The Los Angeles Times interviewed Neil Young, talking about music projects old and new with the rocker. He is still on the same crusade for audio quality with his recently unveiled Neil Young Archives as he was with Pono Music, his multi-million dollar crowdfunded project that recently shuttered. And Young has some definite, if bizarre, opinions on why Pono failed. Continue Reading
Neil Young is continuing his long, somewhat perplexing journey into the music tech business with the launch of a new high-definition streaming platform called Xstream. Young announced at the end of 2016 that he would translate his Pono Music into a streaming service. Xstream appears to be the result of that plan and of some critique about the original product. Continue Reading
Neil Young recently announced that Pono Music will turn into a streaming service. The distinguishing factor here is that Pono is promising adaptive bitrate streaming. In other words, the streaming service will always play the highest quality bitrate available on the listener’s Internet connection. It’s a cool idea, but we have some questions. Continue Reading
Pono Music has suspended operations of its online store due to content provider changes. The specialty hi-res music platform had been using Omnifone as its exclusive content provider, but is in the process of transitioning that work over to new partner 7digital. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Dash Radio still growing and thriving; new logo emerges for hi-res music; major retailers lead the vinyl resurgence. Continue Reading
Neil Young wrote an update about his hi-res Pono Music company on Facebook. Young gave nods to the other brands Pono works with, both in and out of the music industry, but explained that the company has many partners but “no proven business leader,” in his own words. He added that Pono is working to set up shop in multiple countries despite a lack of resources. Continue Reading
Pono Music announced that it will upgrade customers’ purchases to higher resolutions as they become available from labels at no charge. This new policy, dubbed the PonoPromise, is meant to avoid the cycle of re-purchasing songs as they become available on better or more convenient formats, such as from cassettes to CDs to MP3s. Continue Reading
Neil Young is back in the headlines after he announced that he will remove his catalog from streaming services. His complaint is about sound quality. “I don’t need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution,” he said in a Facebook post. “When the quality is back, I’ll give it another look.” Continue Reading
The first rumblings of skepticism about Pono Music and its promised revolution in sound quality emerged last month, and since then the critics have become more visible and more vocal. Professional musician and journalist David Pogue is the latest to turn his ear to the question of how much different hi-def listening can really offer. In the interest of science, he conducted a blind experiment. Continue Reading
A round-up of recent news in high-definition audio: A Style Jukebox release and redesign; rumored skepticism within Pono ranks; an infographic to explain it all. Continue Reading
The long-awaited Pono Music ecosystem, Neil Young’s project, emerged from beta this week. Pono Music players will be available at Fry’s consumer electronics stores, and online. This week’s CES-timed launch closes the first, non-public chapter of Pono’s storied existance. Continue Reading
In an interview with “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer, Neil Young revealed that Pono Music will have an automotive angle. He said the company is working with Harman to give Pono access within the 2016 Lincoln Continental. Tesla is also expected to bring Pono into its digital dashboard once the music store is ready. Continue Reading