Confused? You should be. After years of wrangling, a landmark copyright agreement announced last week could open the door to an audio “format war” as ferocious as the VHS vs. Beta video battle waged a decade ago. Until now, musicians, songwriters and record companies have been reluctant to back new digital, distortion-free successors to the standard audio cassette. The fear? That near perfect home recording on digital tape will cut into sales of CDs and prerecorded cassettes. But under the terms of the new agreement, manufacturers of digital equipment and blank tapes will pay royalties (a maximum of $8 per machine, and an estimated six cents per tape) to compensate the music industry for lost revenues. The agreement, which could become federal legislation this fall, should encourage companies to release music on digital tape and spur the growth of the hardware market. It could also lead to a showdown in the showroom. “Everyone’s wondering which format will win the war,” says Mark Wechsler, vice president of marketing at GRP Records, a jazz label that was one of the first to adopt DAT. “It’s going to be difficult for all three to coexist.”
Digital audiotape should get an immediate boost. The technology has been used by recording engineers for the past three years and was introduced to U.S. consumers by Sony Corp. in 1990. Resistance has been strong, however. Under a 1989 deal with record labels, DAT makers equipped their devices with a chip that prevents “daisy chain” taping–making copies from copies. That didn’t satisfy songwriters and music publishers, who sued for copyright infringement anyway. “The lawsuit had a chilling effect,” says Mark Finer, an industry consultant. About 30000 DAT machines, priced between $499 and $1,300, have been sold in the past year–far fewer than the 100,000 predicted by Sony. The new agreement could break the gridlock: one New York store, DATs Incredible, just announced its own DAT label and hopes to license 5,000 titles from independent record companies by 1992. Yet some experts say DAT’s appeal is limited, because of its hefty price tag. “It’s aimed at the audiophile, not the average consumer,” says Finer.
Sony is engaged in a battle for a broader audience. Along with DAT, the Japanese giant has put its muscle behind Mini Discs, 2.5-inch recordable CDs designed as a successor to the Walkman. The sound quality isn’t as good as that on DATs, say some experts, and the recording time is about 70 minutes. But the Mini Discs can play tunes in any order and are virtually shockproof. Philips Electronics N.V. is launching its own format designed for portable and home use: DCC, high-quality audio cassettes. One big advantage: the DCC players are “backward compatible,” capable of playing ordinary cassettes. And DCC will beat Mini Discs to market by several months. Philips plans a global promotion of DCC during Dire Straits’ 300-city tour this fall; it also has the support of other big consumer-electronics makers, including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Tandy Corp., with 7,000 Radio Shack outlets. “Philips can say to hardware manufacturers, ‘Use this system, and unlike DAT [or MDs], there’ll be plenty of product out there’,” says Ivan Berger, technical editor of Audio Week.
How will the audio war shake out? There’s room for everybody, says Rick Clancy, a Sony vice president: “Each format provides a different solution.” But other experts predict hardware makers and record labels will line up behind one format within two years. Many consumers are taking a wait-and-see approach. “I held out for years before buying a CD player and I’m not rushing into anything,” says Manhattan author Nick Taylor, who expects prices to decline and even newer technology in the 1990s. Others, already dazed by the array of new video equipment–CD-ROM, HDTV, CDI, S-VHS, Hi-Band 8mm–may elect to sit out the latest format war. In a world increasingly marked by electronic overload, today’s hot audio innovation could be tomorrow’s eight-track tape deck.
Three new digital-recording technologies will be vying for space in your stereo cabinet:
High-quality sound–and high price. So far, best for true audiophiles.
Doesn’t have DAT’s range, but can play old cassettes. Due mid-1992.
Sony’s 2.5-inch CD sounds like DCC, but is small and shockproof. Due late 1992.
