What separates a compilation of cast-offs from a classic? When I finally managed to separate the discs from the packaging, Public Enemy's latest, Beats and Places, fell apart in my hands. Literal  

At last month's Consumer Electronics Show, Disney chief Bob Iger said, "From my perspective, the best way to combat piracy is to bring content to market on a well-timed, well-priced basis." Hol  

While Sept. 11, 2001, was a catalyst, 2006 will be remembered as a tipping point. Just as agriculture led from cities and empires to corporations and industries, data and network technology have c  

As promised, we're returning to the seas of data for another pod fishin' expedition. This time we're digging a little deeper into the emerging world of "mash-ups." While not exactly podcasts,  

Last month, EMI Chief Executive Alain Levy said that the CD was "dead" (note the quotes). While this made for great headlines, it required a fair degree of selective listening (and quoting!) to   

The underlying concept is bizarre. Covering DEV2.0 -- Alt music pioneers Devo's foray into kid's music -- in CityBeat seems blasphemous, absurd or maybe both. How do we get our minds around a p  

By now even grandma knows what an iPod is. Apple's tiny players changed the shape of music -- the antithesis to the challenge of Napster, the iPod created a way to sell music at a lower cost to f  

So what's a DualDisc, and who needs it? The major labels have come up with another new format, on the heels of their two still-births, SACD and DVD-A. I'm a hands-on sort, so I picked up the fir  

Music fans have a long-standing love affair with the album -- a collection of songs stamped on plastic donuts of various sizes. Artists became stars, labels got rich. Record profits came from resell