Under the agreement, eligible small webcasters will pay 8% of their gross revenue, or 5% of expenses incurred during the period October 28, 1998–December…
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On December 14, the music industry and small webcasters concluded their long and often-acrimonious negotiations on royalties. The two parties—the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) "SoundExchange," a royalty-collecting body, and the Voice of Webcasters (VOW)—filed an agreement with the US Copyright Office in Washington that details generalities agreed to under the Small Webcaster Settlement Act (SWSA), signed December 4.
One of my fondest memories of CES 2005 was spending a spare (well, technically, stolen) hour in T+A's room, listening to the German company's $4500 SACD-1245 CD/SACD player through T+A's $8500 V-10 integrated amplifier and a pair of Amphion's $1150/pair Helium two-way loudspeakers. Accordingly, when Quartet Marketing's Stirling Trayle called me to announce that he was in New York with the first sample of T+A's new tubed $9500 D-10 CD/SACD player, I was eager to hear it.
So eager, in fact, that I completely forgot to take any demonstration material with me into Innovative Audio's Manhattan…
From the May 2002 issue, Michael Fremer positions the Odeon La Traviata loudspeaker in his listening lair, writing, "Interest in super-efficient, horn-loaded, compression-driver loudspeakers has grown in the past few years." But as MF finds, horns may not always do the trick.
Next, Robert Deutsch listens to the Aerial Acoustics Model 7B loudspeaker and files his report for the July 1999 Stereophile. "I've heard speakers that I knew to be top-notch performers sound dreadful at audio shows and in dealers' listening rooms. But not the speakers from Aerial Acoustics," says RD, as he tries…
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 could be a turning point in the contentious history of recording artists and record labels. On that day, hundreds of American musicians will converge on Albany, NY in support of the Artistic Freedom Act of 2003. If passed, the bill would give artists unprecedented freedom in negotiating and terminating recording contracts.
Legislation backed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, is now before both the New York State Assembly (assembly bill A6951) and Senate (senate bill S4548). It reflects widespread dissatisfaction among performers who often get locked…
For some time now, the truly hip Web-enabled person of stature has shared his or her thoughts with the world via a blog (from web log); these days actors, musicians, and, yes, even politicians are getting into the act.
On July 7, the Federal Communications Commission chairman became a blogger. Powell's column is slated to be a regular feature on the AlwaysOn Network. Powell explains, "I am participating in AlwaysOn Network's blog [ . . . ] to hear from the tech community directly and to try to get beyond the traditional inside the Beltway Washington world where lobbyists filter the techies…
Clear Channel Communications, the radio industry's 900-lb gorilla, may be getting too big for its britches.
During the last weeks of January, US lawmakers heard complaints from small station owners who had been driven out of business by Clear Channel, and allegations of its strong-arm tactics from recording artists. Some senators expressed doubts about the wisdom of further loosening ownership restrictions on the broadcasting industry, an issue being considered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Clear Channel is the nation's largest radio operator, with 1233 stations,…
Despite the recent defeat of DVD-Audio's copy-protection scheme (see previous story), Pioneer Electronics has decided to move forward with its plan to release two models of its high-resolution players in Japan. The announcement was made December 14 by company executives in Tokyo, who said that delaying the format's launch at this late stage could do irreparable damage to its acceptance by music fans. Super Audio Compact Disc, a competing format developed by the Sony/Philips alliance, is already beginning to win converts.
Pioneer's competitors Matsushita (Panasonic) and Japan Victor…
After my first full day of weaving my way around the Consumer Electronics Show, I'm happy to be back in my hotel room, ready to open the laptop and type. I've got a tote bag (everyone has a tote bag) gorged fat with press releases, CDs, magazines, directories, scribbled notes, a fortune cookie. . .. What's going on here? Am I really the newest writer for Stereophile? And what's the deal with this fortune cookie?
The day starts simply enough: 8am breakfast in the hotel lobby with Wes Phillips and Jon Iverson. As we venture into our yogurt and corn flakes, some familiar faces drop by.…
The year was 1956, and Elvis had just finshed his set on the December 15 Louisiana Hayride radio show. Elvis was one of a half-dozen acts that were broadcast that night on KWKH, the radio station that originated Hayride. After his encore, Elvis left the stage and the crowd went wild—so wild that they would not stop screaming for more of the soon-to-be king of rock'n'roll. Because several acts on the bill had not yet performed, the show's announcer, Horace Logan, went to the microphone in an attempt to quiet the audience, and ended up making a little music history.
"Elvis has left the…
This may come as no surprise to Stereophile's website audience, but a report released last week finds that the heaviest users of the World Wide Web are also avid consumers of traditional media, listening to CDs and radio and watching television as they point their browsers to e-commerce, informational, and recreational sites.
According to the latest Pathfinder Study just released by Arbitron NewMedia, the amount of time heavy Web users spend with TV, radio, audio tapes/CDs, newspapers, and magazines exceeds that of light Web users. With the exception of TV, the report finds that…