In Tuesday’s (12/15) PC World, Kirk McElhearn takes a look at multiple download options for classical music lovers. “In early December, Apple announced a huge iTunes Pass featuring most of the New York Philharmonic’s 2009-2010 season. … The New York Philharmonic was one of the first major symphony orchestras to embrace digital distribution of concerts with the DG concert series, and it now considers that recording and distributing music by download is the norm. iTunes isn’t the only game in town for downloading classical music, however. …With the current popularity of digital downloads, a number of Websites selling classical music have sprung up, and many orchestras and labels—either on their own or in groups—have started selling music by download from their Websites. … Fewer orchestras are being recorded these days by major labels, as the cost of recording far outweighs the profits made from limited sales. The Philadelphia Orchestra, for example, sells a wide range of recordings as does the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the latter selling lossless, high-resolution and surround-sound files in addition to MP3s.” The article surveys a variety of online recording technologies and distributors.
Posted December 16, 2009
