email from engineer Richard Burwen just before the Thanksgiving business break:
"Download the new Burwen Bobcat RE (recording version) at the new Burwen Bobcat website and store for $199.95 at www.burwenbobcat.com.
"Burwen Bobcat RE plugs into the Windows Media Player, taking advantage of its music and video library. It enhances sound when listening, ripping or burning CDs; and at high speed, it converts files to MP3s that give your iPod or musical cell phone sound comparable with a $100,000 hi-fi system. This new version works with your computer sound…
One of the great tragedies of Tower Records' lingering demise was that classical music lovers lost perhaps their most reliable source of recordings. Say what you will about brick-and-mortar record stores, there was something wonderful about finding what you wanted where it was supposed to be. Just try looking up, say, Bruckner's Fourth Symphony on Amazon and see what you get. (Amazon's AI, as good as it is, is a classical music idiot.)
I was musing about this, as well as other matters, a few weeks ago at a get-together of former Tower classical employees we'd informally dubbed the "Tower…
I'm currently attending GuangZhou Hi-Fi 2006 in GuangZhou, China (you can read my China Hi-Fi Tour 2006 blog). The show is a fantastic audio event and everywhere I look, I see products I want—some very similar to mainstream US brands and some exceedingly strange and different. But the audiophiles are familiar: Show me a guy who lights up in the glow of a 300B and I'll show you one of my chosen people.
On the first day of the show, I participated in a working lunch and free-wheeling Q&A with show founder Matthew Zhou, several high-end mainland manufacturers, and members of the Chinese…
Record industry policy, when it comes to digital downloads, has always been to give the consumers what it wants them to have: files that may, but probably won't, work in all of their purchasers' devices.
What we're talking about is DRM (digital rights management), a set of restrictions that keep, say, files being sold on Apple's iTunes Music Store from being played on the personal digital devices manufactured by other companies—and prevent iPods from playing music downloaded from most non-Apple websites.
EMI Music is releasing individual tracks from new recordings by Norah Jones…
When most pundits talk about China as an economic juggernaut, they're either predicting that it's the world's next controlling market or that it's the world's job markets' destroying angel.
The first group could well be right. From my brief visits here, I've seen a working class aspiring to middle-classdom and a middle class hankering to join the wealthy—and what distinguishes each of those steps on the economic ladder is nicer and nicer stuff.
And they're willing to pay for it. American cars cost a lot more in China than in America, but the streets are full of them. (Yes, they're…
The 2006 Grammy nominations are in, and audiophiles have much to rejoice about. In a year when far too many pundits are sounding the death knell for the CD in general and high-resolution formats in particular, there's a bumper crop of great sounding, high quality recordings vying for a listen.
Before we get to the audiophile "short list," which is thankfully quite long, a note about the Grammy selection process. The five nominees in each of Grammy's 108 categories are chosen by the voting members of The Recording Academy. (Voting members must have six credits in the same musical category…
We are seeking a seasoned sales professional to sell both print and online advertising in west coast territory for 2 leading enthusiast magazines and 3 websites in the home entertainment/consumer electronics industry.
Strong sales, presentation and negotiating skills
Develop new and cultivate existing business within the region (consultative sales skills a must!)
Ability to develop key client, agency and industry relationships at all levels.
Innovative and creative sales approach with strong business acumen
Must be well organized and have excellent verbal and written communication…
Ahmet Ertegun, the Turkish immigrant who founded Atlantic Records in 1947 with Herb Abramson and turned it into one of the most influential labels in the world with his older brother Nesuhi, has died at the age of 83. An Atlantic Records spokesman said his death was the result of a brain injury sustained in a fall backstage at a Rolling Stones concert on October 29.
Ertegun, the son of a Turkish diplomat, was perhaps best known for his love of and advocacy for African-American musical forms, especially rhythm and blues and jazz. He frequently told the story of his introduction to American…