This essay will describe the invention of the CDs and the MP3. Then, the global sales of
each product, between 2003 and 2011, will be detailed with personal opinions about the
effect of the invention of the MP3s cause on sales of CDs. Finally, there will be an analysis
of the competitive relationship between the two products and their future competitions.
The CD (Compact Disk) was invented by James Russell, an American physic expert. In
1970, Russell received a patent for the technology and 6 years later, in 1976, the first
workable CD was demonstrated by Sony, a Japanese Electronics Manufacturer. From then
until 1982, CDs started to be manufactured worldwide with the first commercial CD ‘The
Visitors’ by Abba, a Swedish pop group, and the first CD player, created by Sony. After 1
year, it received many top star reviews from audio magazines for quality. In 1985, Dire
Straits, a British rock band, hit one million copies of album ‘Brother in Arms’; that
evidence proved the well-known of the CDs at that time.
The MP3s (industry standard for digital recording) was invented by Karlheinz
Brandenberg, a German math and electronics expert. From 1977, he co-operated with other
scientist in researching music compression. After 10 years, he began to develop MP3
technology for Fraunhofer Company. In 1991, there were mistakes in software that nearly
led to cancellation of his project but it still continued. Then, seven year later, in 1998,
Fraunhofer Company received a patent for the Technology and at the same year, the first
