Industry Talk

Dave Wright puts forward the case for noise, genuine old hiss, interference, wind and grind — the full mechanics of the recording process captured in all their glory...

This month Dave Shapton reports on the latest in broadcast video, from the International Broadcasting Conference in Amsterdam, and predicts how these innovations will be used by musicians as promotional tools. He also takes a look at the future of software-only video editing.

In the first part of a two-part series, Gordon Reid charts the rise of EMS and their creation of the world's first self-...

This special November 2000 edition includes a 32-page supplement looking back over those early days, making this this the biggest SOS of all time. Selected leaders, highlights, and advertisements reveal how the hi-tech music recording field has evolved and how expectations (and prices) have radically changed through the years...

There was quite a buzz about mLAN at the recent American AES audio trade show. Paul Wiffen reports on the latest developments.

Disk storage may well be the future of recording but, as Dave Shapton explains, it pays to be aware of some of the potential pitfalls before entrusting your precious original master recordings to such media.

Sean Clough laments the constraints which the click track has imposed upon musical expression.

After looking at the development of and theory behind mLAN, Paul Wiffen continues his series on the new FireWire-based music and audio protocol with a practical look at the effect it will have on the gear in our studios and how we connect it together.

This month, Dave Shapton suggests that emerging compression techniques may actually improve our audio and multimedia experiences.

Paul Sellars challenges the idea that MIDI + Audio sequencing has had a negative effect upon musical proficiency.

Last month, Paul Wiffen explained how he heard about mLAN — a new data-transfer protocol which will allow us to send audio, MIDI, and even video down one FireWire connector. This month, he finds out from Yoshi Sawada of Yamaha's mLAN development team how the system is likely to work in practice.

Steve Watts argues that software manufacturers have exploited their customers' tolerances for shoddy, bug-laden products for long enough.

This month Dave Shapton compares his vision of the future for digital music with that of Microsoft...

I am a second‑year A‑level student doing Music and Electronics and have been a keen musician for 11 years. I...

Jon Thompson explains how online distribution can work for new music — but only if you get in at the ground floor...

A new interfacing standard is just around the corner which can carry digital audio, MIDI, timecode and hard drive communications down a single cable, in addition to the digital video and multimedia signals which the likes of Sony, Apple and others are already sending down it. Paul Wiffen, long an advocate of high-speed digital interfaces, investigates and finds that he may just have a new religion to evangelise.

The music business is in the midst of legal battles instigated by MP3. Dave Shapton argues that these problems are partly due to misconceptions about the technology and its consequences for the distribution of music.

Dan Heard wonders why music-shop staff's desire to take your cash isn't matched by a similar willingness to deal with your needs as a musician...

The idea of selling music over the Internet has become hugely popular — but many musicians remain worried about issues such as copywright and publicity for their work. Paul White puts these concerns to the founders of Peoplesound.com, one of the best publicised on-line record companies working with unsigned artists.

Physical modelling is continuing to develop with increases in DSP power. Dave Shapton ponders the possibilities for future music technology applications, and also sees trouble on the Firewire horizon...

Dave Shapton explores copyright issues raised by new digital media and the effect of emerging technologies on the way that music is distributed.