Online music fans will for the first time be able to legally share tracks by big names such as Oasis, Beyonce, David Bowie and Elvis Presley after the artists' record label signed a ground-breaking deal with a new internet service provider.

In what some see as signalling a dramatic shift in the way consumers buy music, the provider, Playlouder, has licensed acts from SonyBMG, the world's second largest record label, and is confident that the other two big record labels, Universal and EMI, will follow suit.

Subscribers will be charged £26 a month for a high speed broadband internet connection, similar to the price charged by BT, with the added attraction of being able to share as much music as they want with other subscribers at no extra cost.

Because there will be no restrictions on the format in which the traded music is encoded, users will be free to transfer songs to any type of digital music player, including the market leading Apple iPod, or burn them to CD.

However, not only will consumers have to pay for music which they currently acquire free, albeit illegally, but they will also have to change their internet provider.

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Anyone who has ever run their fingers over the keys of a synthesizer, or danced to pounding electronic music in a nightclub, owes a debt to Robert Moog.

Moog, one of the early pioneers in electronic instruments, died Sunday at the age of 71, after being diagnosed with brain cancer in late April.

An inventor and entrepreneur, Moog came up with an early synthesizer that was among the first electronic instruments to be widely used by musicians, and was ultimately deeply influential in the development of many modern music genres, from rock to electronica.

"Bob shaped music in deep and meaningful ways by changing how music could be produced and ultimately, how it would sound," Michael Adams, president of Moog Music, said in a statement. "He was a musical pioneer for the love of it, and musicians everywhere have had the opportunity to expand their own creative horizons with Bob's inventions."

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Warner Music Group is creating a new music-distribution mechanism that will rely on digital downloads instead of compact discs.

Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music's chairman and CEO, said Monday that the new mechanism will be called an "e-label," in which artists will release music in clusters of three songs every few months rather than a CD every few years.

"We're trying to experiment with a new business model," he told an audience of about 150 people at a Progress & Freedom Foundation conference here. "We're going to try to see where this goes."

The e-label will permit recording artists to enjoy a "supportive, lower-risk environment" without as much pressure for huge commercial hits, Bronfman said. In addition, artists signed to the e-label will retain copyright and ownership of their master recordings.

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This new CD from Ian McNabb will be available online only, strictly limited to 1,000 copies, from September through Townsend records. All tracks will have annotation by himself, thoughts, explanations etc on each individual track.

"The album "Before All Of This" was written and recorded over a period of two years and was originally intended to be two separate albums. In the end I dropped a few tunes from both albums and made them into one. The music featured on this disc is comprised of what I consider to be the best alternate takes and unreleased songs from the sessions as well as the three tunes that were used as 'B' sides to the dual format "Let The Young Girl Do What She Wants To" single. "They Will Find You Out" makes it's first appearance on CD here, having only previously been available as the 7" 'B' side. I hope you enjoy this "BAOT" supplement, which I believe stands as a strong album in it's own right."

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... In describing his consumption behavior after having got an iPod, he said that his "music metabolism" increased.  Since having his collection digitized and easily available on the iPod, he listened to more 'deep tracks' that he hadn't listened to in a long time (courtesy of the shuffle function).  However, he soon got sick of his library of tracks and wanted to hear new/different music.

I think this is a widespread phenomenon.  Digital music players enable people to listen to more of their existing collection, but they soon get tired of it and want to listen to other stuff.   Music rental services like Rhapsody, Napster & YMU facilitate this.

I believe music rental as a concept is here to stay, that it will become a sizeable segment of the music consumption landscape and that it will increase the music metabolism of its users. One side effect is that indie labels & artists will gain exposure (since people will tire of the stuff they 'know'). If music rental becomes widespread, many artists and labels will make less money from recorded music and will have to rely on performed music and ancillary products, which I believe labels should get a piece of.

What other consequences have I missed from an increase in one's music metabolism?

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The Internet has been described, by enthusiasts, as a global conversation, a giant encyclopedia or a 24-hour news service -- and by detractors as the world's most technologically advanced time waster. What peeves record-company executives, however, is how many people see it as a free music store.

One intriguing alternative is the subscription plan allowing unlimited downloads that is currently offered by Napster, Yahoo and Rhapsody. (Each also maintains a traditional $1-a-song service.) Microsoft, Target, MTV and AOL have also announced plans to get into this subscription business, and even Apple is rumored be interested.

Will any of these approaches be enough to quell the musical thirst of the millions who, at the moment, get their music from free file-swapping services? The trend is shifting, but only infinitesimally. Despite all of Apple's success selling songs online, a recent study by NPD Group, a market research company, says that nearly 10 times as much online music is swapped as is bought.

One thing, though, is already clear: the downloadable-music business is still in its fumbling, bumbling infancy. It may take the music stores several more years of hammering away at their remaining problems -- software complexity, steep pricing and holes in their song catalogs -- before the recording industry can think of the Web without wincing.

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Although analog gear produces amazing sound, the reality is that analog has had its day. Setting up a non-digital studio is extremely expensive, and requires a great deal of space and maintenance effort. Due to the ever-increasing speed and power of computers, those who once considered analog recording gear to be clearly superior are now having second thoughts. For both professionals and amateurs, the digital path is quickly becoming the only path to good sound.

With so many options available, its hard to know what you really need in your home studio. So many questions, so many opinions, so many options, and so few easy answers. Mac or PC? Single or dual processor? Condenser or dynamic microphone? The MIDI interface with the built-in audio interface, or separate components? USB or Firewire? The list goes on.

The choices for hardware can be overwhelming, so this article has been written to help you decide what you need to accomplish your audio quest. In our first article, we discussed various software options.

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As a result, a growing number of artists who do not fit that paradigm are going independent -- financing their own records and tours, securing distribution deals and serving as their own publicists.

For these so-called Do It Yourself artists, securing a major-label deal is no longer the object of their aspirations. They have either become disillusioned with the majors based on past mishaps or never saw a place for themselves within the establishment to begin with. Their efforts have been facilitated by home recording and the Internet.

The number of people recording music has also skyrocketed as home recording equipment and software have become increasingly affordable. A basic recording program, which can handle about 16 separate tracks, can now be bought for less than $100.

Skilled DIY musicians can learn to record music partially or wholly at home that sounds almost as good as what can be produced in a slick studio."

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