Industry Talk

With the release in the UK of XP Media Center Edition, Microsoft aim to make Windows PCs a modern equivalent of the radiogram — the heart of a complete music and video home. entertainment system.

The process of clearing samples can be financially crippling, as well as causing havoc with release schedules. Rinse Productions specialise in helping producers and labels by recreating problematic samples to order.

Editor In Chief Paul White explains why hardware is one way of reducing piracy in the music software industry.

Music industry sources suggest that soon all CDs will have built-in copy protection, and plans are underway to fit PCs with a chip that will police audio use. Will this protect creative rights, or become a barrier to creativity?

We explore the idea of understanding technology in terms of layers and abstractions, and how this makes it possible for a protocol like MIDI to be communicated via USB, Firewire and even Bluetooth.

We look at the reliability of hard drives and investigate some innovative video-related products from Sony, which could soon be commonplace in the audio world.

Editor In Chief Paul White ponders a future full of virtual pop stars...

With the recent announcement of Yamaha's keenly priced 01X Music Production Studio, it looks as though mLAN, the Firewire-based protocol for multi-channel digital audio and MIDI, might be about to come of age. We take an early look at the new system.

Production music will never be glamorous, but it can be very lucrative. As head of music production at one of the UK's largest libraries, Tim Geraghty is in the perfect position to offer advice to SOS readers with an eye on this market.

Unquestionably the best-known name in synth design, in 2003 Bob Moog was still creating innovative electronic instruments. With the new Voyager synth about to hit the shops and the rights to use his own name restored, his star seems to be on the rise once again. SOS chats to this founding father...

There are many reasons why the digital delivery of media hasn't replaced traditional physical methods, but could one reason be that files just aren't very collectable?

Propellerhead, makers of the unique Reason software studio, have come from nowhere to award-winning developer status in just eight years. We catch up with one of the key men behind this small but influential Swedish company.