Apr 1, 2005 12:00 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly

ONLINE AUDIO SALES JUMP UP
According to the IFPI (www.ifpi.org) Digital Music Report 2005, music fans downloaded more than 200 million tracks last year in the U.S. and Europe — up from 20 million in 2003 — bringing in much-needed revenue to the record companies. Analyst Jupiter Research estimates that the digital music market in the U.S. is worth $330 million in 2004 and is expected to double its value this year. Additionally, the report showed that the number of legal online sites has grown from 180 to 230 and the number of tracks available has doubled — totaling more than 1 million.

NEW SITE: LASVEGASPROAUDIO.COM
TransAudio Group has launched LasVegasProAudio.com, a conduit between busy pro audio professionals and boutique high-end equipment manufacturers. Offering select imported lines available exclusively in the U.S. through TransAudio Group — including ATC, Brauner, SoundField and Daking — LasVegasProAudio.com offers immediate assistance to procuring gear without visiting retail outlets or calling a sales representative.

NEW SITE: MP3TUNES.COM
Unlike other online music services, MP3tunes.com (launched by former MP3.com CEO Michael Robertson) operates without any digital rights management protection and offers tracks in MP3 format so users can buy the 192k music on any digital music player or computer (Windows, Mac, Linux) and burn — unlimited! — songs onto CDs. Offering more than 100,000 tracks at launch from indie labels and artists, tracks cost $0.88 and albums are $8.88; there are no minimum payments or monthly service plans.

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Mastering Cubase 4

Electronic Musician magazine and Thomson Course Technology PTR have joined forces again to create the second volume in their Personal Studio Series, Mastering Steinberg's Cubase(tm). Edited and produced by the staff of Electronic Musician, this special issue is not only a must-read for users of Cubase(tm) software, but it also delivers essential information for anyone recording/producing music in a personal-studio. Order now $12.95

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