Barry Willis

Radio will finally go digital in 2001. Among the oldest analog media, radio will be the last to make the transition, but it should make much faster headway in the market than digital television has. Satellite digital radio broadcasters XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. are both on schedule to go live in the coming year, aided by partnerships with automakers to make digital receivers available as options in new cars. A strong automotive aftermarket for digital radio receivers is expected, with some industry insiders predicting that the first models will retail at approximately $100 apiece. Both XM and Sirius will offer multiple channels of music, news, comedy, sports, and talk show entertainment—all for about $10 per month per subscriber.

Now there are four. The music industry's "Big Five" record labels officially became the "Big Four" on Thursday, August 5, as Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) finalized a merger months in the making. The partners are the music divisions of Sony Corporation and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, respectively.

Dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, the music industry may finally be settling into an uneasy acceptance that its market and business model have changed. Only two months after the successful launch of Apple's iTunes Music Store, Billboard magazine announced that it would begin accounting for downloads in its weekly music rankings.