The CD Turns 25

New Focus models will offer digital options instead

(NEWSER) - Consumers have already started ditching CDs for digital music , and now the auto industry may be catching up. Ford is planning to scrap CD players in its new models, the Daily Mail reports. In the newest Focus model, a USB plug will allow drivers to use their digital music players. In addition, the Sync "infotainment hub" will allow other music libraries to be accessed via the Internet—meaning drivers could have access to their music on Spotify or Apple's iCloud . Of course, this development may upset the "oldsters" who still like CDs... More»

Teen trades his Apple for a Sony for 1 week

(NEWSER) - In honor of the debut 30 years ago this week of the Sony Walkman, 13-year old Scott Campbell tried using the device for a week in place of his iPod. Campbell found the gadget took some getting used to, he writes for the BBC: “It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape." More»

(NEWSER) - CD sales plunged more than 20% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, and online music sales didn't come close to making up the difference. Closing stores, weak albums, and over a billion songs shared illegally every month combined to deliver the sharpest downturn yet to the slumping music industry. More»

He performed for National Press Club in 1971

(NEWSER) - One of the final live performances by Louis Armstrong will be released to the public for the first time. The recording is of a concert on January 28, 1971, at the National Press Club in Washington. The legendary trumpeter was a featured act at the concert, held less than six months before his death, reports AP . The new album will be titled Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours: Satchmo at the National Press Club. You can hear a snippet of him performing "Hello Dolly" via this Washington Post link. Details on the CD or digital download are here . More»

Sony blamed for UK price hike, now reversed

(NEWSER) - On Saturday, a Whitney Houston greatest-hits album cost about $8 in the UK iTunes store; but shortly after the singer was found dead, it had jumped to a little more than $12.50. The changed sparked a customer uproar. "It is just a case of iTunes cashing in on the singer's death, which in my opinion is totally parasitic," said one, according to DigitalSpy . But the Guardian reports that it was Sony, not iTunes, that was responsible for the change—which has now been reversed. More»