But this dismal track record hasn't stopped the labels from looking for new ways to restrict the use of their products. SunnComm, which bears the dubious distinction of developing one of the first…
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To date, record label attempts at adding copy-control systems to CDs to restrict their use have been less than totally succesful. We've had Sony discs that get stuck in computers, discs that don't reliably play in all CD players, trademark violations, and CDs that generate lawsuits and consumer frustration from not being able to create a "fair-use" personal copy of a disc to throw in the car.
At the end of July, UK-based TAG McLaren Audio, which had been experiencing difficult trading conditions and was reducing its workforce, issued a rather pessimistic announcement. The core of the announcement concerned the firm's commencement of "a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market."
That strategic review has now been completed, and the results are mostly positive. The company will remain in its purpose-built facility in Huntingdon, England. It will continue to manufacture its product range and maintain ongoing research and development, and will also continue…
High-end audio legend Mark Levinson has departed Cello Film and Music Systems, the company he founded 15 years ago, and has formed a new business, Red Rose Music. The new company will break all performance barriers with both affordable and cost-no-object audio equipment, Levinson stated last week, and is already registered as a new business with the state of New York.
The Red Rose sales staff is concentrating on completing a backlog of home-theater and high-resolution music-system installations, and a new line of products is in development, Levinson said. He is particularly proud of the…
Responding to continued softness in the audio market, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) has finalized plans to hold its first annual Audio Industry Summit at the Westin Hotel O'Hare in Chicago, Illinois, May 29-31. CEMA audio company members will congregate in an effort to formulate strategies they believe will lead the category back to long-term prosperity and growth.
"For a long time we've been hoping that home audio products would break out of the slump they've been in. Now it's time to move beyond hope to action," stated Joe Richter, president of Kenwood USA…
The digital music market balances on at least five legs: software producers, technology developers, electronics manufacturers, consumers, and regulating bodies. So, can a two-legged agreement stand? That's the question industry watchers are asking as representatives of two groups, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the technology sector, announced that they have reached agreement on a "core set of principles" to guide their public policy activities regarding the distribution of digital content.
The agreement, embodied in a document issued by the Business Software…
Cats vs. dogs, Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner, Spy vs. Spy, Analog vs. Digital. It seems that some battles will never end, and so it is with flux vs. bits in the professional recording industry. The Audio Engineering Society (AES) conventions dazzle showgoers with the latest audio recording and processing gear, mostly digital, and this year's show is no exception. The big buzz heard 'round the hall were higher sampling and quantization rates for future music formats such as DVD-Audio. But off-site, at the nearby ANA hotel (great choice of venue---just add LOG) in downtown San…
National Public Radio is in no danger of going off the air any time in the next century, thanks to a massive gift from the estate of philanthropist Joan B. Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc.
On November 6, NPR president Kevin Klose announced that his organization would receive a bequest of more than $200 million from Mrs. Kroc's estate. More than twice NPR's annual operating budget, the gift was said to be "among the largest ever given to any American cultural institution." Mrs. Kroc also bequeathed $5 million to San Diego NPR station KPBS, one she listened to frequently at her…
The market for recorded music, measured by what manufacturers ship to retail and non-retail channels, experienced a decline in unit shipments and dollar value according to a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) report released February 19. Concurrently, accounts from US record retailers and mass merchandisers indicated a banner 1997.
"The industry is responding to a smaller but healthier retail base," said RIAA President and CEO Hilary Rosen. "We're adapting to tighter inventory controls at retail, to a pipeline that can deliver product to stores faster than ever before, and…
The Home Entertainment 2000 show, originally planned to be held in Rye, New York this spring, has been canceled. Show staff has received feedback from manufacturers and dealers, who feel that the rooms at the Rye venue are too small, and that a suburban location is not optimal. EmapUSA VP Jaqueline Augustine states that "We want to hold a successful show, and this venue could not guarantee our success."
Show management has decided that resources should be focused on a larger show with greater potential for success in both the specialty audio and home theater markets. Augustine adds, "We…
The packed house that was Home Entertainment Expo 2001 on Saturday thinned to a manageable level on Sunday the 13th, allowing most of the Stereophile crew ample opportunity to visit all the displays they had missed the previous two days. Toward the 6 o'clock closing time folks were still wandering the halls, and talking amicably and enthusiastically with friends they see once or twice a year. There is always a great deal of continuity in these shows, not only in the products, but also in the people.
That's one of the most charming aspects of the high-end audio industry, which isn't…