The Future of Recorded Music - Part 5
The CD's Life & Times
(continued)
The 1990s
Worldwide sales of CDs reach nearly 1 billion (286.5 million in the U.S.), while 9.2 million players are sold annually.
Hewlett Packard releases a 2X-speed CD recorder (made by Philips) for $995, finally making it possible for millions to feel the burn.
Average price of a CD: $14.31.
The first version of Napster, the MP3 online pirating — er, file-sharing — service, is released. Should the record industry collectively download Chopin's Funeral March?
Sony and Philips launch the Super Audio CD (SACD), which features higher audio fidelity (1 bit, 2.8224 MHz) than the CD. Few notice — in the same way few care about the introduction of ...
