Surroundablog

Lack Points to Tough Years Ahead, More Cost-Cutting

Editor's note: Lack seems to be hinting at further Hi-Rez reduction. In a quiet move last year, Sony-BMG all but eliminated SACD from their vocabulary. Could DualDisc fall next?

Sony BMG chief Andy Lack continued to point to some tough years ahead, with more cost-cutting on the way. While Lack praised the onset of new sales formats like DualDiscs, paid downloads and ringtones, he did not see them driving overall company growth in the next few years. Speaking at the Reuters Telecoms, Media and Technology Summit in Paris last week, Lack commented that the new formats are mainly "staunching the bleeding of the loss of revenue on the top line," with the next few years likely to be lean ones. That will set the stage for even more cost-cutting, with the CEO pointing to "too many lawyers and accountants and too few A&R people on a relative basis."

The comments offer a sobering dose of reality, and raise even more questions about what a major label will look like in five years. According to Andy Lack, that may not be a pretty picture, with the CEO casting a jealous eye towards smaller, independent labels. But the space remains volatile, with mobile music and entrants like Yahoo potentially causing a big revenue pop.

Still, a straight-line projection puts the industry in a tough position in several years, with digital sales outlets showing only modest progress so far. That could set the stage for even more major label consolidation, though a difficult regulatory approval process could discourage a merger attempt.

Pain In The Rears: When You're Not Really "Surrounded"

Editor's note: Here's a contribution from Dave64 whose "had enough" attitude is appropriate for the piece. I'd like to add Steve Hoffman's name to the list of preferred producers simply because his work on John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen", the Animals and the Zombies (although stereo only) are exceptional. I pause though at recommending Hoffman's Herman's Hermits....but that's cause I hate that "Henry the VIII" business. Now if we could only get that Hoffman-ized Buddy Holly SACD instead..

As for other avoidances...stay away from the DTS version of Santana's "Abraxas"...easily the worst sounding multichannel mix ever. Thanks to Dave Frangioni for f****** up a classic...

On to the article..

If you are a regular visitor to this site, you’re more than likely a fan of surround music (and of course a fan of Ron Wheeler’s informative postings and witty comments!). You, like myself, for lack of a better term, “get” multichannel music. You feel that rush of endorphins after a dramatic 360 degree sweep around the room. You lust after the frantic front to rear sweeps and cascades of sound coming from the 5 speakers and thumping subwoofer. You do not subscribe to the “I only have 2 ears, what do I need 6 speakers for” credo. You are probably in the throes of ecstasy the last few weeks with the release of  Porcupine Tree’s Deadwing DVD-A and Dire Straits’ classic Brothers In Arms on SACD. But with these highs also come some lows. As Ron himself has reported, we’ve been subjected to turkeys like Los Lonely Boys’ barely ambient mix and Bruce Springsteens’ Devils and Dust “stereo with about ten seconds or rear activity” mix. Yes, there are some people that just don’t “get” it. These people should not be allowed behind a 5.1 console!

Let’s take a look at the good and bad of the surround mixing brigade.

Internet Surround Music Project to Promote the Creation and Distribution of Multichannel Music Online

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2005--

Coding Technologies, the leader in audio compression for Internet, mobile, and broadcast, today announced the formation of the Internet Surround Music Project with these additional charter members:

• America Online's Winamp® media player
• Cakewalk
• Recording artist Richard Devine
• Jazz Mutant
• Minnetonka Software
• Nasseri Music Business Solutions
• Native Instruments
• Steinberg
• Recording artist Amon Tobin
• Tuner2.com

The Internet Surround Music Project has already started an Internet forum at www.tuner2.com for artists to publish 5.1 surround music and will run contests to encourage aspiring artists.

Recognizing the dynamic that radio has traditionally driven demand for new music formats by providing broad exposure, the Internet Surround Music project has a twofold purpose. The first is to provide a way for artists to get their multichannel music heard by publishing it on the Internet. The second is to encourage more artists to produce content in surround sound by running contests where artist submissions are judged and awarded prizes based on quality, originality, and popularity.

Wish You Were "Wish You Were Here" instead

Roger Waters makes Pink Floyd fans "Les Miserables"...

NEW YORK, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony BMG Masterworks/Columbia Records is proud to announce the release of "Ca Ira" Roger Waters long-awaited "operatic history of the French Revolution," on  SACD on Tuesday, September 27.

The lavish first edition of "Ca Ira," an opera in three acts for full orchestra, soloists and choirs, will include a double SACD DigiPack and a deluxe 60 page four-color booklet including Roger Waters' lyrics based on Etienne Roda-Gil's original French libretto, the original illustrations created by Nadine Roda-Gil, biographies of Waters and the opera's cast, background and production notes on the opera.

Podcasting ponders audio quality...

Editor's note: I've been giving this very little attention. It seems that you too can start your own radio station and sell your soul to advertisers. Questions concerning quality were inevitable as everyone tries to air their favorite "Bitches Sin" track (Strangers on the Shore) to prove once and for all that their taste is better than yours.

Next step..podcasting will separate the men from the boys as those with funds will present the best streams possible and the cool advertisers will line-up to align themselves with the coolest of offerings. To offer the best product, the top-notch casters will play the biggest and latest hits (that everyone rushes out to buy or download) to generate the biggest audiences and largest advertisers. Those revolutionaries better be careful...it sounds like they are on the path to creating commercial radio...

Don't believe me...ebay started out as a revolution...it is now being taken over by huge retailers with sales in the thousands of units..

New York, NY (May 25, 2005)--Podcasts are the latest buzz on the internet; a hybrid of radio and blogging, the homebrewed radio programs can be downloaded and listened to at one's convenience, whether via iPod (hence the name) or some other portable device. Many liken it to Tivo for radio--but the difference is that Tivo records professionally produced broadcast programming, whereas anyone with the most primitive of computers can make a podcast and be heard. As a result, the concepts of audio standards and sound quality have gone out the window even as the burgeoning format is gaining popularity.

There are a lot of people who are still setting up a mic in the middle of a table and using that to capture four or five people for an interview," remarked Karl Montoya, founder of American Podcasting Network. Montoya would certainly know as he's heard a lot of podcasts while looking for shows to fill the programming roster for his new business. A former owner of two AM stations, he sold them to convert to an all-internet radio model, with a goal to offer 50 advertiser-supported programs as free downloads by July.

Zombie-fied DualDisc....scary

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2005--The soundtrack album to The Devil's Rejects, the follow up to Rob Zombie's gritty, violent smash horror hit, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. Written and directed by Zombie, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS reunites the homicidal members of the Firefly family, tracing their bloody flight from an outlaw sheriff hell-bent on revenge...

Deftly blending classic western violence with macabre humor and terrifying suspense, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS is a shocking portrait of outlaw justice and the soundtrack album is as twisted and fascinating as the film itself -- bringing together '70s rock classics, tracks from long-forgotten rocker Terry Reid, country and blues gems, and a rarity from Banjo & Sullivan, the country duo who disappeared following a grisly murder committed by killers depicted in the film. Lions Gate Films will release the film on July 22, 2005 nationwide.

Presented as a dualdisc (one side CD, other side DVD), a first ever for soundtracks, The Devil's Rejects (Hip-O/UMG Soundtracks/UMe), released June 28, 2005, is available in explicit and edited versions. The DVD side includes a 20-minute "Making Of The Devil's Rejects" feature, trailers, a photo gallery and the album in High Resolution Stereo (DVD-Audio players) and Dolby Digital Stereo (standard DVD players). Dialogue snippets and two vintage Banjo & Sullivan radio ads are interspersed on the CD album side.

The rock classics are 1970's "Midnight Rider" from The Allman Brothers Band; "Shambala," the gold Top 5 pop smash from Three Dog Night; "Fooled Around And Fell In Love," Elvin Bishop's gold Top 5 from 1976; "Funk #49," The James Gang's 1970 fave; the Top 40 "Rocky Mountain Way" from Joe Walsh's 1973 post-James Gang solo debut; "Rock On," the 1973 Top 5 from cult pop star David Essex, and "Free Bird," Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1973 cut that is one of the most requested in album rock radio history.

Real World Records Offers Free Download of a DTS Surround Music Track for the First Time

First Record Label to Utilize a DTS 5.1-Channel Track Download for Online Promotion

TWYFORD, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2005--DTS (Digital Theater Systems, Inc.) (NASDAQ:DTSI - News) announces that Real World Records is promoting its new title Moksha by offering a free download of a unique DTS surround music version of the first track of the album. This is the first time that Real World Records has offered a promotional download of a DTS 5.1-channel track, which can be found at http://realworldrecords.com/amjad/.

Fans of the Indian classical music genre raga can easily obtain the seven-minute track from the Real World site by burning the downloaded DTS file onto a CD-R. The CD-R can then be played back in a standard surround sound system with DTS, allowing fans to enjoy the track, by Amjad Ali Khan, for free. The track, "Sandhya," offers an atmospheric surround sound mix by engineer Ben Findlay, who also mixed the live sound on Peter Gabriel's recent tour. Real World describes the composition as having "the age-old flavour of early evening ragas. It's like a twilight moment moving from light into dark, plus an obvious feeling of loneliness."

DualDiscs top chart, divide industry

(Reuters, Monday May 23)

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The DualDisc configuration is racking up impressive sales figures, but is the double-sided CD/DVD combo actually a hit with consumers? That's the question the industry is wrestling with as the number of DualDisc titles from major artists has grown markedly in the last three months. More than 2 million units have been sold to date and more than 200 DualDisc titles are expected to be on the market by the fourth quarter. The configuration now boasts five titles that have scanned more than 125,000 units each. The last four albums to top The Billboard 200 -- including current No. 1, "Stand Up" from RCA's Dave Matthews Band -- have all been DualDisc titles. Two of those albums -- "...Something to Be" from Atlantic's Rob Thomas and "Devils & Dust" from Columbia's Bruce Springsteen -- were exclusively released in the DualDisc format. The others have been sent to market as both a CD and a DualDisc. About 35% of Dave Matthews Band's first-week sales were DualDisc, sources say.

Can I get some wheels on that 5.1 chair....?

Editor's note..now if I could only get my wheelchair retrofitted.. Designer Graham Hufton sits in his PowerPlay 5.1 Media Chair, on display at the   Empower booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles Friday, May 20, 2005. As the name suggests, this $999 chair is the center of a surround sound stereo system that'll make video explosions rumble through your entire body.

The setup remains a prototype, a black and tubular metal piece of furniture best suited for only the most macho of bachelor's pads. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Production Company Takes Center Stage With Its 100th DualDisc

LOS ANGELES, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Independent company 5.1 Production Services, long a leader in the music industry's evolution toward multimedia content, made history today with the completion of its 100th DualDisc title, Lauren Ellis's "Feels Like Family."

Until now, Los Angeles-based 5.1 Production Services has been one of the music industry's best-kept secrets. But as demonstrated by a discography of over 300 DVD-Video and DVD-Audio titles by artists including Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Sting, Outkast, Usher, R. Kelly, Rob Thomas and The Foo Fighters, the company is rapidly shedding that status.