Cycling '74 and Octiv Inc announced Octirama, a Surround Dynamics Processor for Digidesign ProTools Systems. Octirama is the first full-featured, multi-band dynamics processor for 5.1 Surround Mastering for the Digidesign TDM environment. Octirama incorporates sophisticated four- and five-band processing for each of five channels plus sophisticated bass management for precise control of peaks and loudness.

Octirama will be available from Cycling '74 in fourth quarter 2004.

Apple launched a European Union version of its iTunes Music Store, giving music fans in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain the same innovative features and breakthrough price of euro 0.99 per song that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world. The EU iTunes Music Store features over 700,000 songs from all four major music companies and more than 100 independent record labels.

Apple also updated its audio player iTunes to v4.7 wich features best syncs with iPod and iPhoto.

Spectrasonics today has announced the release of Stylus RMX Realtime Groove Module. Stylus RMX is a groove-based virtual instrument plug-in. Stylus RMX is the first product to offer the combined power of Groove Control with Spectrasonics Advanced Groove Engine (S.A.G.E. ) technology giving users dramatic new control over groove production and performance.

Stylus RMX (Audio Unit, RTAS, and VST) is priced $299/249 Euros. More info on the MacMusic softwares section.

The new red company from Ted Fletcher is releasing a new box....a blue one ;o): The M16 is a transformer console including 16 preamps with mic/line inputs, phantom power, phase reverse , high pass, mute/solo, pan and of course direct output.

Price should be around 4041$

Edirol releases UA-25 USB Audio and MIDI interface, a bus-powered, aluminum-cased, 2 channel USB audio interface with two phantom powered XLR mic preamps and a built in Analog limiter, for those sessions when you only get one take. Also, Edirol claims to be "#1 when it comes to stable drivers for our Audio Interfaces". One novel feature of the UA-25 is the ability to send sound from its inputs back though to its outputs in the digital domain, allowing recording of audio from one application into another.

ps clouvel : UA-25 USB is now shipping and costs $295.