Napster has argued that it is an Internet search engine and is therefore…
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For months now, the music industry has concentrated all its legal firepower on Napster, the Silicon Valley–based software company that lets users share music; and against San Diego's MP3.com, which lets users upload their music to a central server and then access it from any Internet-connected computer. As of the end of June, it appears that MP3.com will likely be co-opted by the industry's Big Five until it is no longer a threat—two of the major labels have already settled with the startup—but Napster will fight on.
Remember when you weren't too busy to make your own cassette tapes to play in the car? How you could link one song to the next by genre or theme or beat or musical key? Remember how much more satisfying it was to listen to those tapes than it was to listen to the radio? No commercials, no announcers, no filler---and you liked every tune.
The need for personalized music has survived into the digital age, but apparently the time for compiling it hasn't. Several companies are now in the business of making custom CDs. The latest to enter this growing market is MyCD, which debuted May 1.
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Treading the fine line between authorized retailers and the used equipment market, New Jersey online retailer WorldExchange.com announced last week that it has launched a consumer electronics shopping Web site that offers "deep discounts" on a broad array of mid to high-end audio/video components whose manufacturers, the company says, normally adhere to "restricted distribution and price-maintenance policies."
WorldExchange.com sells new merchandise, but its "Certified Mint" program is what will likely catch the eyes and ears of audiophiles. The company says that, under the Certified Mint…
The music industry's in a deep slump, but you won't know it by the glitz, glamour, and hype surrounding the 44th Grammy Awards.
Scheduled for the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 27, the annual orgy of self-congratulation will wear a happy face to hide the music industry's pervasive pessimism over one of its longest and most profound sales slumps. CD sales are off substantially for the second year in a row, and there are few emerging superstars or new genres to reinvigorate the business. Although it's still going strong, rap is now well over 20 years old.
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Last week, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced that it is working to establish a single standard for high-data-rate home networking using the powerlines already installed in consumers' homes. Stating that it is "recognizing the need for a baseline technology standard," the CEA says it has invited integrated-home-systems industry stakeholders to participate in the creation of a standard for residential powerline networks, to be completed by year's end.
According to the CEA, a formal evaluation process is already underway, with the organization's Data Networking Subcommittee…
Once again, audiophiles can help themselves and others at the same time by participating in The Cable Company's ninth annual "Summer Against Hunger" campaign. The Cable Company and a wide cross-section of its vendors (listed below) have set up a program by which up to 10% of The Cable Company's August sales are donated to CARE and the International Rescue Committee, with contributions to be used to assist the worldwide disaster relief efforts of those humanitarian organizations.
The Cable Company's Robert Stein explains: "We dedicate our August each year to doing something to help the…
Hundreds, if not thousands, of new products are unveiled to the consumer electronics industry each year at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But there would be no new products without the efforts of the scientists, engineers, journalists, inventors, company founders, and retailers who bring a product from concept to market.
To honor those leaders who have made significant contributions to the consumer electronics industry, and to build on the inaugural class of 2000 (see previous report), the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) welcomed seven new inductees into its…
Audiophiles aren't taking to the streets just yet, but John Atkinson is more than a little riled about the proposed watermarking of SACD and DVD-Audio recordings. In this month's "As We See It," "Watermarking: the Devil's Work!," JA exhorts the audiophile masses to rise up in protest.
Michael Fremer readily admits that, no, he can't afford it either, but how could he resist reviewing the $74,000 Rockport Technologies System III Sirius turntable and tonearm? "Although I was mightily impressed with the System III Sirius's design and superlative build quality, I didn't begin listening in a…
For his review of the Nagra VPA monoblock power amplifier, Jonathan Scull lived a life of danger, noting that readers should "Respect the VPA as the hot-running, high-voltage device it is and It Will Provide. Cold-nosed pets and curious little fingers have no business around these Swiss Guards of quality sound engineering."
Back in March of 1998, Thomas Norton reviewed the Kinergetics KBA-280 power amplifier, pointing out that "in 1990, Dick Olsher reviewed one of Kinergetics' early power amplifiers, the KBA-75. The KBA-280 is a modern update of that design, still specified for class-A…
The numbers are looking better for MP3.com, the music-archiving site under attack by the Recording Industries Association of America and its allies. Despite the legal pressure, MP3.com has seen its revenues surge as the popularity of downloadable music continues to grow. On April 20, the San Diego–based company reported that its revenue increased to $17.5 million for the first quarter of 2000 compared to $666,000 for the same period a year earlier. MP3.com now has 10 million registered users, according to CEO Michael Robertson.
Despite the growth, the company still reported a loss of $18…