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Music Kiosks Announced

In the age of iTunes and Amazon.com, do brick and mortar music retailers have a future? Perhaps—if they downsize a bit.

Warner Music Group and Mediaport Entertainment have recently announced a new music distribution approach based on a network of unmanned kiosks called MusicATMs. The idea is certainly not new, with companies such as MusicPoint having unsuccessfully tried their hands at the business as early as 1999.

However, since music fans are now able to carry their entire libraries with them on portable audio players, and with online services such as iTunes fostering a population…

iPods & Hearing Loss

Apple Computer, faced with research, complaints, and litigation claiming that the iPod can cause hearing loss, issued a new software update on March 29 that limits the personal maximum volume level of the iPod Nano and iPod models with video-playback capabilities. The free download, available at www.apple.com/ipod/download, prevents the player from outputting its potentially damaging maximum volume of 115dB. Parents can also use the feature to set volume limits on their child's iPod, and lock settings with coded combinations.

Apple's action was impelled by far more than a lawsuit. According…

EMI <I>vs</I> AOL Time Warner

The music industry's ongoing copyright and royalty battle took a refreshing turn Wednesday, August 7, when EMI Group PLC filed suit against AOL Time Warner, Inc. over the unpaid use of songs from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movies. Filed in US Court for the Southern District of New York, the suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an injunction barring AOL Time Warner from playing songs from MGM classics such as Singin' in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz.

AOL Time Warner is parent company of the Warner Music Group, and EMI's ally in the music industry's struggle to contain piracy. For the…

Added to the Archives This Week

Jonathan Scull asks "What's it take to compete on the bleeding edge of digital?" Apparently more than what's offered by the "large international manufacturing and marketing concerns stalking the earth today." Will the Accuphase DP-100 Super Audio CD transport & DC-101 Digital Processor make the cut? Scull's incisive report reveals all.

Boy, does J-10 get letters. In Fine Tunes #34, he details yet another batch of tips'n'tweaks from "all you Victims of the Musical Quest." Sweet Spot to the rescue.

It's a battle as old as the Edison wax cylinder: consumers want to buy audio…

Better To Switch Than Fight

Media critics may be right: If record companies had spent as much effort building a digital distribution network as they have fighting digital piracy, they might actually be making money online instead of complaining about it. This is the conclusion of a new report from KPMG and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

According to the study, "companies are wasting too many resources fighting digital piracy while overlooking potential opportunities the technology offers." KPMG says the report was conducted to gauge the media industry's progress in managing and delivering digital content.

A…

"High-End Market Will Crash," Bender Predicts

One might think that the publisher of "The Largest Marketplace in the World for Audiophile Equipment" would have a vested interest in encouraging trading activity among his readers. One would think that such a publisher might take a neutral stance regarding fluctuations in the world market for used equipment. One would think that he would credit his readers with sufficient intelligence to decide for themselves whether any specific purchase, sale, or trade was a good deal.

One would be wrong on all counts. Walt Bender, publisher of Audiomart, long one of the dominant publications in the…

An Audio Conspiracy?

For any good battle, it helps to have several key ingredients. First, there has to be an underlying conflict that cannot be settled with diplomatic ease---it is especially important that both combatants covet the same property. Second, each side has to set a propaganda machine in motion to create the appearance of a noble struggle for the good of "the people" that transcends the simple fight for turf control. Third, the outcome of such a battle should have implications stretching far into the future. And finally, these days it helps if the press notices.

All four appear to be working to…

2003 CES, Day Four

Quad's David Patching was all smiles as he showed off the company's new CD player, called simply the CD-P. No SACD or DVD-A, said Patching, who says they'll wait until either a ton of high-rez discs are sold (not just produced) or until the format war is over and a clear winner emerges.

In the meantime, the CD-P sells for $1500, and unlike the previous Quad CD spinner, has its own power supply. It is based on the top-of-the-line Philips laser mechanism, which has the added benefit of playing unfinalized CD-Rs and CD-RWs. The player also sports a Crystal delta-sigma hybrid DAC that…

The Secure Digital Music Initiative Formally Announced By The RIAA

As expected, the Recording Industry Association of America held a press conference last week to announce the formation of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) which hopes to develop internet downloading technologies for music. The move comes after a rough year for the music business who has seen thousands of unauthorized websites offer copyrighted material for free using the MP3 audio format.

Joining technology firms including AOL, Sony and Microsoft are several major labels including BMG Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and…

Added to the Archives This Week

Several readers have been asking "What's with all of the Musical Fidelity reviews in Stereophile?" Michael Fremer fearlessly wires the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD player into his system, noting, "Overachievers tend to rankle people after a while."

Next, Brian Damkroger gets his hands on the GamuT CD 1 CD player. Why the GamuT? BD comments, "I'm picky, so it had to be something that sounded good. I wanted to be realistic, so it couldn't cost a fortune. And I wanted to try something new."

Also from the current May issue, John Atkinson reviews the Ayre CX-7 CD player. JA uses the…