If Beethoven or John Lennon were alive today, they'd be making techno. But the nature of music changes the way it's listened to. Electronica isn't as interesting live as rock because the whole performance can be pre-programmed. It's more fun to dance to recorded music at raves, one long single at a time. All of this means the youth of today has less interest in owning the songs they like.
Music is more background, more disposable.
Kids aren't going to rush to the mall CD shop. They'll shrug and wait for the next technological method of getting it for free. If the recording industry wants its sales figures to start skewing younger, they'll have to fight that ambivalence. And deep-sixing Napster will be just as effective long term in winning that fight as the U.S. Army's victory on Tet. Copyright 1999-2001 MyPrimeTime, All Rights Reserved.