Moreover, the present economic climate may well help bring about a sharp drop in CD prices once the holiday season is over.

Cheap music on the Internet, they say, will stabilize or even lower CD prices.

Now, another group affected by high CD prices, piracy, and the lawsuits are speaking up.

Critics of the industry say high CD prices and mediocre music are also a reason.

For years, music lovers have been complaining about high CD prices.

The response from record labels has been to raise CD prices even higher.

According to industry analysts, many music stores were driven into bankruptcy because of the earlier intense competition on CD prices.

But speaking against lower CD prices risks alienating consumers, who love the idea.

If the music industry moguls want consumers back in the record stores, they are going to have to lower CD prices.

But music sales have slumped in part because CD prices are way too high to make sense to ordinary consumers.