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Satellite radio services Siriushttp://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius; and XMhttp://www.xmradio.com">XM; both appear headed for a healthy future. The companies both report robust growth in new subscribers. Sweetheart deals with automakers and car rental agencies will expose ever-increasing numbers of consumers to the benefits of commercial-free music.

Major Japanese electronics manufacturers reported mixed results for the quarter ended June 30, with Mitsubishi and Sharp posting sales gains, while Hitachi and JVC did not. Most electronics firms begin their fiscal year on April 1, making June 30 the end of the first quarter.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is reporting that sales of DVD-Video players also capable of playing high-resolution audio formats have taken off this year, compared to 2002. According to CEA market research, manufacturers shipped 148,000 DVD-A and 100,000 SACD players to retailers through May of this year.

Sam Phillips, the Memphis recording engineer who was acclaimed by many as one of rock and roll's inventors, died of respiratory failure July 30. He was 80.

The campaign by the Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to litigate music downloading out of existence has drawn the attention of legislators in the nation's capital.

The international uncertainties of 2003 have not been kind to the specialist hi-fi sector, and are probably a key factor in this week's shock announcement. In a statement that sounds depressingly valedictory, the press release (reproduced in full below) baldly states: "TAG McLaren Audio ceases development of new products and commences a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market," before signing off with, "TAG McLaren Audio would like to thank everybody for their kind support over the years."

Downloading audio files, whether through a paid music service or not, continues to grow as a means to accumulate music in the US. According to a recent Ipsos-Insight study, as of April 2003, nearly one-third of the general US population aged 12 or older has downloaded a music or MP3 file from the Internet. This translates into roughly 65 million downloaders.