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Sweat Shops and Swipe Shops

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…

Audiophile Gold Among the 2006 Grammy Nominees

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…

Primedia Job Offer

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: 1923–2006

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…

Are Copyright Royalties "Out of Whack"?

In the heated debate over new digital technologies and their impact upon the traditional recording distribution system, we've grown used to intemperate dialog, but an organization now charges that "mechanical royalties currently are out of whack with historical and international rates."

Here's the twist: The group is the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). And here's the part that won't surprise you: Their solution is to lower the rate they pay music publishers and songwriters for using lyrics and melodies to create sound recordings.

Well, not all sound recordings,…

A Blacker Shade of White

A chancery court in England has issued a ruling that, if left to stand, may have a profound effect on copyright holders throughout popular music.

On December 20, Justice William Blackburne decided in favor of keyboardist Matthew Fisher, who in June 2005 sued two of his former Procol Harum bandmates and their music publisher, Onward Music Ltd., for a share of the songwriting credits and royalties to the hit song "A Whiter Shade of Pale." In today's ruling, Justice Blackburne declared that bandleader/composer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid must share 40% of the "composing royalties"…

Decca Concerts: New Classical Downloads

In an enterprising attempt to serve music lovers via the Internet, Universal Classics has launched Decca Concerts. An unprecedented partnership between the label and some of the world's better-known symphony orchestras, the website gives classical music lovers the ability to download very recent live orchestral performances "from the world's most important musical cities." The performances are generally no more than 10 days old, depending on how much postproduction editing is needed.

The first "album," made available December 12, is a program performed by the Gewandhausorchester, Leipzig…

Sony BMG Settlement Grows Even Larger

Two days after reaching $1.5 million settlements with the states of Texas and California over its knuckleheaded attempt to prevent "unauthorized" use of its CDs, Sony BMG agreed to pay another $4.25 million to an additional 39 states and the District of Columbia in what has become known as "the rootkit debacle."

In 2005, Sony BMG shipped more than 12 million CDs with two "copy protection" programs: First 4 Internet’s XCP (extended copy protection) and SunnComm International's MediaMax. Those discs installed programs onto consumers' computers, even if they declined the installation option…

Labels Sue www.allofmp3.com

A cabal of record labels—including Arista Records, Warner Bros., Capitol, and BMG—have taken legal action against the Russian music site allofmp3.com, charging that the site offers their music without having received permission. The suit, filed in federal court in New York, is only the latest step in the war against the Russian digital download site.

Allofmp3.com was established in 2000 and charges just a few cents per song, with whole albums for under $1, compared with the iTunes Music Store rate of 99¢/song. In addition to being so inexpensive, allofmp3's downloads do not contain DRM.…

HE2007 Registration Now Open

For 2007, Home Entertainment Show makes a return engagement to New York City—one of the most popular destinations ever for this event! The venue is the elegant and gracious Grand Hyatt New York Hotel, where the consumer-electronics industry and music lovers alike will descend on May 11–13, 2007 to see and hear the latest high-end home audio and video entertainment products, gaming consoles, imaging products, and more.

Informative seminars, music and over 100 private demo rooms will be open to the public, who will be able to meet more than 300 participating manufacturers as they…