IP: Will MP3s Kill the Compact Disc? from TIME [ about the buggy whip manufactures of the 2000 djf]

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

Who says progress is always good? Not the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On Wednesday the RIAA issued a report claiming that the MP3 -- a new, free technology for recording and playing music on computers -- is actually cutting into CD sales, and should be regulated by the government. The report pointed to the Internet and MP3s as possible causes for "the continuing drop-off in the proportion of purchases accounted for by 15-to-24-year-olds" -- 32.2 percent in 1996 vs. 28 percent in 1998 -- "once the mainstay of the market." A spokesperson has qualified that argument, adding, "We didn't ask respondents 'Are you buying less because you download MP3s.'" The RIAA is forging ahead on the legal front, however: The association also announced on Wednesday that it was considering legal action against web portal giant Lycos for its MP3 search service.