Peer to Peer's Promise
The music industry has been telling us for years that peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing is a bad thing. But a New York company has decided the record labels had it wrong and that it merely needed to harness P2P's power.
Jon Iverson
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IAG Acquires Mission
In a brief statement, <A HREF="http://www.internationalaudiogroup.com/">The International Audio Group</A> (IAG) announced on June 28 that it has purchased the <A HREF="http://www.mission.co.uk/">Mission</A> business from the Administrators of Symphonix. In a separate transaction, IAG reports that it has also purchased the Mission brandname from NXT.
The Morpheus Audio Future
The music industry and the file-sharing community have been waiting nervously for the impending Supreme Court decision in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/041105supremes/index.html">MGM <I>vs</I> Grokster</A>, which is expected any day. At stake is not only peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, but the development of future forms of music distribution.
DRM Confusion Delays Digital Future
Forget SACD vs DVD-Audio or even DualDisc. DRM, or digital rights management, has become the biggest audio format issue this year, and will likely continue to be for the next several years. At stake is the future of all consumer interactions with, and uses of, copyrighted digital media.
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D&M Holdings to Acquire Boston Acoustics
More consolidation in the audio biz: <A HREF="http://www.dm-holdings.com">D&M Holdings</A>, owner of Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Laboratory, ReplayTV, Rio, and Escient, took another big gulp last week and made a move to acquire <A HREF="http://www.bostonacoustics.com">Boston Acoustics</A>.
Prix Fixe or à la Carte?
With new music download services, including the move to higher resolutions, one vital question still remains for the music business: Will the majority of consumers prefer to continue purchasing music <I>à la carte</I>, one track or album at a time, or will they prefer to subscribe to an unlimited library?
Dorian Sold?
Another chapter has closed in the saga of the Dorian Group, but the story seems far from over. As we <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/040405dorian/index.html">reported last month</A>, Dorian had filed for bankruptcy and unsuccessfully attempted to auction its assets. The creditors and former owners of Reference Recordings were also nipping at Dorian's heels to get their label back.
Xtreme Fidelity
It's no wonder the public is confused about audio formats and sound quality, Consider claims such as the recent "major breakthrough" announcement concerning two audio technologies from Creative Technology, a company best known for making PC peripherals (most notably the Sound Blaster audio cards).
Philharmonia Online
"Well it has finally happened," esteemed classical recording engineer <A HREF="http://www.auracle.com/greenroom/">Tony Faulkner</A> wrote me in a recent email. "I have engineered my first live webcast and MP3 download-only release."
2005 Demmy Awards
The Consumer Electronics Association announced last week its finalists for the 2005 "Demmy Awards," a collection of audio demonstration music that the group puts together for retailers and manufacturers. The panel of judges for the awards include <I>Stereophile</I>'s own John Atkinson.