AudioRevolution.com readers don't need a comprehensive study to tell us why CDs aren't selling like they used to in years past. And the cause is certainly not lousy sounding MP3s as the RIAA and some in the music industry would like you to think. Almost 20 years into the lifespan of the Compact Disc, the party is nearing an end. Poor quality, stereo music with very few (if any) added values makes not a worthy $17 purchase when DVD-Video titles, for a few dollars more, come packed with a feature length movie in surround sound and loaded with added value goodies like commentaries, alternate surround sound mixes, nifty games, photos, web links and much more.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that a number of the major media conglomerates have authorized the Recoding Industry of America (RIAA) to start suing individuals who publicly share copywritten music files. Their target will be people with the largest collections of copywritten music available on file sharing networks like Gnutella. Their goal is to make a public statement that the music industry isn’t going to stand for having their music traded freely on the internet despite the grassroots consumer popularity of peer to peer music sharing networks like Gnutella and the now defunct Napster. Metallica’s drummer, Lars Ulrich, publicly attacked end users (AKA: Metallica’s young fan base) for downloading music on Napster during testimony in front of Congress in 2000. At the time Metallica had been the most successful, most popular band in rock for over ten years. In the ...

One word sums up why the big five media conglomerates cannot stop the crusade by Hillary Rosen and the RIAA against downloadable music: antitrust. Sources close to AudioRevolution.com say that the big mistake by the major labels in regard to downloadable music was made when the old school executives failed to realize the potential of the insane marketing possibilities a few years ago when Napster was gaining underground popularity. The conservative thinking at the music companies was, "Ignore Napster and it will eventually go away."

Senator Fritz Hollings (Democrat - South Carolina) is leading a bi-partisan effort in congress to make computer manufacturers install software called “policeware” that will automatically squeal on consumers for saving and or downloading illegal copyrighted material. Co-sponsors on the bill S. 2048 include: Ted Stevens (Republican – Alaska) Daniel Inouye (Democrat – Hawaii) John Breaux (Democrat – Louisiana) Bill Nelson (Democrat – Florida) and Dianne Feinstein (Democrat – California). For the many millions of Americans that rip and swap MP3 files on-line, the penalties for getting caught range from fines as high as $500,000 to five years in prison. However, there is little mention of ways to determine which MP3 files were ripped from your CD collection versus ones downloaded from a legal or illegal source.

German media giant Bertelsmann partnered with Napster in October 2000 during the turbulent period when Napster was facing a legal battle with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to German newspaper Die Welt, Bertelsmann Chief Executive Officer Thomas Middelhoff recently confirmed his company's intentions of buying out Napster completely from original investors John Fanning, uncle of Napster founder Shawn Fanning, and venture capitalist Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.