RIAA:Free Music Downloads Tank CD Sales

Shipments of CDs, cassettes, vinyl, music videos and DVDs were down 7% in 2000 compared to the year before, says the Recording Industry Association of America, and dollar value dropped nearly 2%. RIAA points at free music downloads for a 39% drop in shipments of CD singles last year. “Free access online seems to have had a dramatic effect on the singles sales markets,” the RIAA stated.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court judge has ordered attorneys for the record industry and free-download site Napster to try mediation to settle their differences.