Category Archives for "MI/Audio Business"
Lossless Bluetooth Audio Is Here – Or Is It?
A while ago I posted about the new Bluetooth LE standard, which supposedly would finally bring lossless wireless audio to the world. If you want to wire up your headphones, you can easily listen to CD-quality or hi-res audio, but putting on those Apple Airpod Max’s or earbuds were a different story. But we’re beginning […]
Continue readingA Report On The Good And Bad Of Anaheim NAMM 2022
Is bigger really better? Maybe not, if the latest NAMM 2022 is any indication. I spent the better part of a day at the show in Anaheim, so I thought I’d report a little of what I saw. If you think that the timing for the show is off, you’re completely right. Usually NAMM is […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitar , Hardware , MI/Audio Business by Bobby Owsinski
The Story Behind How Guitar Distortion Was Born
If you’re a guitar player, chances are you’re in love with the distorted sound that’s so easy to create these days, thanks to a variety of amps, pedals and plugins. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a time when guitar distortion didn’t exist, but believe it, there was a time when there was no such thing. […]
Continue reading10 Examples Of How RCA Was The Apple Of Its Day
A while back I read a great post on the Daily Beast about how the old RCA company (Radio Corporation of America) was actually Apple way before Apple came into existence. Of course, that means that there were numerous similarities between the company that were pretty impressive. For instance: RCA founder David Sarnoff was the original Steve Jobs. He willed his company to be the […]
Continue readingBig Changes In Store For The Famous Capitol Studios
There are very few recording studios in the world that almost everone in the music business can immediately name, but Capitol Studios in Hollywood would certainly be one of them. The recording home to legends crossing many generations since 1956, the studio has been a beacon of stability for many years with basically the same […]
Continue readingGuitar Center To File For Bankruptcy, According To Reports
You can’t say we didn’t see this coming. For a number of years now, Guitar Center has been struggling with massive debt related to financial engineering, and now it appears to have finally caught up with the company. Reports are that Guitar Center is now preparing for a bankruptcy filing as soon as November 15th […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitars , MI/Audio Business by Bobby Owsinski
Gibson Leaving Memphis But Back At Winter NAMM
Gibson is making news again, although not all for the negative reasons of the past. First of all, the company announced that it will be moving its Memphis manufacturing back to Nashville, and that the company will return to the upcoming NAMM show after a very obvious absence last year. When the company announced that […]
Continue reading- in Gear , MI/Audio Business by Bobby Owsinski
The Top Musical Instrument Manufacturers May Surprise You, Or Maybe Not
The musical instrument business isn’t that large when compared with medical or consumer electronics or most other global industries, but it’s still pretty big. For instance, the total U.S. market for instruments and audio is only a little less than $7 billion, which amounts to a rounding error for Apple. That said, it’s interesting to […]
Continue readingGuitar Center Renovates Its Hollywood Flagship Store
There’s been a lot of talk about the financial health of Guitar Center over the last few years, but it seems like things are going better for the retail giant these days. One example is the fact that its Hollywood flagship store has recently undergone a major $5 million renovation that completely redesigns what was […]
Continue readingGibson Out Of Bankruptcy
For the first time in a good long while, it’s all looking up for Gibson Guitars. The good news is that Gibson made it out of bankruptcy on October 1st – the even better news is that it will remain in business. It was touch and go for a bit as private equity investors KKR […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitars , MI/Audio Business by Bobby Owsinski
Gibson Tries To Start Anew With Some New Less Expensive Guitars
Gibson has certainly had it’s share of self-inflicted troubles over the last few years, but it’s possible that the company finally got the message as it tries to get out from under bankruptcy. Gone is former co-owner and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz (the hunt for a new CEO is on), and the company is trying hard to get […]
Continue readingIntroducing The Music Business Advice Book
I’m pleased to announce the release of my latest book, The Music Business Advice Book: 150 Immediately Useful Tips From The Pros. The book is a compilation of 150 helpful quotes from 130 top music pros from various segments of the music industry who previously shared these tips on my Inner Circle Podcast over the course of almost […]
Continue readingGuitar Center And Gibson Back In The News, And It’s Not Pretty
All of us connected with the music industry have been watching the financial news of both Guitar Center and Gibson for quite a while now, and they deserve our close attention. That’s what comes with being a major player in the business and a giant piece of the American music scene. I don’t think it […]
Continue reading- in Gear , MI/Audio Business , Microphones by Bobby Owsinski
A Look At How Royer Microphones Are Made
Ribbon microphones had fallen way out of favor with most recording engineers until Royer Labs rekindled the love for these excellent microphones. Indeed, the company is responsible more for the new generation of ribbons than any other manufacturer. There’s a reason why Royer mics are just about standard on any recording session, and that’s because of […]
Continue readingSONAR Relaunches As “Cakewalk By BandLab” And Now It’s Free
If you were a SONAR user you’ve had a rough last year or so. First of all, Gibson announced that it was shutting Calkwalk down and no longer supporting the software, then the company’s IP was sold to Singapore-based music tech company BandLab. That was a good thing, but the DAW was still in limbo as […]
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