Surroundablog

NIN Injecting Steroids Into Radiohead Model

I just received this from digitalmusicnews.com...now I'm going straight to the download site...Inch Nails identity Trent Reznor is now injecting steroids into the Radiohead, name-your-price sales model. Reznor started offering copies of his latest release, Ghosts I-IV, on Sunday night with a range of free and paid options.

Fans can download the first nine MP3s of the collection for free, complete with a 40-page, PDF booklet. The larger, 36-song collection is $5, a package that includes various formats.

A number of physical configurations are also offered, coupled with digital versions. A double-disc digipak, which includes a 16-page booklet, is available for $10. A four-disc version, which includes a data DVD and Blu-ray video content, is positioned for $75.

An ultra-premium version is also available for $300, in a limited edition. The numbered top tier is a four-vinyl, four-disc collection, and includes special prints, packaging and a Reznor autograph.

More information at ghosts.nin.com.

Recession Keeps Knocking, Implications Await Music Industry

Editor's note: I just received this bit from digitalmusicnews.com. Expect the worst...especially for the future of multichannel audio. Although the U.S. Federal Reserve has dropped the prime lending rate by 75 points to 3.5%...futures forecast an additional 500 point loss. Incidentally...75 basis points is the biggest reduction since 1984....which further fuels the recession arguement. The Bank of Canada shaved 25 points to a 4% level. It's gonna be another rough ride...for everyone...including the prestigious parlour labels who will follow suit by cancelling future releases and projects.

Americans are now bracing for a potentially serious economic recession, one sparked by a housing and sub-prime mortgage lending meltdown. During the recent holiday season, consumers displayed healthy purchasing levels, though household incomes may suffer more pressure ahead.

So how does that affect the music industry?  Within the recording sector, disruptive changes are already well underway, though a broader economic downturn could exacerbate existing drops.  Already, US-based album sales are 10 percent below 2007 figures, potentially part of a rocky ride in 2008.  "This could be an incredibly tough year," one major label executive admitted.

On the digital side, investment in newer startups could cool, though smarter, bootstrapped companies may proliferate.  And the live performance sector may also feel a hit, thanks to reduced levels of disposable income.  The last major recession in 2001 lasted roughly eight months, though economists are projecting a more severe downturn ahead.

Just recently, the White House floated a $150 billion stimulus proposal, and the Federal Reserve has been steadily lowering interest rates to spark spending.  But Wall Street remains unimpressed by the recovery prospects.  This year alone, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has dropped nearly 10 percent on bearish sentiment.

Grammy Awards 2008

The Grammy's are just around the corner. I figured it was time to single out the only category that surroundoids care about and hope to open up a dialogue on which one is deserving and which ones were missed. Remember: the eligibility period  is from October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007.

Best Surround Sound Album
(For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.)

• At War With The Mystics 5.1
  The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann, surround mix engineers; The Flaming Lips &
  Dave Fridmann, surround mastering engineers; The Flaming Lips & Dave Fridmann,
  surround producers (The Flaming Lips)
  [Warner Bros.]
  
• Fear Of A Blank Planet
  Steven Wilson, surround mix engineer; Darcy Proper, surround mastering engineer;
  Porcupine Tree, surround producers (Porcupine Tree)
  [Atlantic Records]
  
• Grechaninov: Passion Week
  John Newton, surround mix engineer; Jonathan Cooper, surround mastering
  engineer; Blanton Alspaugh, surround producer (Charles Bruffy, Kansas City
  Chorale & Phoenix Bach Choir)
  [Chandos Records]
  
• Love
  Paul Hicks, surround mix engineer; Tim Young, surround mastering engineer;
  George Martin & Giles Martin, surround producers (The Beatles)
  [Apple/Capitol Records]
  
• Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5; Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis; Serenade To Music
  Michael Bishop, surround mix engineer; Michael Bishop, surround mastering
  engineer; Elaine Martone, surround producer (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony
  Orchestra & Chamber Chorus)
  [Telarc]

HD AUDIO DOWNLOADS IN 5.1 SURROUND AND STEREO SOUND

HD AUDIO DOWNLOADS IN 5.1 SURROUND AND STEREO SOUND…iTRAX.COM LAUNCHES!

(Los Angeles) November 10, 2007 – Mark Waldrep, Ph.D., the man behind the only all-HD Audio label AIX Records announces the launch of iTrax.com, the world’s first digital music download service to offer REAL HD Audio in multiple mixing perspectives.

According to Waldrep, “iTrax.com is a sort of an iTunes for people that care about sound quality, surround music and don’t want to be restricted in the use of the music they download. This new web site allows music lovers, home theater owners and surround music fans to access music that has actually been recorded, mixed and mastered in high-definition – most “so-called” HD Audio downloads are really standard definition tracks delivered through the web. iTrax.com delivers better than CD quality digital downloads for the first time, without copying restrictions…and in 5.1 surround.”

The Tape Project Launches Audiophile Series

The Tape Project's inaugural release is The Number White by jazz singer Jacqui Naylor.

San Francisco, CA (November 15, 2007)--As reported in Pro Sound News (July 2007), Paul Stubblebine Mastering and valve electronics experts Bottlehead Corp. have introduced The Tape Project, a new label and music delivery format. The Tape Project is presenting a series of analog releases on reel-to-reel tape that aims to offer an analog listening experience that comes as close as possible to that of hearing the original master tape.

Slated for 10 releases per year and sold primarily on a subscription basis, the 15 ips half-track stereo, reel-to-reel recordings encompass a range of musical styles, the first of which include classical, jazz, blues, Americana and roots music. The company is recommending tape machines and specifications for playback, as well as offering its own specially modified tape decks with custom valve components from Bottlehead Corp.

"The only two requirements for the music that we release are that the master must exist on analog tape and that the music be great," says Stubblebine, who founded the company with mastering engineer Michael Romanowski and Bottlehead Corp owner Dan Schmalle. "That it be music that moves the listener. That it be music that can stand the test of time, and continue to bring satisfaction for years."

The company has secured the rights to release a variety of extraordinary recordings. The first 10 titles are:

1) The Number White by jazz singer Jacqui Naylor

2) Dave Alvin's Blackjack David

3) Arnold Overtures, original music by Malcolm Arnold with the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded by Grammy-winning engineer and audiophile equipment designer Keith Johnson

4) The album that established Robert Cray as a strong new voice in the blues, False Accusations

5) Raphael Fruhbeck de Burgos with the New Philharmonia Orchestra performing Albeniz - Suite Espanola

6) David Oistrakh and the London Symphony Orchestra with music by Bruch and Hindemith

7) Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra performing Exotic Dances from the Opera (Saint-Saëns, Strauss, Rabaud)

8) Bill Evans Waltz for Debby live at the Village Vanguard in 1961

9) Mose Allison in 1959's Creek Bank, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder

10) The incomparable Sonny Rollins in Saxophone Colossus

There are two tiers of subscription costs for The Tape Project: $1,200 US for a selection of six of the ten releases per year, or charter subscriptions of $2,000 US per year to get all 10 releases. Each album will also be sold individually for $329 US to non-subscribers. Each tape release comes in a custom-designed box with full-size color artwork and custom tape flanges inscribed with serial numbers for charter subscribers.

Michael Romanowski, revealing the tech behind the analog says, "We have assembled the highest-quality duplicating system that has ever been attempted. The result, for those with ears to hear, is the most involving and satisfying experience that has ever come from reproduced music. I work with master tapes everyday, and these releases are sonically everything that a master tape has to offer. And now listeners get to have this experience in their own home."

Noting specifics about the playback systems, Dan Schmalle adds, "In order to play these tapes correctly, a machine must meet the following requirements: It must play 15 ips half-track stereo, and must be set to the IEC curve--formerly known as the CCIR curve. There are many machines that meet these specs, but many that don't. We have looked at the various machines made for home use and decided to adapt the Technics RS1500 family." The company offers an on-line database of tape machines that meet the requirements.

The tape machines offered by The Tape Project, approximately $7,500 US each, are supplied with a custom playback head designed by Flux Magnetics. Schmalle asked Flux Magnetics to design a head strictly optimized for 15 ips, with no compromise for other speeds.

The playback head is mated with the latest generation playback electronics, developed by Paul Joppa and Dan Schmalle of Bottlehead Corp. exclusively for The Tape Project. There is an optional wireless remote control for the Technics RS1500 offered by The Tape Project.

The company has started an online forum for customers to request albums they would like to own at
www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php#1

The Tape Project
www.tapeproject.com

Paul Stubblebine Mastering
www.paulstubblebine.com

Michael Romanowski
www.michaelromanowski.com

Bottlehead Corp.
www.bottlehead.com

Radiohead makes labels' history...but don't hold your breath for Paranoid Surroundoid

Just 38 percent of Radiohead fans paid for the latest album, according to data recently supplied by comScore. The band allowed fans to name their price for the downloadable release, "In Rainbows", a closely-watched experiment. While most fans grabbed the album for nothing, a significant percentage paid modest amounts. According to the data, 17 percent paid an average of $4 for the album, while 12 percent paid between $8 and $12.

The result deflates the excitement surrounding the effort, heralded by many as a groundbreaking model. It also challenges the levels of loyalty that established bands can expect from longtime fans. But 38 percent still represents a meaningful number, and earnings appear respectable. Radiohead sold well past one million units on the album, and the band no longer pays a label cut.

Elsewhere, large numbers of fans continue to grab the album outside of the Radiohead website on free file-sharing networks, another unexpected development. In related Radiohead-room..

Radiohead has already said goodbye to EMI and its subsidiary, Parlophone. But the major label is now jumping into the energy surrounding the latest Radiohead release, "In Rainbows". Just recently, the group reissued a number of Radiohead classics and bundled them into a convenient box set. The albums - Pablo Honey, The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail To The Thief, and I Might Be Wrong - are now being offered for pre-order on radioheadstore.com.

Parlophone is also taking the extra step of offering the entire back catalog in the form of a 4GB USB stick. The stick contains WAV files and digital artwork, and looks like the Radiohead bear logo. Alternatively, fans also have access to the catalog in a bundled pack of 320kbps MP3 downloads. "We are particularly excited about the USB stick, which gives fans an easy and portable way to carry the box set and provides another way of bridging the world between on-line and off-line content," said Miles Leonard, managing director at Parlophone. The various configurations start at £34.99 ($72.83), but unlike In Rainbows, consumer cannot name their own price.

O.A.R. Live Releases Mixed On Blue Sky 5.1 Monitors

Editor's note: I just received this in my in-box.....its from Prosoundnews.com and I'm sure you'll chuckle at their new-found wisdom. We the faithful are dwindling....but hanging in there....up the channels for the 2nd Genesis box set! O.A.R. Live Releases Mixed On Blue Sky 5.1 Monitors

New York (August 23, 2007)--Jeff Juliano, an engineer/mixer whose dozen-year career includes credits such as Jason Mraz, John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band, recently mixed O.A.R.'s new live CD/DVD, Live From Madison Square Garden (Atlantic Records/Everfine) with the help of Blue Sky’s Sky System One.

“I got turned on to Blue Sky when we were getting ready to do the O.A.R. project,” recalls Juliano. “I’d been a [Yamaha] NS-10 guy for years, using them with a subwoofer. That’s what I trusted. I’d been reading a lot about the Blue Skys and a few guys that I really respect are using them. I hooked the system up and immediately liked what I heard. What’s funny is that I went back to mix the stereo version of the O.A.R. record after I’d done the DirecTV mixes--which I’d done with my NS-10s--and immediately heard some stuff that I didn’t like with those mixes. I had a little too much high end in my mixes and that shined through in the Blue Skys. So I finished out the stereo mixes on the O.A.R. record with the Blue Sky’s 5.1 Sky System One using it as a 2.1 system and then immediately flopped into the 5.1 sessions. The Blue Sky’s are the most true powered monitors I’ve ever used--and I’ve used a lot of these things.”

Working in 5.1 was a new experience for Juliano and he was admittedly intimidated by it. “But knowing that there are no rules in 5.1 freed me up to make it whatever I thought it ought to be,” he says. “I took the approach of mixing it like I was standing in the center of the floor for that concert. It was so easy to do that with these speakers because they’re not over-hyped and the midrange is solid. A lot of powered monitors I fear to use because they hype the high-end, duck the mid-range, and have a false low end.”

Mixing with a subwoofer was old hat for Juliano. “I don’t know how people work with the 6.5-inch speakers and not know what’s going on below that frequency cut-off of that speaker. The Blue Sky bass management system is spot-on. You can feel the kick in my room; you can feel the bass. It’s thumping but it’s real. There’s nothing worse than having a subwoofer with a system that doesn’t have a bass management system like this and is not calibrated correctly. Bands in the studio get to hear all the drums and the bass and it’s huge, but then when they get in the car it’s a complete disaster, because when they were listening with a subwoofer that was calibrated too loud, it’s basically giving them false low end. But the Blue Sky’s are spot-on. What you hear is what you get.”

Blue Sky
www.abluesky.com

Chicago Bluesfest 2007

I just got back from the festive Bluesfest in Chicago. What a kick....drank really expensive beer..saw the likes of Cadillac Zack, Sexy Sadie, Big Jay, Jimmy Johnson, Carlos Johnson, Billy Branch, Ronnie Baker Brooks and his brother Wayne. I also sat in Buddy Guy's Legends until all hours of the night drinking Jack, feasting on Catfish and Okra while being entertained by some 200 bikers on a poker run. The highlight had to be Alvin Younglood Hart's solo acoustic set....check out the photo gallery in the right hand index..

John Lennon's Legend coming soon in 5.1

Note: now available for pre-order from Elusive Disc... A special Limited Edition of Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon contains a CD + DVD in a limited run of only 30,000 units to be available to the US.

The CD tracklist speaks for itself featuring 20 timeless songs from John Lennon's solo career.

The DVD contains original videos (restored for DVD issue) plus productions newly created for the 2003 DVD release, with all music remixed from the original masters in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. The disc also includes six special features.

Highlights include the 2003 videos "Working Class Hero" (shot at John's childhood home with newsreel Beatles footage and coverage from the worldwide vigils held after his death) and "Just Like Starting Over" directed by Joe Pytka.

Special features include alternative versions of Working Class Hero and Imagine, previously unreleased John & Yoko footage from the 2003 DVD release, animated John Lennon line drawings and an instrumental version of "Imagine" with picture gallery.

Features:
• DVD: DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Selections:
CD
1. Imagine
2. Instant Karma!
3. Mother (Single Edit)
4. Jealous Guy
5. Power to the People
6. Cold Turkey
7. Love
8. Mind Games
9. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night
10. #9 Dream
11. Stand By Me
12. (Just Like) Starting Over
13. Woman
14. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
15. Watching the Wheels
16. Nobody Told Me
17. Borrowed Time
18. Working Class Hero
19. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
20. Give Peace a Chance

DVD
Audio Tracks: DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - Tracks same as CD
1. Working Class Hero (Anthology Version) a video made for the Anthology Project
2. Slippin' & Slidin' - live performance from 1975
3. Imagine (Live) - recorded on April 18, 1975 - Lennon's last performance
4. Hair Peace - spoken word
5. Everybody Had a Hard Year - excerpt from John & Yoko's Film #6
6. Animations
7. Gallery

Is Apple Killing Off High-End Audio and Home Theater?

Editor's note: here's a nifty story sure to cool your cockles...or something or other. It's by Jerry Del Colliano and it just ran on avrev.com

The social impact of Apple’s iPod can’t be denied. In one modest handful of technology anyone can carry around and or play any one of 10,000 of their favorite songs, TV shows, movies and beyond. It has changed the way people listen to music as well as the way they buy it. Downloadable music has become a three billion dollar per year business as compared to nine billion per year for the domestic sales of Compact Discs. In fact the iPod is likely the most important thing to happen to recorded music since the CD.

But all isn’t well in the world of consumer electronics – especially at the high-end. Apple, known in the computer world as the high-end solution with entry level computers that start at $2,500 (without a monitor), have taken the idea of buying and viewing music and movies to the ghetto, and along with it has gone the profit margins for specialty dealers as well as many of America’s best independent record stores. Music from iTunes, even to the untrained ear, sounds significantly worse than it does on CD, yet an iPod seems to be the audio source of choice over DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-ray or HD DVD. More importantly, the music from iTunes is recorded in stereo and not in any of the popular surround sound formats that tried to gain a foothold on the failed audio disc formats of DVD-Audio and SACD. Flat HDTVs are one reason to head to the stereo shop (one dealers can’t seem to make any money on), but why buy a new pair of speakers when all you listen to is stripped down music on your iPod? CONTINUE