Linn bounced out of the gate early with a hard disc–based music server, the Kivor,…
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I admit to being a little surprised at the results of our Discs or Downloads poll a couple of weeks ago. More of you (65%) see a future for downloads as a viable music medium than I would have expected. As reader Mike Garner put it, "As bandwidth and storage continue to become cheaper, audiophile quality music downloads are inevitable." "Downloads save you trips to the shop or having to wait for shipping when you shop online. We'll soon be loading the data into a music server anyway," adds reader Ola Roll.
The latest figures for the music industry remain grim: Online sales of recorded music have dropped 20% through the first half of 2002 compared with the same period last year, losing ground faster than the overall US music market, which lost 7% during the same period, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). And the trend is accelerating. The latest numbers show online sales down 25% in the third quarter over last year.
Given that consumers are increasingly shunning official online music sites, what is the distribution formula that might better suit their needs?…
A few weeks ago, we ran an item concerning drummer Billy Higgins' declining health and rapidly growing medical expenses. Apparently, his fans have come through generously, because we just received the following:
"Dear Friends,
"We are writing tonight with an update on Billy Higgins. Your response has been wonderful, immediate, and healing. We are happy to report that, as of last week, Billy's home is out of foreclosure. This is a major milestone and was made possible by your unfailing generosity and through a grant from Music Cares, Sweet Relief and the Jazz Foundation. Currently,…
You want to grow your market, you've got to plant some seeds. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is doing just that with the BuzzNet 2000 tour, a traveling educational event that will hit college campuses beginning this month, as reported last week.
The road show will not only introduce attendees to high-resolution audio and surround sound, but will also leave some lucky students with complete mini-systems. Students who participate in BuzzNet's "ears-on" events will be entered automatically in daily drawings to win free equipment. Music surround DVDs, disc players, receivers, and…
When spying this press release a couple of days ago, I had to read it twice—this was too good to be true. A couple of years back in the September 1997 (or as JA likes to put it: Vol.20 No.9) Stereophile "Industry Update," I had reported on the then-discovered "synchronicities" phenomena: playing certain classic rock albums, when sync'ed up with certain classic films yielded several uncanny coincidences twixt music and screen. Watching and listening this way could lead one to almost believe that the albums were created as soundtracks to the films.
In-depth synchronicity information for…
More than a year after BMG Germany had to recall a massive shipment of "copy-proof" CDs, an American record label is preparing to attempt a similar experiment. In April, Nashville independent label Music City Records will issue Charley Pride: A Tribute to Jim Reeves, copy protection included.
Mastered using CD-protection software developed by SunComm of Phoenix, AZ, Pride's new recording will hit the streets in early May. Its music tracks won't show up on any file-sharing systems, CD-ROMs, or MP3 players, according to Music City's Bob Heatherly, because no one will be able to copy it, at…
On January 19, Bertelsmann Music Group Entertainment announced changes in senior management that include a new chief financial officer and new directors for its American and European divisions. A major division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, BMG suffered the loss of music industry veteran Rudi Gassner shortly before Christmas. Gassner, who had been slated to become CEO of BMG, died of a heart attack while vacationing in Bavaria.
Gassner's successor is Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who will assume the roles of both president and chief executive of BMG. Former RCA Records president…
While Thiel Audio is primarily known for highly refined floorstanding speakers, John Atkinson thought it might be a good idea to give the stand-mounted Thiel PCS loudspeaker a spin. In doing so, he confirmed, once again, that wire is not wire when it comes to speaker cables. But what of the speaker? JA's conclusions may surprise a few audiophiles.
Those in the audio business know all too well the stress and strain of the annual Consumer Electronics Show. In her essay, "High-End Audio is Here to Stay!," Gigi Krop explains why it's all worth it, and why high-end audio will likely survive…
"Rarely, if ever, can this densely written sonata have been presented so lucidly with each note precisely in place...the dramatic and lyrical aspects were never slighted or taken for granted."
—Peter G. Davis, writing in the New York Times about Robert Silverman's New York debut in 1978, when he performed the Liszt B-Minor Piano Sonata in Alice Tully Hall.
—Peter G. Davis, writing in the New York Times about Robert Silverman's New York debut in 1978, when he performed the Liszt B-Minor Piano Sonata in Alice Tully Hall.
Franz Liszt only wrote one piano sonata that has survived, and this heroic work—it lasts for more than half an hour—was written in 1853 to celebrate the virtuoso pianist's metamorphosis into a conductor. As the sonata has played a…
The Monsters are Due on Maple Street: In the 1960 Twilight Zone episode with this title, inexplicable power outages and celestial lights cause the citizens of an idyllic American town to accuse one other of being aliens. Fear feeds suspicion, hysteria turns to mayhem, and soon lynch mobs roam the streets and former friends are burning down each other's homes.
Something similar may be happening in the music industry, which is now in the second year of the longest sales downturn in its history. In late September, the LA Times reported that major record labels are debating whether to sue…