Gramophone Bought by What Hi-Fi? Publisher
John Atkinson's and my collective response was "Good grief!" on hearing that the UK's Haymarket">http://www.haymarketgroup.co.uk/">Haymarket Magazines had purchased Gramophone">http://www.gramophone.co.uk/">Gramophone Publications. Minds boggled at the very idea of the venerable old lady of classical-music criticism getting into bed with the much younger, altogether brasher, and unashamedly populist What Hi-Fi?, market leader among UK hi-fi mags. As Haymarket enigmatically put it, "With its emphasis on in-depth reviewing, Gramophone itself has great synergy with other titles in the Haymarket portfolio, such as What">http://www.whathifi.com/">What Hi-Fi? magazine."
Home Theater Merges with Sound & Vision
Stereophile's owner, Source Interlink Media (SIM), announced today that it is merging the two most powerful print and online media brands in the home technology field, Home Theater and Sound & Vision, to create a single powerhouse consumer brand dedicated to electronic entertainment.
It's a Vinyl World After All
It's a Vinyl World, After All: Michael Fremer's Guide to Record Cleaning, Storage, Handling, Collecting, & Manufacturing in the 21st Century
MF Productions mxangle3 (DVD). 2008. Michael Fremer, prod.; Joe Shelesky, Andre Kruger, Jeff Wilerth, dirs.; Joe Shelesky, editor. $30; available from Stereophile's secure">http://ssl.blueearth.net/primedia/home.php">secure e-commerce page.
MF Productions mxangle3 (DVD). 2008. Michael Fremer, prod.; Joe Shelesky, Andre Kruger, Jeff Wilerth, dirs.; Joe Shelesky, editor. $30; available from Stereophile's secure">http://ssl.blueearth.net/primedia/home.php">secure e-commerce page.
Kiss Each Other Clean
Kiss Each Other Clean, the latest album from Iron & Wine, was released on Tuesday, January 25.
Live at Otto's: a New Stereophile Jazz CD
Released in July, Live at Otto's Shrunken Head (STPH020-2) is the latest Stereophile CD from reviewer Bob Reina's jazz quartet, Attention Screen. Unlike the group's first CD, Live">http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/907att">Live at Merkin Hall (STPH018-2, released in 2007), which was recorded with multiple microphones, I captured the eight improvisations on Live at Otto's using a single pair of mikes.
NY Times Rekindles Cable Debate with "Circuits" Story
Do high-end cables make an audible difference? Or are they cosmetic enhancements, like fancy wheels on high-performance cars? The New">www.nytimes.com/">New York Times, the nation's foremost newspaper, took up the issue in a December 23 piece in "Circuits," its weekly technology section.
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 à la carte, one track or album at a time, or will they prefer to subscribe to an unlimited library?
Rolling Stone Announces "Radio" at WebNoize
Internet audio continues to expand. Last week, at the first WebNoize conference, held in Los Angeles, JamTV/Rolling">http://www.jamtv.com/">JamTV/Rolling Stone Network and RealNetworks">http://www.real.com/">RealNetworks, Inc. announced the debut of Rolling">http://www.rsradio.com/">Rolling Stone Radio, a new Internet audio service offering music in several genres. Rock star David Bowie announced that he would serve as a disc jockey for the new venture. Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com">Amazon.com; has also signed on to participate as a music retailer.
Rolling Stone Launches New Online Music Service
Rolling Stone is going head-to-head with MTV. Last week, Wenner Media, Inc, announced a partnership with JamTV to create a music site on the Web. Wenner is the parent company of Rolling Stone magazine. JamTV is an eight-month-old Internet start-up that broadcasts live concerts.
SF Classical Voice Celebrates Six Months Online
Among major American cities, San Francisco probably ranks near the top in culture per capita. It's therefore no accident that an Internet venture billing itself "the world's first website journal of classical music criticism" should have originated there. The site, San">http://www.sfcv.org/">San Francisco Classical Voice, is celebrating its first six months online.