Memorex Announces CD-R Media Price Increases
One argument for the record industry's disappointing sales last year is a combination of high prices for official CD releases coupled with cheap prices for computer-based CD recorders and CD-R blanks. It doesn't look like retail CD prices will be coming down anytime soon, but luckily for the music business, CD-R prices are going up.
Mercury Living Presence On SACD
Audiophiles and music lovers enamored of the legendary Mercury Living Presence series of recordings will have plenty to celebrate with a recent announcement from Universal Music Group (UMG).
Mercury Living Presence Resounds Again on May 14
Heads up! Not long after the sellout of both Decca Classics' First Collector's Edition box set of 50 Mercury Living Presence CD reissues, and their box set of six 180gm LP reissues, both drawn from the famed Mercury Living Presence catalog, Collector's Edition 2 arrives on May 14. The CD box's 55 titles include two first-CD issue rarities: Antal Dorati's 1953 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra mono recording of Stravinsky's groundbreaking ballet, The Rite of Spring, and one of the final Mercury Living Presence recordings, John Corigliano's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The Corigliano recording premiere, performed by pianist Hilde Somer and the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Victor Alessandro, is paired with a close to 17-minute interview with Corigliano, conducted by Paul Hume one year after the concerto's 1968 premiere, and the Paregon to Richard Strauss' Sinfonia Domestica, Op.73.
Merger in Works for BMG, Columbia House?
The world's two largest and most active music clubs may become one if preliminary talks between their parent companies bear fruit. Time">http://www.timewarner.com/">Time Warner Inc. and Germany's Bertelsmann">http://www.bertelsmann.de">Bertelsmann AG have conducted discussions with that outcome in mind, according to several reports appearing in late April.
Mergers for Music Giants?
Two years ago, music business insiders were predicting that the industry's "Big Five" would eventually become the "Big Four," or possibly the "Big Three."
Meridian 808 Disc Player
Twenty years ago, the introduction of the compact disc put the music world on a new path. Not long after its debut, Meridian">http://www.meridian-audio.com">Meridian Audio Ltd. launched the world's first audiophile CD player, the MCD. That player and others that followed drew audiophiles into the digital age.
Meridian Acquires Sooloos
Meridian Audio Ltd. announced at 4pm December 5 that it had acquired media server manufacturer Sooloos LLC. "Basically, it comes from [Meridian founder] Bob Stuart's appreciation of great industrial design and innovative technologies," said Meridian's Chief Marketing Officer Graeme Taylor. "That combination is what Meridian has always attempted to offer and when Bob saw Sooloos' products, he realized that Peter Wellikoff [COO], Enno Vandermeer [CEO], and Danny Dulai [CTO] shared those values. Over time, it became obvious that, between what we shared and what we each could offer each other, the acquisition made tremendous sense."
Meridian Announces New Key Appointments for American Operation
At 9am on May 14, Meridian Audio announced that Walter Schofield will be assuming the position of President of Meridian America at the company's Atlanta office on June 1. Jeff Dean will run Meridian's newly established Hollywood office.
Meridian Commits to FireWire and Digital Harmony
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10---Meridian has announced its intention to license Digital Harmony's IEEE 1394 (FireWire) technology. "Digital Harmony embodies the technology we can implement to produce the next generation of digital systems for home entertainment." So said Meridian's Bob Stuart, in an announcement sure to be a turning point for the high-end audio industry.
Meridian on DualDisc
Meridian">http://www.meridian.co.uk">Meridian Audio Ltd. is the latest electronics maker to weigh in on the continuing DualDisc controversy.