The growing online sale and consumption of music has implications for music stores and the compact disc.
The CD wiped out sales of vinyl records and now the future of the CD is looking bleak. More and more people are turning to the internet for their music needs.
Take any internet search engine. Type in "music online" and thousands of sites are at your fingertips.
EMI, the world's third largest music company, says that any move to abandon CDs won't happen overnight. However, EMI acknowledges that one in every ten purchases of music will be made on the internet within the next five years.
Lead singer of Simple Minds Jim Kerr has invested in a website which provides students with access to music online. He believes that the internet could kill the CD as more and more music is made available at the click of a mouse.
Companies like peoplesound.com are already putting thousands of new acts online. Listeners can download the music onto portable players.
If the record shops are cut out of the equation, the industry will save millions and the stars may not need record companies.
Ernesto Schmidt, peoplesound.com, believes artists will be able to sell their music directly to fans online without the need for record companies or distributors.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 November 1999. The reporter is Anthony Murnane.
