Printed Page 129

Early inventors’ work helped make sound recording a mass medium and a product that enterprising businesspeople could sell. The product’s format changed with additional technology advances (for example, moving from records and tapes to CDs and then to online downloads). Technology also enhanced the product’s quality. (For example, many people praised CDs’ digital clarity over “scratchy” analog recording.) However, the latest technology—online downloading of music—has drastically reduced sales of CDs and other physical formats, forcing industry players to look for other ways to survive.