A legendary producer whose diverse resume includes bands as different as Roy Orbison and Autolux, T Bone Burnett has tweaked knobs and scored films (Cold Mountain, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) with the best of them. But with the impending collapse of the biz-as-usual music industry, he is hard at work planning its digital future in the form of Code, a high-fidelity audio technology that's as pristine as the sound of studio masters.
"Record companies have alienated customers and the artists," Burnett told the Los Angeles Times. "This is completely an artist-driven initiative. Our aim is todemocratize high-fidelity."
The producer-artist, known as Joseph Henry Burnett to the IRS, has already employed Code on John Mellencamp's July release Life Death Love and Freedom, and plans for Bob Dylan and Neil Young are on the burner. But it may not be long until Code is standard operating procedure for artists and professionals looking to upgrade the quality of their sound.
For one, Code discs can be played on any DVD drive, including the one in your computer. Secondly, it doesn't cost anything more to record to Code than HDCD or any other hi-res audio format.
this audio or video is no longer availableWhich is the kind of scenario Neil Young was demanding back in July, during an interview with CNN Money. "In the 21st century," Young said, "with these beautiful computers and incredible capabilities, hi-res music is one of the missing elements. [But] I think that's the future of music."
Evidently, the future is closer, cheaper and more crystalline than once believed.
Photo: T Bone Burnett
