The news is something of a turnaround, considering the generally negative spin given the proposal by most previous reports. Over the past two weeks, European Commission (EC) investigators determined that antitrust regulators had misinterpreted data on music distribution and sales, according to one news source. Mario Monti, head of the EC antitrust panel, was expected to announce a go-ahead for the Sony Music/…
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The proposed merger of the music divisions of Sony Corporation and Bertelsmann AG may win approval from European Union regulators, according to reports from Brussels on June 18.
An expanded alliance between one of the High End's most respected speaker manufacturers and one of the most aggressive upscale retailers should bode well for both partners—and for music lovers nationwide.
On September 18, Lawrence, KS–based electrostatic loudspeaker maker MartinLogan announced an expansion of its marketing agreement with the Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, whose continuing merger-and-acquisition program has gathered many successful local retail chains under its corporate umbrella. The deal will put MartinLogan's strikingly-designed, transparent "curvilinear line source…
Is the music industry in the early stages of a turnaround? Sales of recorded music in the US declined by less than 1% in 2003, according to figures released December 31 by Nielsen SoundScan.
"Less than 1%" could be interpreted as "holding steady," given the music industry's prolonged decline in sales. The 0.8% drop in unit sales was an abrupt change after a three-year downward spiral. It's unclear, however, whether this is a long-term trend or a temporary phenomenon.
Total CD album sales in 2003 were down 2% compared to 2002, which in turn was off 8.7% compared to 2001. Countering…
One area where DVD-Audio so far has an advantage over SACD is on the computer. To date there are no SACD-compatible personal computers on the consumer market, allowing the playback of a single-layer stereo or multichannel DSD format disc. One can, however, play a DVD-Audio disc on a PC using, for example, a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card.
But what about ripping a multichannel DVD-A disc to a PC? Creative Technology announced last week that it has solved that problem for music fans—sort of. The company says that it is now selling "the only THX-certified consumer sound card capable of…
Several writers take turns with the Apogee Duetta II loudspeaker, beginning with Alvin Gold in 1986. Anthony H. Cordesman exclaims, "The Duetta II breaks so much new ground, and is so obviously a superb speaker system, that it simply would not be fair to you readers to put off reporting on this speaker until the next issue."
Next, Corey Greenberg stuffs all of his favorite music into the Proceed CD Library. Greenberg concludes, "Being able to play any combination of your 100 favorite CDs, all from the comfort of your listening chair, is almost embarrassingly regal."
For 1991's…
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For our online readers each week, there will be a collection of important news items of particular interest to…
Last week, Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Inc. announced that the company has reached an agreement in principle to acquire DOW Stereo/Video, Inc., located in San Diego, California. DOW is a nine-store specialty consumer-electronics retailer with sales of approximately $38 million, and has been in business in the San Diego market for over 30 years. The transaction is expected to be completed on or about July 1, 1999. Tweeter says it will pay approximately $5.5 million for the company excluding acquisition costs, and has the option of paying approximately $500,000 of the purchase price in…
Threshold Corporation, long known as one of the original high-end audio equipment pioneers, is discussing plans to restructure the company to meet new market conditions. Threshold, based in Camarillo, California, manufactures high-end audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, and digital products under the Threshold, FortT, and PS Audio product lines. (PS Audio, of which Threshold Corp. is the majority owner, is currently a separate corporation.)
According to Chris English, Sales Manager for and shareholder in Threshold Corp., "We are indeed going through some financial and managerial…
In the children's fable, Chicken Little, the archetypal alarmist, induced fear and panic in his community by running amok and shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" The hysterical fowl has many relatives among journalists and economists, who regularly issue dire warnings about the forthcoming Year 2000 problem.
Y2K, as it is commonly known, is a computer glitch that will primarily affect older computer systems when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999. These systems, with only two digits for the date ("99" instead of "1999"), will interpret 00 as 1900 instead of the…
There's no question that the computer is at the heart of the recorded music experience for many people, but saving, sorting, and accessing digital music files can be a real chore. Now two Los Angeles technology companies have combined forces to create what they are calling "one-click" digital music management.
The two, Savage Beast Technologies and Auditude, have created a new music management software called Celestial Home Jukebox, which will "enable consumers to identify and organize all of their digital music files, automatically build playlists, and receive personalized recommendations…