Magnatune is an innovative, independent online record label that sells its music…
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As the cost of data storage has continued to plunge, some industry pundits (well, www.stereophile.com's Jon Iverson) have predicted that the next step in adding value to them would be to give the devices away, but sell the music or data they contain. On March 10, online music label Magnatune and Samsung spin-off Hana Micron fulfilled that prediction with a product called the TunePlug: It's a reusable USB flash memory drive that comes loaded with 10 complete albums from Magnatune artists in MP3 file format.
Digital satellite radio is one of the most promising entertainment developments since the invention of the DVD. It's also a high-risk venture for investors.
In mid-August, Sirius Satellite Radio reported that it had almost doubled its number of subscribers, which increased from 3347 at the end of June to 6510 by August 11. With a massive advertising blitz planned for fall, and with the increasing availability of satellite radio receivers, company president Joe Clayton estimated that Sirius could have as many as 75,000 subscribers by year's end.
That rate of growth may not be…
Hundreds of manufacturers will be demonstrating state-of-the-art audio products at HI-FI '98---some of which have never before been seen by the public. We are running several announcements each week leading up to the Show to give you a taste of what to expect. Here's the third assortment:
B&W
B&W, having dazzled audiophiles with the innovative Nautilus, will be launching a loudspeaker that combines the philosophy of that design statement with the 801---probably the best-selling high-end speaker in audio history.
The new Nautilus 801 receives its world launch at HI-FI '98…
For years now, Internet users willing to walk on the audio wild side have had access to millions of illicit music files via peer-to-peer file-trading services. But those who have tried to find locate of the commercial sources for online music files have found their choices limited.
Yahoo! intends to change that with its new Yahoo! Audio Search, announced last week. The company claims that the free search service, currently in beta testing but available for public use, provides access to over 50 million audio files from major music services and independent publishers.
Yahoo! says that…
January 9, 3pm
Some fascinating prototypes were on display at the Madrigal breakfast at Bally's this morning---and we can't tell you about them. But when the Cone of Silence is lifted, you can bet we'll spill the beans, particularly in view of Madrigal's confidence that there will be a future market for very-high-quality surround-sound music reproduction. In the meantime, we are able to report that the new Proceed DVD transport has enough upgradeability options to allow for just about any future digital format: DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, DVD-Video, etc. The transport will also allow for easy…
Some fascinating prototypes were on display at the Madrigal breakfast at Bally's this morning---and we can't tell you about them. But when the Cone of Silence is lifted, you can bet we'll spill the beans, particularly in view of Madrigal's confidence that there will be a future market for very-high-quality surround-sound music reproduction. In the meantime, we are able to report that the new Proceed DVD transport has enough upgradeability options to allow for just about any future digital format: DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, DVD-Video, etc. The transport will also allow for easy…
The first thing you notice is the rather large black foam rubber foot sitting (standing?) in the room. And then the swanky furniture and trendy layout.
We're staying at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, guests of cable, power conditioner, and iPod accessory manufacturer Belkin. The company has invited us down to talk about the future of home and car audio at their Digital Home showcase near Chinatown and then to attend the Grammy Awards the following day.
This trip is all about modern: modern design, modern media, and modern music. So the hotel they've chosen is apt…
Following the tragic events of September 11 last year, Audio Asylum and Audiogon co-sponsored a charity auction of audio equipment to benefit the NY Firefighters' Fund and other related charities. Manufacturers, dealers, magazine writers and editors, and audiophiles donated equipment, recordings, and memorabilia for sale, and as reported on this website, the auction ultimately raised almost $175,000 for 9/11-related charities.
Among the items auctioned was Stereophile columnist and record company owner John Marks' unique offer of a personal concert and evening with the world-renowned…
On May 23, the Juilliard School of Music announced the selection of 18 instrumentalists who will form the core of the newly-created Juilliard Jazz Orchestra. As orchestra members, the musicians will benefit from tuition-free study at the school's recently established Juilliard Institute for Jazz. The creation of the institute—a collaboration of the Juilliard School and the "Jazz at Lincoln Center" program—is an indication that the prestigious institution is further acknowledging the importance of jazz, an indigenous American genre that many critics have called "the classical music of the…
Naxos, the world's leading distributor of classical music, has just signed a worldwide digital distribution deal with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), which will use its Digital Distribution Dashboard (D3) technology platform to distribute and manage music files from the Naxos family of distributed music labels. The deal entails distributing titles to many of Naxos' 22 Digital Service Providers, including Sony Connect, Rhapsody, iTunes, Napster, and Microsoft (which charges consumers the lowest download price of all: $4.99 for an entire Naxos CD).
Kevin Arnold, IODA's…
Less than a week after launching major copyright-infringement litigation against several large Internet service providers (ISPs), member companies of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) abruptly withdrew their lawsuit because an offending offshore music site had even more abruptly gone dark.
In a precedent-setting legal maneuver, major record labels filed suit in US District Court in New York in mid-August against AT&T Broadband Corporation, Cable & Wireless USA, Sprint Corporation, Advanced Network Services, and UUNET Technologies, in the hope of securing an…