mp3s

UK record label First Word Records is offering DJs the best of both worlds – vinyl records that include downloadable MP3s – with a new service, DigiWax.

The records are double-weight vinyl discs that come with a unique code. With the code, buyers can download an unprotected, 320Kbps MP3 version of the music, to use however they like. The approach offers DJs and audiophiles the best of both analog and digital media.

First Word cofounder Andy H is a DJ and knows the difficulties and dangers of traveling with rare discs.

“The sheer weight and size of vinyl meant that I had to be very selective of what I took abroad to DJ,” says DJ and First Word cofounder Andy H. “By contrast, digital files weigh nothing, and if you have a backup, they are impossible to lose.”

The MP3 downloads are DRM-free.

“Once a customer has paid for the track, they should be free to play it in any player,” says First Word cofounder Aly Gillani. “Making a legal, paid-for version of the file less useful than a copied or pirated one doesn’t make sense.”

At the recent 2006 NAMM Winter Show, iKEY-Audio, introduced the iKEY PLUS – a device that records live audio and converts it into high quality MP3 and WAV files and saves them directly to an iPod or another USB compatible storage device.

While incorporating the technology of the original iKEY, the new iKEY PLUS takes a step forward by including a line/ phono/ mic input, a headphone jack for real-time monitoring and front LEDs that serve as a VU meter for sound level indication.

“iKEY-Audio will continue to support the needs of a new generation of consumers,” says Gemini Chief Executive Officer Artie Cabasso. “The iKEY PLUS is a prime example of our ability to create products that are on the next level of audio recording innovation.” The iKEY PLUS has more applications than ever, allowing the user to digitize a vinyl or tape collection, capture a powerful guitar lick on an MP3 player or record a live speech or seminar. The product retails for $279.95.

More information is available at the iKey site.

Babes, guns and MP3s appear to be a winning combination for British audiobook publisher AudioBooksForFree. They are using “a winning trio of Russian glamour models” to market their unusual AK-MP3, a portable MP3 player build into the ammunition clip of a Kalashnikov automatic rifle.

According to ex-rock-star-turn-advertising-tycoon Andrey Koltakov, “100 top Russian models competed in a grilling contest to become the next Kalashnikov Girl.”

“I was ring-fencing the necessary funds for upgrading our AK-MP3 player from 20GB to 40GB and for incorporating internet P2P radio,.” says AudioBooksForFree CTO Peter Morris. “But as usual, our directors spent almost all of it on the semi-naked girls instead. We will probably have lots of complaints, instead of serious commercial exposure”.

“Two years ago, when we unveiled AK-MP3 with our first original Kalashnikov Girl, we experienced a level of complaints from American Feminists” say CEO Ruslan Fedorovsky. “But we have managed to reassure and persuade them. Now they share our beliefs that a woman with an AK-47 is very much empowered and cannot possibly be exploited or put upon in any way.”

via Podcasting News

The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and Thomson have announced the addition of two new elements to the MP3 Surround demo software: MP3 SX (MP3 Stereo eXtended) allows enhancing MP3 stereo files for multi-channel playback and Ensonido provides portable MP3 Surround sound using stereo headphones.

MP3 SX enables listening to two-channel content in surround and guarantees playback with a stable localization of vocalists and solo instruments even off the sweet spot. Additionally, MP3 SX presents the feeling of envelopment by using the ambience sounds already present in the stereo source.

Traditionally, surround sound has been primarily limited to loudspeaker setups in living rooms or theaters. With the Ensonido technology, the individual listening experience through portable MP3 Surround players and stereo headphones is enhanced. To achieve this, an acoustic model simulates the natural transmission of multi-channel sound from the loudspeakers to the human ear.

MP3 Surround enables high-quality surround sound at bit rates comparable to those currently used to encode stereo MP3 material. It is backwards compatible to stereo MP3; a legacy MP3 device plays back MP3 Surround as high quality stereo.

MP3 Surround was developed by Fraunhofer IIS in collaboration with Agere Systems, introduced in December 2004 and is licensed by Thomson, co-inventors of the MP3 codec.

Demo software of these two new enhancements to the MP3 Surround technology are now available and can be downloaded for free at www.all4mp3.com.

MP3tunes, a new digital music store started by Michael Robertson, founder and former CEO of MP3.com, has opened at www.mp3tunes.com. Robertson, CEO of MP3tunes, unveiled his new venture at the Desktop Summit in San Diego this week. Songs are available for download from the MP3tunes site for $0.88 per song or $8.88 per album.

All music sold at MP3tunes will work on any computer and with any portable player including popular models like the Apple iPod, Dell DJ and Creative Nomad. At www.mp3tunes.com, consumers never run the risk of losing their music – songs that have been purchased are permanently stored in a “music locker” and accessible from any Web browser. Even if a computer crashes or a user switches machines, the music is saved and can be accessed without repurchasing.

“Digital music sales make up less than two percent of the total music business because many consumers know they aren’t really buying the music – they’re renting it from a big corporation that controls what software, computer and portable devices they can use,” Robertson said. “A consumer-friendly digital music store that provides true music ownership to paying customers can triple the digital music business almost overnight. MP3tunes gives the consumers more value because they can use the music on all their computers and MP3 players – whatever brand they may have. And it’s permanently stored in their music locker, so they never lose the music they paid for.” Read more…