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The music industry and the file-sharing community have been waiting nervously for the impending Supreme Court decision in MGM">http://www.stereophile.com/news/041105supremes/index.html">MGM vs Grokster, 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.

Since March, Sony BMG has released "at least 10 commercial titles" employing XCP2 technology developed by UK-based antipiracy company first4Internethttp://www.first4internet.co.uk/">first4Internet;. Sony BMG claims that the 10 titles represent "over one million units," but the company steadfastly refuses to specify which titles have XCP2.

Soundsareactive.comhttp://www.soundsareactive.com/catalogue.php?album=sub2005">Soundsareac…;, an eclectic independent label specializing in "jazz/improv, experimental hip-hop, and electronic artists," is offering a subscription package for its 2005 release schedule. For $35 (US price; the international price is $50), the label will send monthly downloadable MP3 (192kbps) releases for the rest of 2005, four "physical" CDs, and a "tour" DVD titled XN+.

Telarc's stunning hybrid multichannel SACD of Jennifer Higdon's City Scape and Concerto for Orchestra has received the 2005 OutMusic Award for Outstanding New Instrumental Recording. The disc has also received the 2005 Grammy for Best Engineered Classical Recording (well-deserved by Jack Renner) and 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Orchestral Performance (equally well-deserved by Higdon champion Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).

On Monday, June 6, at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Steve Jobs revealed that Apple would switch from its IBM-sourced PowerPC chip to Intel's Pentium D processor beginning in the latter half of 2006. Industry analysts began dissecting this move several days before the announcement in a series of "will they/won't they" articles every bit as breathless as those announcing the splits between Ben Affleck and J-Lo or Brad and Jennifer.

More consolidation in the audio biz: D&M">http://www.dm-holdings.com">D&M Holdings, owner of Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Laboratory, ReplayTV, Rio, and Escient, took another big gulp last week and made a move to acquire Boston">http://www.bostonacoustics.com">Boston Acoustics.

Let's face it. Despite the vinyl resurgence amongst the young and not so, the days when analogus collecticus could spend hours scouring record bins, holding product in hand, and reading album notes, are mostly behind us. In response to market evolution, at least three competing computer-based technologies have emerged to steer consumers toward music they will likely enjoy. Each uses a different approach, with one claiming "objectivity."