Allegro's MailZone Blocks MP3 Files
Last week, the Secure Digital Music Initiative announced that it would allow free MP3 downloads to co-exist with new encrypted forms of digital music transmission. Despite this, widespread concern in corporate legal departments about copyright-violation liability has prompted software developers to come up with blocking techniques to prevent pirated music from entering company "Intranets."
Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick Sue Sony
On Friday, April 29, AP reportedhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060428/ap_en_mu/music_downloads_royalties;…; that Cheap Trick and the Allman Brothers Band were suing Sony Music over the record label's payment for music downloads through Napster and the iTunes Music Service.
Altec's Pennsylvania HQ Damaged by Fire
Engineering facilities and a finished-goods warehouse at Altec">http://www.altecmm.com">Altec Lansing Technologies' Milford, Pennsylvania, headquarters were damaged by fire late Sunday, May 31. The blaze was said to have been exacerbated by severe weather. No injuries were reported.
Amar G. Bose, PhD: 1929–2013
Photo: Bose Corporation
Dr. Amar Bose, founder and CEO of the most successful privately-held consumer-electronics company in history, died Friday, July 12, at his home in Wayland, Massachusetts. He was 83. Bose became interested in research in audio engineering and psychoacoustics after buying a stereo system and being disappointed by its sound . . .
Amazon Launches DRM-Free MP3 Downloads
On May 16, Amazon.com announced that it would launch an online digital music store "later this year" offering "millions of songs in the DRM-free MP3 format from more than 12,000 record labels." EMI, which recently announced that it would partner with the iTunes Media Store to release premium DRM-free MP3 downloads there, "is the latest addition to the store." Amazon claims that every song and album in the Amazon.com digital music store will be available exclusively as unfettered MP3 files.
Amazon Music Goes High-Rez
The era of streaming in CD-quality and hi-rez music has arrived at one of the world’s major subscription streaming services, complete with a free 90-day trial.
Amazon Music Service In the Works?
If the rumors are true, Amazon, the giant Internet retailer of books, recordings, videos, and just about everything else, is about to embark upon a music subscription service—complete with Amazon-branded music players at a deep discount, or perhaps even for free.
Amazon Offers Downloads Without DRM
On September 25, Amazon announcedhttp://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&I…; that its Amazon">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/163856011">Amazon MP3 download store was open as a "public beta" test. Amazon claims it has "more than two million songs by more than 180,000 artists from over 20,000 major and independent labels," which makes it somewhat less diverse than Apple's iTunes Store, which claims six million songs. However, Amazon MP3 has a few advantages in its corner: its MP3s are higher-resolution, variable bit-rate 256kpbs with no digital rights management—and they are cheaper, 89–99¢ per track, as opposed to iTunes' 99¢ for its 128kbps AAC files (or $1.29 for iTunes+ files, which are DRM-free and 256kbps AAC files).
Amazon, Best Buy Join Online Internet CD Sellers
Move over, CDNowhttp://www.cdnow.com">CDNow;, N2Khttp://www.n2k.com">N2K;, and Music">http://www.musicblvd.com">Music Boulevard---Amazon.comhttp://www.Amazon.com">Amazon.com; and Best">http://www.bestbuy.com">Best Buy want to play.
Amazon.com Beefs Up CD Sales; Stock Surges
The "world's largest bookstore" may be on its way to becoming one of the biggest music stores, too. Two weeks ago, Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com">Amazon.com; began a big push into CD retailing, more than doubling the number of its musical offerings to over 100,000 titles. (Competitor CDnowhttp://www.cdnow.com">CDnow; offers over 500,000 titles.) Visitors to the Amazon website can now click on a tab that will take them to a new music site, where they can listen to audio previews and read reviews, reprints of articles on bands and musicians, and music-industry news.