Barry Willis

Consumer electronics site <A HREF="http://www.etown.com/">Etown</A&gt; has become the latest victim of the dot-com bust, dismissing its entire workforce of approximately 100 people in New York and San Francisco. The company had run out of money, according to chief executive Robert Heiblim. Etown, operated by Collaborative Media, Inc., has transferred its remaining assets to electronics retailer Best Buy, Inc. of Minneapolis, a major investor. The site was still active as of Sunday, February 18; whether Best Buy will simply shut it down or use it as a sales organ isn't known at present.

Major music companies may have conspired to keep CD prices artificially high in the United Kingdom by limiting cheaper imports. That's the presumption behind an inquiry launched February 9 by the British government's Office of Fair Trade.

Coaxing great performance from an orchestra requires that a conductor combine the talents of interpreter, psychologist, actor, coach, and drill instructor. It also requires a unique auditory ability: the capacity for simultaneously hearing the complete ensemble as well as all its individual performers.

The "Big Five" of the recorded music industry is one step closer to becoming the "Big Four," according to late-January reports from Frankfurt, Germany, home of <A HREF="http://www.bertelsmann.de/">Bertelsmann AG</A>. Bertelsmann is the parent company of <A HREF="http://www.bmg.com/">Bertelsmann Music Group</A>, which has been in merger discussions for several months with the United Kingdom's <A HREF="http://www.emigroup.com/"&gt; EMI Group PLC</A>. Discussions are near completion, according to a BMG official.

Price-fixing by major record labels isn't confined to the United States. The music industry's "Big Five" (Universal Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, EMI Group PLC, and the Bertelsmann Music Group) are now under the scrutiny of European Union antitrust investigators, who are looking into the possibility that the companies may have colluded to keep CD prices artificially high in Europe. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and music industry agreed to <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10744/">settle</A&gt; the American version of the issue in May 2000.

On January 19, <A HREF="http://www.bmgentertainment.com/">Bertelsmann Music Group Entertainment</A> announced changes in senior management that include a new chief financial officer and new directors for its American and European divisions. A major division of the German media conglomerate <A HREF="http://www.bertelsmann.de/">Bertelsmann AG</A>, BMG suffered the loss of music industry veteran <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10930/">Rudi Gassner</A> shortly before Christmas. Gassner, who had been slated to become CEO of BMG, died of a heart attack while vacationing in Bavaria.

Money and legal pressure can make even the fiercest tiger change its stripes. Nearing the end of prolonged litigation with the music industry, <A HREF="http://www.napster.com/">Napster</A&gt; has begun to go commercial.