Larry Archibald, Stereophile's publisher emeritus, leaves the magazine
I am sad to say that Larry Archibald's "The Final Word" column in the November issue, postedhttp://www.stereophile.com//thinkpieces/161/">posted; this week in this website's "Archives" section, is his last. When Larry, Stereophile's publisher emeritus, resigned from his salaried position at Emap Petersen at the end of June, he and I had envisaged him continuing to contribute "The Final Word" to the magazine.
Lars Fredell, "the world's greatest audiophile," dead at 58
Lars is dead.
Last Gasp for Napster?
Last year's media darling may be this year's has-been. Napsterhttp://www.napster.com">Napster;, the music file-sharing service that shook the music industry's foundations, remains shut down after US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that it cannot resume operations until it can prove that no copyrighted songs can slip through its filter. In a closed session on Wednesday, July 11, Patel ordered Napster to stay offline until she authorizes it to do otherwise.
LAST Seeks New Ownership
The first chapter in the history of the LAST Factory, manufacturer of LAST Record Preservative for LPs, is coming to a close. After shepherding for 30 years the Livermore, California–based company he founded, LAST's president, Walter Davies, is retiring to devote his energies to still photography. With Jan and Ric Mancuso, of Trade Secrets Consulting, Davies is looking for a buyer to keep the company in operation.
Last-Minute Reprieve for Web Radio
Things looked grim for Internet radio late last week. On July 11, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals declined to delay the increasehttp://stereophile.com/news/031907internet/">increase; in digital performance royalties the Copyright Royalty Board imposed last March. The new fees were scheduled to go into effect on July 15, retroactive to the beginning of 2006.
Latest Linn News
When we last heardhttp://stereophile.com/news/042307linn/">heard; from Linn, The Scotsman reported layoffs, restructuring, and a hoped-for resurgence. On May 25, we received a note from Ivor">http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/1101ivor/">Ivor S. Tiefenbrun, Linn's founder, that he had returned to the positions of chairman and managing director, after an absence of four or five years due to serious health problems, thanks to new medications that have "returned [him] to fitness and restored energy levels."
Latin Jazz King Tito Puente Dies at 77
Tito Puente, the "Mambo King" who fused jazz with Latin rhythms, died Wednesday, May 31 at New York University's Medical Center from complications following heart surgery. Puente was 77.
Legal Downloads Up, CD Sales Down
The consumer and retail tracking NPD Group released the results of a study on how people acquired music in 2007. NPD's data show a marketplace undergoing transition—although, depending on who's parsing the numbers, that could be read either as great news or the end of the world as we know it.
Legislation vs Music Industry
The music industry is again under legislative assault on both coasts.
Lehmann Gets New Distribution
Lehmann">http://www.lehmannaudio.de">Lehmann audio has carved out a small niche for itself in the analog market with the Black Cube phono preamp (first noted by Michael Fremer in the October 1998 issue of Stereophile). The company now hopes to reach a wider audience in the US and Canada for the Black Cube and the rest of its products with a new distribution arrangement between itself and Hudson">http://www.lehmannaudio.de/hudsonaudioimports/">Hudson Audio Imports.