DIGITAL AUDIO
The folks at Diamond Multimedia want to sell you a cool new gadget: a $200 walkman-like device called Rio that uses memory chips to play highly compressed, CD-quality MP3 audio files. Compact and elegant, Rio was supposed to ship nationwide last fall. Instead, the Recording Industry Association of America slapped the San Jose-based company with a lawsuit that stopped the product dead in its tracks. Distribution has since gotten under way, but the struggle over the future of MP3 is just beginning.
Depending on who's counting, between 5 and 10 million people have already downloaded one of the many programs used to listen to MP3 files found on the Net. And many musicians - from garage bands to the Beastie Boys - now use MP3 to distribute their work. But the platform has also been embraced by music pirates, who use it to bootleg copyrighted recordings. RIAA president Hilary Rosen says MP3 playback devices like Rio "clearly exploit the pirate market." The RIAA favors competing technologies that include built-in antipiracy protections and has appealed the October ruling that allowed the Rio to ship.
But it looks like the MP3 genie won't be stuffed back into the bottle anytime soon. Samsung has plans to introduce a player of its own, while UK-based empeg Ltd. is working on an MP3 car audio system. The race is on to see whether raw consumer demand will prod the recording industry to embrace a new format, rather than the other way around.
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