Echo: Music Retailers Go Online
Echo.
EFF's DRM Scorecard
The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) maintains a websitehttp://www.eff.org">website; that we have found invaluable for keeping up with news about technological restrictions to information and fair use. Last week, we were directed to the EFF's new User's">http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/guide/">User's Guide to DRM in Online Music, which we recommend to everyone still undecided about buying into one of the online providers.
Eggleston to Develop New Cello Loudspeakers
Loudspeaker designer Bill Eggleston has joined Cello">http://www.Cello-US.com/">Cello Technologies Corporation. He will oversee the development of a new line of no-compromise loudspeakers, according to a company press release dated July 1. Eggleston designed the Andra loudspeaker, which was designated Stereophile's "Product of the Year" for 1997.
EgglestonWorks Back in Action
The Andra, Stereophile's 1997 Product of the Year, will soon be back. So will the Rosa, the Fontaine, the Isabel, and the Ivy Reference—in fact, the full line of EgglestonWorkshttp://www.egglestonworks.com/">EgglestonWorks; loudspeakers will be shipping soon to dealers, now that the company has been rescued from extinction. EgglestonWorks had been in legal limbo for most of the year as creditors wrangled over its future.
EgglestonWorks Will Debut Reference Loudspeaker at CES
Thirteen months after announcing its returnhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10593/">return; to manufacturing, Memphis-based speaker maker EgglestonWorkshttp://www.egglestonworks.com/">EgglestonWorks; is back in a big way, with plans to debut a "radical" and "visually provocative" reference loudspeaker at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
Elderly Women Sue Music Industry over Price-Fixing
Several class-action">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10750/">class-action lawsuits have been thrown against the music industry in the wake of its admission that it engaged in a price-fixing scheme known as Minimum Advertised Pricing, or MAP. The policy arose as a response to widespread CD price wars in the early 1990s that drove prices of some CDs below $10 each, and was intended to prevent mass-market merchandisers from offering CDs below cost as lures to pull customers into stores. The MAP policy was officially discontinued after the Federal Trade Commission reached">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10744/">reached a settlement with the industry in May of this year.
Electrical Power Industry Deregulation Opens Door for Scammers?
You may have noticed recent news items about proposals to deregulate the electrical power industry. You may have received solicitations to sign on with some start-up utility you never heard of, promising 10% to 40% reductions in your electrical bill. The model for this deregulation---if it comes to pass---is the long-distance telephone industry.
Electronics Giant Thomson Buys Into MP3
Upstart digital audio format MP3 received some heavy-duty validation with the announcement on Wednesday, April 27 by Thomson Multimedia SA that it has made a 20% investment in MusicMatch">http://www.musicmatch.com/">MusicMatch Inc., a maker of MP3 player and management software. "Jukebox," as the software is known, is used to play, encode, and manage MP3 files. Thomson makes RCA, ProScan, and Thomson brand electronics.
Electronics Retail Up?
It's widely acknowledged that the American economy is in a downturn, but some economic indicators point otherwise.
Electronics Retailing Slow in July
Summer is traditionally the slowest time of the year for electronics retailers. July 2001 confirmed the pattern, with sales figures down significantly from previous months.