Looks like music sales of cd's heading downward due to consumer's making their own cd's, d/l digital music.etc..
"Continued consumer enthusiasm for digital music downloading and the increasing popularity of creating their own CDs with recording devices called CD burners are taking the fizzle out of pop music sales."
So what will the record companie(s) do?
"That's why the Big Five major recording labels'”EMI, AOL's Warner Music, Bertlesmann's BMG and Sony Music'”are preparing to launch their own for-pay online music services, taking harsh legal action against the renegade Napster clones and looking to encrypt CDs to prevent illegal copying."
Will it work?
"But analyst Leigh warned that encrypted CDs aren't the industry's lifeboat and could alienate the recording labels' most valuable customers.
"People that buy encrypted CDs may find they won't play in high-end players that have sophisticated error detection software," said Leigh. They'll annoy the retailers, too, which will have to refund the CD sale."
These encrypted cd's don't seem to work as evidenced by the remaking of Natalie Imbrugalia's album "White Lilies Island" without copy protection.
Source: msnbc
