Industry Talk

The music industry's down, but your passion for audio is still high. Fortunately, there are alternatives to working in the studio that can feed your fervency and still make you a living — perhaps even a better one.

There's some amazing music being made in bedrooms these days. And bringing it to the wider public is the job of the Tigerbeat6 label, whose stars include label founder Kid 606 and Rjyan Kidwell, aka Cex.

SOS talks to a British designer who thinks audio in the 21st century is still best served by tube.

Hard drives are getting bigger and that can only be good, right? Well, up to a point...

If you've never heard top-quality recording gear with your own ears, what reference do you have when assessing mid-price and budget gear?

Chinese manufacturing has brought the price of microphones down to levels unthinkable a few years ago. But does the quality suffer accordingly? SOS visited one of the biggest mic companies in China to find out...

The success of Apple's iTunes Music Store has revitalised online music sales, and not just for the major record labels. Plenty of home-based musicians are now selling music digitally, and making real money. Find out how...

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.

Could DVD kill the CD but save the music industry? Cutting Edge wouldn't be surprised...

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...

In this final part of our series, we recap on the key things you need to consider before you start your own label, and take you through the process to the first release.

The shape of the music-technology market changed dramatically in 2002, with the two largest German music software companies gaining new ownership from American corporations. Have Steinberg reached the summit with Pinnacle?

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?