One of the more interesting displays at Home Entertainment 2001 was a small booth belonging to West Hollywood, CA–based <A HREF="http://www.aix.com/new">AIX Media Group</A>, which was manned by company president Mark Waldrep. At the show, Waldrep <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11035/">discussed his work</A> in creating DVD-Audio recordings with multiple perspectives, selectable by the listener via remote control.
In <I>1984</I>, George Orwell's chilling tale of life in a totalitarian society, good citizens are expected to master the art of "doublethink," the ability to embrace two contradictory ideas at the same time. As evidenced by legal actions undertaken by their organization in late May, executives of the <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America</A> would make excellent role models in an Orwellian state.
It's sometimes amazing how courtroom adversaries can become bosom buddies. This week's example: on May 21, <A HREF="http://www.vivendiuniversal.com">Vivendi Universal SA</A> agreed to acquire Internet music portal <A HREF="http://www.mp3.com">MP3.com Inc</A>. for $372 million (423 million euros) in cash and stock—or $5.00/share for MP3.com stockholders. The announcement followed Vivendi's April 5 <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11015/">acquisition</A> of Emusic.com for $24 million. The targeted companies' boards of directors unanimously approved both deals. MP3.com will continue to offer music from non-Universal labels, according to a company press release.
Two scuttled mergers in the past year haven't damaged the profit picture for <A HREF="http://www.emigroup.com">EMI Group PLC</A>. Neither has a global slowdown in music sales. EMI announced May 22 that it expects to see a 5.7% increase in pretax profits for its fiscal year ended March 31: £259.5 million (US $374 million), up from £245.4 million (US $353 million) a year earlier. EMI's sales for the year rose 12% to £2.67 billion (US $3.84 billion).
The <A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org">Secure Digital Music Initiative</A> has decided to reconfirm San Diego–based <A HREF="http://www.verance.com">Verance Corporation</A>'s watermarking technology as its choice for inhibiting piracy in digitally recorded music. The May 21 announcement was made by the SDMI Plenary after a year-long campaign to evaluate the effectiveness and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10870/">audibility</A> of watermarks from 14 different vendors. The group has also apparently decided to halt further research and development efforts, which have been widely blamed for hobbling the rollout of DVD-Audio.
Many small classical record labels are facing an uncertain future in the wake of a decision by <A HREF="http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records</A> to put three classical distributors on buying hold. News of the decision, and discussions about its ramifications, have circulated on the Internet after an internal memo was leaked on May 1. The memo from company headquarters ordered store buyers at all 113 Tower stores in the US not to purchase from Allegro, Harmonia Mundi, and Qualiton, until receiving further notice. The three distributors represent dozens of small independent jazz and classical recording labels.
The packed house that was Home Entertainment Expo 2001 on Saturday thinned to a manageable level on Sunday the 13th, allowing most of the <I>Stereophile</I> crew ample opportunity to visit all the displays they had missed the previous two days. Toward the 6 o'clock closing time folks were still wandering the halls, and talking amicably and enthusiastically with friends they see once or twice a year. There is always a great deal of continuity in these shows, not only in the products, but also in the people.
In suite 949, Nashville, TN-based <A HREF="http://www.nearfieldacoustics.com"><B>Nearfield Acoustics</B></A> debuted an unnamed new model in its PipeDreams series of tower loudspeakers, one that sounds very promising. To sell for an estimated $10,000/pair, the speaker boasts a 98dB sensitivity rating and improved coherence over its predecessors, the result of using a horn-loading technique for the tweeters, according to company principal Craig Oxford. The new cabinet design is rounded in the back, allowing a single piece of veneer to be wrapped around it, yielding a literally seamless look. There are big bucks awaiting whoever comes up with a suitable name for the product, Oxford mentioned. "Opium" was my suggestion. Hey, it works for perfume.
<IMG SRC="/images/newsart/he2001.1.jpg" WIDTH=100 HEIGHT=119 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Although Gary Shapiro emphasized digital television in his keynote address at Home Entertainment 2001, the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org"><B>Consumer Electronics Association</B></A> president didn't ignore the importance of audio advancements. "SACD is a fantastic sensory experience," he told reporters at the May 11 press luncheon.
Out of action for more than a year, Mobile Fidelty should be returning soon. Online retailer <A HREF="http://www.amusicdirect.com">Music Direct</A> has purchased the remastering and re-release specialty company, according to an <A HREF="http://pages.prodigy.net/amicus1/end_los.htm">announcement</A> made April 24.