MP3 IS KILLING MUSIC May 26 2000 dotmusic.com The rise of MP3 culture on campus has damaged CD sales in American university towns, according to a new study. The research was carried out by VNU Entertainment Marketing, a division of respected music sales data compilers SoundScan. 9,000 record stores were polled, each situated within a five-mile radius of a college campus. While the music industry as a whole enjoyed an 8% growth, the stores surveyed suffered a 4 percent downturn in sales between January 1997 and March 2000. Furthemore, shops in areas where Napster was particularly popular showed the biggest decline, with retailers near the 67 colleges that eventually banned Napster losing 7%. According to SoundScan CEO Mike Fine, the decrease can be traced back to 1998, "when MP3 file-sharing erupted in schools". Howie Singer of digital rights management experts Reciprocal, who funded the study, agrees. "Napster is so popular on campus, itıs hard to compete with having every song in the world for free". However, as Reciprocal are in the business of distributing secure music, they are not without an agenda in promoting the study. Some critics have already been quick to attack its conclusions, pointing out that Napster has only become hugely successful in the last six months. New Napster boss Hank Barry emphasises the importance of large supermarket-style outlets and e-commerce sites: "This has to do with consumer choice to shop at large retail stores and online. It has nothing to do with Napster." Only time will tell whether the sharing of MP3 music has any long-term negative effect on the record industry. But it is possible that students are taking Napster so much to heart because they find conventional CDs far too expensive. One simple if radical solution to the dilemma might be for the music industry to lower its prices. comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion [about i-drive] writing index thoughts dotmusic index musicbank index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page

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