November 10, 2006 14:25

CD will be dead in five years

Music lovers predict the end of the disc

A new survey is predicting that CDs will die within the next five years.

The report, compiled by former NME writer Johnny Davis, found that up to six out of 10 under 24-year-olds believe physical formats will decline as people turn to digital methods.

The figures also suggested that the death of CDs will lead to a decline of high street record shops, with many foreseeing stores being frequented by over 30s only.

According to the survey, published by mobile phone nextwork 3, 85 per cent of under 24s believe that downloading music can help save the planet by reducing the amount of packaging, waste, and carbon emissions involved in producing and transporting CDs to shops.

Ecological reasons were also cited as downloading’s second biggest benefit after convenience.

With the rise of YouTube, 68 per cent said they would buy a video rather than an audio download of a track if they were the same price, a move which has helped prompt video downloads to count towards the official UK singles chart from January.