Since styles and fads change so often in America, it is difficult to predict what the new trend will be in only a year or two. If a person looks back at history and notes some trends from the past, one would possibly be able to relate them to styles of today. One trend in the music industry Americans have watched vanish is the eight-track. “Another reason for the fade out of eight track is the instant popularity of the newly invented compact discs and the compact disc players.”
For those who don’t know, a compact disc player is a developed form of transferring sound waves off a record-type disc into a sound that is clearer and has better reception, unlike records where there is a chance of damaging the record by the needle scratching the surface. However, the compact disc, in its looks, is very closely related to the once-popular 45 single records.
Although compact discs are the wave of the future, they still have their share of difficulties. Since compact discs have become such a big craze in the music industry, salesmen are expecting the compact discs to eliminate album sales completely within the next few years. In that time customers will see a drop in album prices and turn tables and a major increase in the cost of compact discs and compact disc players. Tape cassette prices are expected to stay about the same.
There are some negative aspects of CD’s and CD players, for example, the expensive cost of purchasing and repair. This is one reason some people are staying with the now-old standby of tape cassettes. Soon, after the compact disc totally erases the existence of albums, something new will be invented to replace CD’s, and the electronic cycle will continue. When jumped or jostled, compact discs have a tendency to skip their track.
Music seems to be one of the industries growing very quickly since music is listened to everywhere; cars, homes and even on television. Not only is music becoming more advanced in compact discs, but also more enjoyable as the listener is able to increase stereo loudness by an amplifier and be able to transfer television sound to stereo to make it louder and clearer. These new advances in music technology make listening to music more enjoyable and are also financially beneficial to the music industry.
Both eight tracks and CD’s have had their day in the music industry. With technological advances in sound, the newest rage is the disc music which eliminates the old problems of humming noises and scratchy needles. Analysts estimate record albums will be a thing of the past within the next five years.
This article was published in The Shield on May 26, 1989.
