In 1994 the MP3 was developed. Fraunhofer & Thomson are credited as the cocreaters of the MP3 Codec. AT&T Bell Industries developed the first MP3. In early 1998 The first MP3 Disc, or MP3 CD, players hit the market. By the middle of 1998 MP3 players hit the market as well. MP3 Discs could hold between 100- 300 songs depending on their sample rate. When the first MP3 player came out it could only hold at the most 20 songs. The Mp3 player advanced at an expediential rate. On October 23, 2001 the iPod hit the open market with a 5-10 GB harddive. So the big question is why did the record companies not release any MP3 discs? In a 4 year period they had time to start mass producing them. I know the public would have started buying them. I bought my MP3 Disc player in 1998. I kept searching the internet and going to Best Buy And Walmart looking for MP3 Discs. The Doors catalogue, The Who catalogue, British Invasion catalogue, K-tel's 50's catalogue, all could have been released on MP3 Discs. The only answer I came up with while producing my MP3 disc is that the Thomson Corporation has a licensing fee of 2 percent annual gross on any product containing MP3s. That comes out to $2,000 on every $100,000 grossed yearly. If a company doesn't make 100,000 dollars in a years time you don't have to pay The Thomson Corps anything. I know if a Doobie Brothers MP3 Disc or a Smashing Pumpkins MP3 Disc came out they would sell millions of copies. That 2 percent swayed the record companies away. I still think the MP3 Disc is a valid product. You have to give people more for they're money these days. CD sales are plummeting. Kids are buying vinyl these days, but I think it's for the cool factor. Mp3 Discs are the only tangible products people are going to buy to get music in the future.