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Linn Getting in Tune

Iconic audio manufacturer Linn Products announced April 18 that the Scottish firm will "realign" its business strategy to create "a more focused range of even higher quality products, specifically aimed at the premium end of the consumer market."

Linn employs 280 workers at its Glasgow factory, but would not confirm how many would lose their jobs. In a statement, the company declared, "The restructuring will involve the firm suffering significant redundancies."

According to The Scotsman, founder Ivor Tiefenbrun also issued a statement: "To refocus on our core competencies will…

Looking Grim for Net Radio

On April 16, the US Copyright Review Board (CRB) denied an appeal of its decision to restructure the royalty fees for Internet radio. As we reported, independent Internet broadcasters and the NPR called it a "stunning, damaging decision," predicting that it would price small operators and public broadcasting, which do not receive widespread commercial underwriting, out of business.

The three-judge board said the appeal was based upon the assumptions that "new evidence is available or [that] there is a need to correct clear error or prevent manifest injustice." This, it deemed, the…

Head-Fest 2007: Head-Fi Meets Silicon Valley

The Internet audio forum Head-Fi is one of the few places on the Web where you can hang out with truly passionate audiophiles and not come away despairing at the state of current public discourse. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Head-Fi's regional and national meets have that same sense of relaxed solidarity. But what always strikes me at these events, such as the national Head-Fest 2007 get-together in San Jose on April 21 and 22, is just how darned sociable Head-Fiers are, considering they are celebrating an activity that is so intensely solitary.

At it's core, I…

HE2007 Offers Free Concerts!

A ticket to Home Entertainment 2007—The High Performance Sound & Imaging Show,, to be held May 11-13, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel in New York City, offers attendees a chance to hear live musical performances from some of the great artists of classical music and jazz.

Included with the price of a ticket, concerts at HE 2007 are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All concerts will take place in the Regency Ballroom on the Mezzanine floor of the Grand Hyatt New York.

Friday, May 11
2:00 p.m. Robert Silverman, classical pianist
4:00 p.m. Dan…

Harman International To Be Acquired by Goldman Sachs and KKR for $8 Billion

Harman International Industries, Inc has agreed to be acquired by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GSCP) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) for a price of $120 per share (a total near $8 billion). The share price represents what Bloomberg.com characterized as a 17% premium over its price one day earlier. The company's stock had been increasing in value, having risen by about 2.6% since the beginning of 2007, but beginning April 18, the stock began to surge, "indicating some investors anticipated the buyout," according to Bloomberg. John Rogers, a Citigroup analyst, had predicted in…

Mstislav Rostropovich (1927–2007)

"Slava" has died. The great Russian cellist, known as much for his defiance of the Soviet oligarchy as for the more than 170 compositions dedicated to him, had been hospitalized in Paris at the end of January, but chose to fly to Moscow shortly thereafter to spend his last months in his beloved homeland. He is survived, not only by his two daughters and his wife and frequent collaborator, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, but also by the huge number of recordings that attest to his eloquence.

Of the over 240 world premieres Rostropovich played, Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto (Cello Concerto…

B&W NA Appoints New Sales VP

B&W Group North America (Equity) has announced that Doug Henderson will assume the position of vice president of sales and marketing as of April 30. Henderson has been a principal of Audtek Associates for more than 20 years. "I'm excited about this move," Henderson told Stereophile. "At Audtek, we specialized in brand building, and we accomplished a lot with some very good companies. With B&W Group, I have the opportunity to use those skills with some of the finest equipment available today—and I have a great independent sales force to work with. It's an unrivaled opportunity."

B…

Internet Radio Reprieve?

Internet radio streams have received a reprieve from the US Copyright Review Board (CRB) decision to restructure the royalty fees for the format. In March, the CRB established fees, effective retroactively to the beginning of 2006, that would be ramped up each year through 2010, with a cost of 0.08¢ per performance (per listener) in 2006, going up to 0.11¢ in 2007; 0.14¢ in 2008; 0.18¢ in 2009; and 0.19¢ in 2010.

In April, the CRB denied an appeal to its initial ruling, saying the new fee structure would be enacted on May 15. Papers filed in the Federal Register on May 1 reveal that the…

Pass Labs Starts Over Again in the US

It began with an email from reader Ed Hoffman. "I was looking for a Pass Labs dealer and found out that Pass Labs has dumped all of their dealers around the country. Do you have any information about what is going on?"

"Look into this," John Atkinson requested. I dialed the manufacturer's number at 9:30am EDT, which put it around 6:30am in California, reckoning that a disconnected number would tell me a sad story. The phone rang once.

"Pass Labs," chirped a cheerful voice. Not disconnected—and not shuttered either, apparently.

I spoke to marketing manager Joe Sammut and…

New Laws May Doom Second-Hand CD Sales

John Mitchell, an outside counsel for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), warns that Florida and Utah have passed second-hand goods legislation (familiarly known as "pawn-shop laws") that could make the buying and selling of used CDs extremely unprofitable for stores and inconvenient for consumers trying to unload music they no longer wish to own.

The Florida legislation requires that second-hand dealers apply for a permit, post a $10,000 bond with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, thumb-print CD sellers, and photocopy their state-approved…