BAASnotes.com – Bay Area Audiophile Society

Wither the Music Industry – David Byrne Speaks

I’m sure that D. Byrne needs no introduction to music lovers (hint: see the pic).

But some of us may not be aware of Byrne’s scholarly approach to the industry in which he participates.

In a comprehensive article for Wired, Byrne begins with “what is music” and then lays out the whys and wherefores of modern music-making – or, as he pointedly notes – modern CD-selling.

Recommended reading.

Bob

Ramen Music – Smart Guys Trying to Change Things

IMO, the Ramen Music Blog is a great read. On-point commentary re contemporary music industry issues.

Ramen’s post-analysis of the music industry data that I posted a while ago is the best that I’ve seen. The “money slide,” which suggests that the music industry isn’t doing that badly (yet), is posted below. Read the article for further insights.

It’s also a gateway to the Ramen Music website, which has a unique way of introducing subscribers to lots of cool new music.

Bob

Equalization for Audiophiles – the easy way

A new product has just been released by Ear Machine. It’s called iQ (as in “I equalize” I guess), and it makes EQ easy – fun even! (See video.)

You don’t need a real-time audio analyzer. You don’t need Golden Ears (but you do need yours). And you don’t need to read a lengthy manual.

But you do need a computer-based audio, because iQ works as a plugin to your favorite music playback software (iTunes, Pure Music, Fidelia, etc.).

Installation is Easy. Mac or PC. 14-day free trial available.

Enjoy,

Bob

PS  If you’re on a Mac, you may want to try Fidelia….

Still More on the Music Industry

Based on comments, members want to see the gross (not per-capita) revenues of the music industry. Here you go:

Again, all the data is here.

Bob

Light Peak – Overkill for Audio Interfaces?

This week, Intel and Apple announced the first incarnation of Light Peak – on the latest iteration of Mac laptops. Apple calls it Thunderbolt.

Cheesy name aside, the 10 gbps performance is staggering. It’s more than an order of magnitude faster than Firewire 800. Want to move a Blueray movie? Less than a minute. USB 2.0 and 3.0 just got leap-frogged, big-time.

For those of us with terabyte+ music libraries, moving these and backing them up just got easier. This interface has 3x the transfer rate of a high-performance SATA drive!

Is Apple positioning this as the successor to firewire? Probably. Will it lead to better fidelity in music server systems? Who knows.

But I want one…

Bob

Sambora On Audiophiles, Vinyl, and Compression

Bon Jovi songwriter and guitarist Richie Sambora voices his views on the modern music scene in this CE Pro article.

Highlights include a general ambivalence (in an honest way) about formats, claiming that the ear can adapt to digital and compression. For him, it’s really all about the music and the touring.

Given the gift of some LPs, he now wishes to buy a “record player.” He adds: “You have to be, what, 40 to know what analog was even, and then to actually remember it?”

Ummm….maybe.

Bob

The Rise and Fall of the Music Industry

Edit:  The original chart was misleading at best (thanks, Aaron!). Here’s the new one (adjusted for inflation and per-capita):

The Real Music Industry Data

Note: These are stacked charts. For example, in 1973: 8-tracks = $12M, vinyl = $34M, and cassettes = $2M.

At peak:

• 8-track = $13M
• Vinyl = $43M
• Cassettes = $34M
• CD = $63M
• Digital = $10M  (and still growing; illegal activity not shown)

In their first 6 years, CD went to $24M and Digital Downloads went to $10M.

Here’s a great article with even more. Hint: the death of the music industry is highly correlated with the death of the album.

Every picture tells a story, don’t it?   – Bob

Old graphic:

Music Industry Sales by Media Type

Bay Area is a Hotbed of Music Discovery

The old way: talent scouts, record labels, music critics, DJs.

The new way: technology, technologists, and specialized human help in the background.

In a NYT article published this morning, Paul Lamere of Echo Nest delivers the money quote:

“We’re living in a world where technologists and programmers are becoming the new gatekeepers for new music.”

How would you like a job finding and listening to new music, especially on vinyl?

You live in the right place….

Bob

Digital Downloads Fail to Save the Music Industry (Editorial)

The NYtimes just published yet another article on the “death” of the music industry.

It would seem that iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and the like were unable to guarantee  the continued health of the commercial structures (labels, studios, PR firms, “record deals,” and the like) that were built around the LP and 8-track tape. And the artificial scarcity of the era.

Death of Music? Hardly.

Duh. Really?

And the villain of the story? Internet piracy, of course.

Well, the RIAA and its cohorts got it wrong again IMO. I think that the internet has merely exposed the obvious: that good music and good musicians are everywhere. They are not that scarce. And now the means to record and distribute it aren’t scarce either. Nor are the means to learn about it.

The gatekeepers are being denuded. Welcome to the new millennium.

What the internet hasn’t changed in music, it will. Just like everything else.

And the winners will be the specialists. We’ll meet one later this week.

Bob

[These opinions are my own, and do not represent the position of BAAS our its members.]

Former BAAS Member starts Society in Shanghai

Some of you may remember Jeroen Tielkes, who was quite active in BAAS for a while then moved to China.

Well, Jeroen has decided to build an audio group in Shanghai, and it lanches Saturday (click here).

We wish him luck. If you’re in China, look him up! He can be reached at the email address on the link.

Bob

“Sorrowful Songs” Composer H. Gorecki Dies

Many audiophiles and music lovers will remember him for his moving “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.”

This 1992 classical piece has enjoyed widespread popularity in both classical and pop circles.

Turn down the lights late at night, cue it up, and tell me you aren’t moved.

My favorite rendition is here (cover at left). The newer Telarc recording is nice too – performed at a bit less lugubrious pace.

Bob

Acoustic Sounds – LP Pressing Plant Tour

Guest post by
Peter Truce

I just returned from my annual trek to the Acoustic Sounds mothership in Salina, Kansas.  The concert at Blue Heaven Studio, Chad Kassem’s over the top recording and performance venue was excellent as usual – assuming you like the blues.

But this year along with all of the SACD, vinyl and equipment goodies to drool over, we received a tour of Chad’s soon to be operational record pressing plant.

As we know, vinyl has been making an amazing comeback, so strong that the existing boutique record pressing plants just can’t keep up.  So Chad decided to do his own.

Easy formula:  figure out who the very best record plant setup person is, find him, convince him to leave Arizona for the frozen tundra of Kansas by promising him too much $$ and the chance to do what he always wanted:  make records the right way.  That would be Mark, from the old Wakefield Manufacturing record plant in Arizona.  You know, the plant that pressed Rounder, ECM, and the other great records back in the day.

Below is Mark showing off the new feed augers that they had built along with new barrels to feed the vinyl to the press.  As he says, if the tolerances aren’t right, make new ones …

You know the problem, you drop the needle on the lead-in groove and hear a bunch of noise before the music starts.  Mark tells us that the reason is that the vinyl was burned during the process – a basic problem when using the stock water temp controller which used a thermocouple.  Max precision was +/- 15 degrees F and it was better to burn than go too cool as the vinyl wouldn’t flow.

› Continue reading

Analog Audio On the Rise (Again)

Electric House e-mag has some interesting info on the resurgence of ‘analog’ in home sound reproduction.

The article comes in two parts:

• A fairly long chat with Mike Framer about turntables (surprise!); and
• A primer on tubes (good info for the nube on tube types)

As I look across the audio scene, I see the most excitement and energy in three areas:

• Headphones
• Turntables; and
• Computer (‘music server’) playback

What about you?

Bob

Dr Dre Bemoans “Decimation of Sound” (Video)

Well, I guess that we should applaud any and all efforts to raise the quality of reproduced sound. As such, here’s the latest effort to mainstream high fidelity (again)….

Click image to view video.

Thanks, Aaron!

Krell Founder Launches New Very-High-End Company

Dan D’Agostino has a new company: Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems.

And his first product is – surprise – a mega amplifier! And a beauty it is (pic below)…

Sporting 300 wpc, very fast transistors, and a unique industrial design, the 90-pound monoblocks retail for $42K.

A preamp is in the works.

I will try to get a stack for a BAAS event in 2011….

Bob

Bose Bets Big on Audio in New HDTV

Bose, that most (in)famous name in high-end audio, is betting big that the audio features of its new TV will allow premium pricing.

The 46″ ‘VideoWave’ sports a fancy tuned-pipe sound system a la many of Bose’s other products.

However, at a list price of over $5K, the set will have to compete with some very fine TV’s in the $1K-$2K range. You don’t have to be an audio expert to figure that a lot of goodness can be bought with the $3K-$4K delta:

• Oppo ‘audiophile’ Bluray – $1K
• Very decent amp – $500
• Competent 2-way mini-towers – $2K
• Small sub – $500

Hmmm…I hope that Bose TV sounds good, ’cause I know the setup above will!

More info from the WSJ here.

And even more, including video, here.

Bob

3d Audio: The Best Surround Sound Ever? (Video)

Edgar Choueiri, a Princeton University astrophysicist, is now working in field of “3D audio.” The work is being done in Princeton’s 3-D Audio and Applied Acoustics Lab (an organization that I don’t remember from my time at Princeton), and funded by “Project X” (don’t ask). The video shows a New Jersey audiophile being won over by the experience. Enjoy.

Bob

First reported by Nyier Abdou of the NJ The Star-Ledger (link here).

Sumiko to Hold Open House in Berkeley

See the flyer below for details of Sumiko’s Open House (9/15/2010):

Home Audio Market Forecast Raised – Really!

As documented in an interesting article published by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA, think CES), sales forecasts for home audio over the next decade have been raised. Wow.

Basically, folks have all bought their flat-screen TV’s and iPods and such, and now industry analysts think they’ll turn to audio. Nice.

Of course, what this means to the ‘high end’ market remains to be seen. But I doubt if it’s bad.

Quotables:

A few years ago, most everyone seemed excited about the the iPod. Everyone, that is, except the majority home audio manufacturers. Their reluctance was somewhat understandable. For a while, it seemed as though the increasingly old-fashioned concept of listening to music through a set of speakers on a system powered by an amplified receiver was going the way of the raptor.

and

A resurgence of LPs-fueled by nostalgia as well as a reaction to the often atrocious sound quality of audio files – kept the old-fashioned fire burning….

and the punchline:

CEA’s Industry Forecast anticipates home audio revenues of $915 million by the end of this year, a 4 percent year-over-year increase and a refreshing jump from the $863 million we forecasted in January.

Great news…

Bob

Audio Objectivist Makes Case at AES 2009 (Video)

Most audiophiles who have frequented the forums know Ethan Winer – both as sound trap manufacturer and audiophile skeptic.

While the video below is more about the latter, I think that there are a few good learning points as well….

(Note: If the geeky video below isn’t your thing, try this one – with Mr. Winer on cello!)