This Week in News

It's been a while since we've rounded up the latest music-tech-policy news. It's easy to get distracted — in case you didn't notice, there's an election going on! Anyway, here's This Week In News: The Halloween Edition.

From MP3 to Audio in 3D
Karlheinz Brandenburg of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology helped develop the MP3 format more than a decade ago, setting the stage for a new era of music consumption. Lately, he's been adding a new dimension to his audio achievements — technology to deliver sound in true 3D.
Jon Healey, L.A. Times

First-Week Blowout: Wal-Mart Pushes AC/DC Past 780,000
Wal-Mart helped AC/DC sell more than 780,000 copies of Black Ice last week, the fruits of an exclusive deal. (Album not available as digital downloads.)
Digital Music News

Lime Wire Signs Lewis Black's Record Label
The renegade file-sharing service will sell Comedy Central albums in its download store. Will the major labels be next?
Devin Leonard, CNN

Finding a Gold Mine in Digital Ditties
Joel Moss Levinson always knew he had a calling in life. But it took cheap video cameras, YouTube and some desperate corporations to show him what it was.
Stephanie Cifford, New York Times

RealNetworks Boosts Music Subscribers; Rhapsody Up
After a period of stagnant growth, RealNetworks has now reached a total of two million music subscribers.
Digital Music News

Latest Staffing Casualty: eMusic Triggers Layoffs
Independent music store eMusic is now reducing its staff, according to details surfacing late Wednesday. The company confirmed a ten percent cut to the Wall Street Journal, based on a top-level staff of 100. The reductions were characterized as a proactive move ahead of continued economic malaise and resulting pressure on subscriptions.
Peter Kafka, Digital Music News

All You Need Is a Digital Guitar to Join the Beatles
The Beatles made their first foray into digital music yesterday with a video game that will allow fans to play along to their entire catalogue. The surviving members of the band have been resistant to new technology, refusing to allow their music to be downloaded from online stores such as iTunes. Instead, in the band's first significant move into the digital world, fans will be able to transform into any member of the quartet and sing, drum and strum along with their favourite Beatles songs.
Murad Ahmed, Times UK

The Monster Mash(up)
YouTube