Chief Executive of Fox Entertainment Group, one of the largest media networks of today, has a 17 year old son that swaps songs. "He's got friends who do nothing but share files. He, unfortunately for him, has a cranky old man who gives him lectures," said Chernin.

While long download times have helped insulate the movie industry from online swapping, that is changing rapidly as more homes are getting plugged in to high-speed Internet services.

Another thing that has helped, Chernin said, is that film makers can offer their audience a choice of ways to see movies -- they can view them in the theater, rent them, or buy them.

However, in the music industry, there is only one choice -- purchase.

"It's hard to buy one song. You're forced to buy the CD," he said.

Recently, the RIAA complained that CD sales were down 7 percent for the first half of 2002. Not everyone agrees with this assessment.

It is not correct to assume that every time a copy is made, a sale is lost, said Gary Shapiro, a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association.

And, he also pointed out that many of the companies he represents, which make computers and other gadgets that enable people to copy music or download MP3s, have seen their sales fall much more sharply.

In the future, 'grass roots' movements may be the only thing to affect the music industry. After an online sharing service is dropped, don't buy any music CDs for one month. If the RIAA pays any attention, they will realize that the shutdown of the service is the cause for 0 sales. Eventually, they will realize that they might need to offer alternatives to purchasing CDs.

Since 1982, when the CD first came out, prices have not dropped. The cost to manufacture has gone down tremendously, however royalties and other percentages factor into the CD sales that are higher than they were.