Full Column & Feature Index

• (2 Nov '00) "Streaming Audio Tutorial" - Special feature number 3 for Webmonkey, our walk-through on using Shoutcast to stream your audio to others.
• (12 Oct '00) "Streaming For Dollars"- Special feature number 2 for Webmonkey, our scrupulous survey of streaming media options.
• (23 Aug '00) "File-Sharing Primer" - The first in our 3 special features for Webmonkey, this is a primer on file sharing utlilities.
• (Feb '00) - "Online Audio: Squashing vs. Streaming" - The FezGuys offer a general purpose tutorial in getting your music online for The Gig magagazine.
• (May '99) - "Evolve or Die - Become a Web-ready Studio!" - Studio owners listen up! Want to stay a step ahead of the other guy? Here's your chance. But, before long, you'll need to provide these types of services just to compete.
• (Mar '99) - "Anatomy of a Webcast" - The FezGuys report from a live webcast of The Other Ones. Celebrating the release of their first album, this Grateful Dead spinoff band played a little, talked a little and took advantage of a worldwide online fanbase to promote and distribute their music. The FezGuys bring you a full report, including how and what gear was used and describing the signal path in excruciating detail! Can your heart stand it?
• (Mar '99) - "Cutting Edge Omnia.net Review" - We review a pricey little piece of hardware specifically designed to tweak your audio prior to encoding. It's called The Omnia and it looks groovy and actually works.
• (May '98) - "You Don't Need A Record Contract!" - A special piece for EQ's 1998 Internet special issue which pulls a lot of marketing and DIY content covered over the past year or two into one succint feature. Well, of course we couldn't resist tossing in some dashes of new things here and there.

• No. 60 (October '01) - "Updating the Book of Style" - For our 5th anniversary we dive a typical story of the internet: CDDB/Gracenote- a company that began as merely a neat and useful idea, a "small tool done good," that saw big money acquisition and later negative public opinion, a company using litigation to stay alive and still grinding on, hoping to survive.
• No. 59 (September '01) - "Mp3PRO - Taking The World By Donkey" - We throw the wet blanket of reality on the new "Mp3PRO" version of the MP3 codec from Fraunhofer and Coding Technologies plus answer a fresh batch of questions.
• No. 58 (August '01) - "EFF and iTunes" - The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) releases a swell sharing license and we take a close look at the iTunes MP3 audio file organizing system for the Macintosh.
• No. 57 (July '01) - "Variable Bitrate MP3 Encoding" - A tutorial on variable bitrate encoding (VBR) for your MP3 files. Sexy, compelling and majestic, VBR will tear the top of your head off. Well...not really, but it's a useful tool and easy to implement.
• No. 56 (June '01) - "Running Around At The Top Of Our Lungs" - A case study on a non-corporate streaming audio site SomaFM plus a handy little list of reasons not to spend lots of money on your web site.
• No. 54/55 (Apr/May '01) - "Hello Songwriters, Are You Listening? (part 3 of 3)" - The third in our 3-part series dissecting the music collection societies and their activities online. This month: SoundExchange, Harry Fox Agency, and National Music Publishers' Association. Note: This column was split in two when published in EQ
• No. 53 (Mar '01) - "Hello Songwriters, Are You Listening? (part 2 of 3)" - The second of a 3-part series dissecting the music collection societies and their activities online. This month: BMI and SESAC.
• No. 52 (Feb '01) - "Hello Songwriters, Are You Listening? (part 1 of 3)" - The first of a 3-part series dissecting the music collection societies and their activities online. This month: ASCAP.
• No. 51 (Jan '01) - "From Here On Up It's All Downhill" - Your bemused Fezzes hose the gold rush brats of online music entitlement with the cold shower of reality. We also address more of those pithy and cogent questions you've been deluging us with.
• No. 50 (Dec '00) - "Too Much Of Everything" - We define wax warriors, jump ship on file sharing, marvel at major label efficiency (HAHAHA!) and dodge maniac drivers, eyes firmly glued to the dashboard while choosing MP3s as a soundtrack for slamming into concrete dividers at high speed!
• No. 49 (Nov '00) - "Streaming And Scheming (New Options For The Online Musician)" - A walk-through of Live365.com's Internet "Radio" and an introductory tutorial about setting up your own web site subscription service.
• No. 48 (Oct '00) - "Hilarity, Hubris and Heuristics" - A sampling of idiocy and inspiration presently defining Internet audio. Including (but not limited to): a sampling of some music fans' opinions on file sharing utilities, the changing business models of E-Music and MP3.com, another unpload site review, and an answer to a kind letter from one of you!
• No. 47 (Sep '00) - "File Sharing Is Fun (Part 2/2)" - Part 2 covering Macster, Gnutella, and Scour Exchange (SX).
• No. 46 (Aug '00) - "File Sharing Is Fun (Part 1/2)" - Part 1 of a down and dirty how-to and what-for of Napster and other file-sharing systems.
• No. 45 (Jul '00) - "MORE PERSONALITY! NEW! BRIGHTER BOX!" - A look at the newest entries in the streaming media tools "version wars" from RealNetworks and Microsoft. Plus, bits and snippets including IUMA's A&R Files, My.MP3.COM being beaten down, cheaper CDs (says the government), and Riffage picks up a San Francisco Club.
• No. 44 (Jun '00) - "Guitars and Geeks, Two Approaches To A New Relationship" - Joe Satriani knows which side of the toast his bread is buttered on! Metallica, in a classic example of stylistic integrity, negotiates with the same heavy-handed approach they use to write music! Napster: Are they a flash in the pan, a harbinger of doom or a strangled cry of: "they sunk my battleship!"
• No. 43 (May '00) - "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Black And Blue..." - An effervescent diatribe of Viral Marketing, Loony Tunes characters come to life, a Microsoft product that actually makes us happy, prizewinning bug sleuths, soup, whipping boys, and more... All in one column!
• No. 42 (Apr '00) - "But Who Is Paying Attention?" - A look at e-zines that encourage musicians to send in their work to be reviewed, plus another upload site, some other places to get your site exposed, and a letter.
• No. 41 (Mar '00) - "Lawyers and Players - MP3 in the Spotlight" - This month we take a look at the legal landscape of MP3 and also profile some new MP3 players, especially on the Macintosh.
• No. 40 (Feb '00) - "A Partial Review of Sonic Foundry's Vegas Pro" - To Sonic Foundry's mixed sorrow and delight, and to maybe no one's surprise, Vegas Pro is both cool and somewhat not so. See if the $700.00 price tag is worth it to you!
• No. 39 (Jan '00) - "Post Apocalyptic or Merely Hungover?" - The first column for the 2G Times! Five more upload sites are briefly reviewed, industry trends are pungently commented upon, stupid ideas are illuminated in harsh-but-fair FezGuy glare.
• No. 38 (Dec '99) - "Steal This Column" - More useful stuff! Stuff about how the Grateful Dead used the web to promote their new box set. Stuff about the new RealPlayer. And a bunch more other stuff.
• No. 37 (Nov '99) - "Frothing At The Mouth On The Frontlines" - Condensed coverage of DDMI (Digital Distribution and the Music Industry), NXNW (North by Northwest), a followup to #35, and a letter!
• No. 36 (Oct '99) - "We've Been Writing This Damn Column For Three Whole Years!" - On this anniversary we talk about the state of Internet audio applications for the desktop, an environment where non-compatibility is accepted and irritating problems are common.
• No. 35 (Sep '99) - "A Review of Five Sites to Place Your Song" - We pretend we are coming at Internet audio for the first time. Is it a kinder, gentler and leveled playing field of a World Wide Web, or are things as complex and obtuse as the business of business typically make them?
• No. 34 (Aug '99) - "The Backspace Project: Creating Equity Over Access" - We pour hot oil over your heads with a report from London, England, in which online glory is brought back to earth!
• No. 33 (Jul '99) - "Steve Mack - The Project Studio Owner As Internet Audio Advisor" - We talk to Steve Mack, Co-Creative Director Media Publishing Dept., RealNetworks. But more importantly, he's an audio guy like us and he's deep in the thick of RealNetworks' role in this Internet music stuff.
• No. 32 (Jun '99) - "The RealConference of RealPeople" - The FezGuys attend the RealNetworks "RealConference" and dig deep to bring you the moist and tasty nutrient-rich grubs of the RealAudio hegemony! Included is a brief overview of the new RealJukebox product.
• No. 31 (May '99) - "Spring Internet World" or "Stream a Little Stream of Me..." - The FezGuys hit Spring Internet World '99 and report back all the news that you need to know. Plus, some "What's New" and a letter response.
• No. 30 (Apr '99) - "Water, Water Everywhere" - Some navigational aids for captaining your career through the sea of music industry parasites and shipwrecked do-it-all startups.
• No. 29 (Mar '99) - "Why MP3 and For How Long?" - We stride confidently over the future of MP3 and its relationship and comparison to the other codecs. We're honest, but you expect that of us. Also: one column wasn't enough for this month so we've also got two other pieces coming; a review of the Omnia.net audio processor and a profile of a live webcast with The Other Ones.
• No. 28 (Feb '99) - "Up To Our Ascii In Mail, Version 2" - It's a been a year and it's time again to respond to the wise and wonderful queries of you, our readers. Unsurprisingly, it's a lot about MP3.
• No. 27 (Jan '99) - "To Rip, Or Not To Rip..." - A look at Xing's MP3 CD ripper, AudioCatalyst. Plus, Microsoft abandons RealNetworks and Java, Amazon invites indie bands onboard, new QuickTime on its way, and other news.
• No. 26 (Dec '98) - "Internet Chivalry Isn't Dead (It Just Smells Funny)" - An overview of various topics about the evolving nature of Internet Audio including (but not limited to): The RIAA being shouted down by the Law over their attack on Diamond Multimedia's MP3-based portable Walkman-like device, a look at a few next generation online music companies, and some new players and industry partnerships.
• No. 25 (Nov '98) - "Just How Dumb Do They Think We Are? (A Review of RealAudio's beta G2 Encoder)" - This month's review is practically identical to No. 24, but with rather different results. We audition the new RealAudio G2 encoder this month.
• No. 24 (Oct '98) - "The End of the Beginning" - We turn 2 years old! Yay! We take you under the hood of the new Xing MP3 Encoder this month...
• No. 23 (Sep '98) - "IFEZ Introduces Streamcore - A New Angle On Website Audio" - We smack you over the head with a new idea to spice up the way you present audio from your website-- why not try programming it?
• No. 22 (Aug '98) - "Why Return To Your Website?" - Some kindly tips and pointers of things to avoid (and reminder of things to do) in order to keep people coming back to your web site.
• No. 21 (Jul '98) - "A Review of Audioactive's MP3 Production Studio (Straight Outta Cleveland for the Darlings of Download)" - That's right-- a good (and legal) MP3 encoder which you can try for free and buy for cheap...
• No. 20 (Jun '98) - "Netcasting in Hipboots" - In our pointed audacity, we share some pointers to get you started in Internet radio netcasting. Plus, we report on our descent upon NAB '98 in Vegas.
• No. 19 (May '98) - "Wrap Your Ears Around QSound's 3D Audio" - We give you a quick review the latest 3D audio technology from QSound Labs and also report back from Internet World in L.A. and SxSW Interactive in Austin, TX.
• No. 18 (Apr '98) - "We Will Serve No Algorithm Before Its Time" - It's about time-- a tutorial on creating MP3 (MPEG 1 & 2, Layer III) clips for your web site!
• No. 17 (Mar '98) - "Up To Our Ascii In Mail" - It's that late winter lull and days are noticeably longer here in the Northern Hemisphere. It's time to think about spring. It's time to think about spring cleaning. It's time to clean out the mailbox! This month we respond to common questions and vamp off into surrounding issues.
• No. 16 (Feb '98) - "A Trip To L.A." - We focus on the film and TV composers current activities and future opportunities online-- reporting back from a presentation to the Society of Composers & Lyricists in L.A.
• No. 15 (Jan '98) - "Rising Up From The Holiday Bacchanal" - We think new thoughts and speak new words on how to get that darned music online-- perhaps even through new biz sidelines of your favorite recording studio?
• No. 14 (Dec '97) - "Is It Really A Paradigm Shift Or Merely An Account Transfer?" - We return to a subject near and dear to our hearts and yours - money. A round-up of ideas and information to assist you in creating, augmenting and streamlining your Web presence (and more importantly, your Internet fan-base) and maybe making a few dollars on the side.
• No. 13 (Nov '97) - "Report On The AES 1997 Conference in New York City" - Come with us for a walk through of the sights and sounds (and smells!) of the Audio Engineering Society conference as the FezGuys™ hit NYC!
• No. 12 (Oct '97) - "How Many Are You In Internet Years?" - We've all made it through the last twelve months and here we are at our Big Bang Anniversary Column! Woo! Congratulations to you for sticking with us, and as Bill Cosby quotes in Fat Albert, "you might even learn something along the way!" We know we have.
• No. 11 (Sep '97) - "Ducats for Downloads?" - We make some observations on a couple of groups who are attempting to distribute music online right now, by whatever means available. Who died and made us The Judge? Yikes, it's another "proactive" FezGuys™ critique!
• No. 10 (Aug '97) - "Get Involved!" - We touch on the organized players who have a stake in the way music is made, stored, transmitted, marketed and commercialized on the Internet. And how you can add your voice to a community that actually welcomes input.
• No. 9 (Jul '97) - "Netcasting Live: The Grok Sessions" - Let us walk you through how we (and you) can netcast a 2 hour jam from the home studio!
• No. 8 (Jun '97) - "One Reason To Get Up In The Morning: Money" - Let us help you out in understanding how an independent musician can make money on the Web.
• No. 7 (May '97) - "Farm Animals And The Law" - A little straight talk on an extremely curvaceous subject- the Law. We give you a glancing overview of some of the publishing and copyright issues as they relate to your music on the Web.
• No. 6 (Apr '97) - "Geek Thy Neighbor" - This month's column finds us throwing a great handful of separate items from the audio codecs larder at the wall of our digital dining room. Some of these items may be news to you and some may be termed "common knowledge."
• No. 5 (Mar '97) - "...In Which The Artist Attempts To Reach An Audience Using That Internet Thingy" - This month's column is in two disparate portions. The first portion is sociological rant on why and what we think all of this means. The second is what may turn out to be useful information on squeezing the best quality you can out of current methods of serving audio on the 'net.
• No. 4 (Feb '97) - "Placing Your Song On The Web (part 2)" - The second part of our tutorial on how to take that wonderful new song you just mixed down and put it on the web.
• No. 3 (Jan '97) - "Placing Your Song On The Web (part 1)" - The first part of our tutorial on how to take that wonderful new song you just mixed down and put it on the web! What? You don't have a wonderful new song? Well, get cracking, and use something else to test the process with in the meantime.
• No. 2 (Dec '96) - "Configure *This*" - The column which first brought you here to this site. We take you through the process of getting to the point where you can stream a RealAudio file.
• No. 1 (Nov '96) - "Introduction" - Meet the FezGuys™, learn about their new column, and get a brief history of audio on the net.