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CNN Live At Daybreak

Hot Topics in Knoxville, Tennessee

Aired October 01, 2002 - 05:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to do a little Talk of CNN. Yes, it's that time where we find out what people across the country are talking about.
So what are the hot topics in Tennessee, you ask?

For that we check in with Andy and Alison and the morning crew from Radio Station WIVK in Knoxville.

Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you guys?

COSTELLO: Hey, we're fine. I've got something hot off the presses for you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

COSTELLO: OK, because, you know, we're all angry about the high price of CDs, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course you are.

COSTELLO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, being a parent of a teenage son, I know my pocketbook has been affected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes, some are as high as 18, 19 bucks. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: That means Chad will never buy a CD because he's way too cheap for that.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not new. I only wait for it to get out, come out used.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we can hook you up with some free ones there, man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was going to say, I've never really noticed the price of CDs. I get my stash from The Price Club.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a smart idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Hey, let me read this news hot off the press, though. It says, "The top five U.S. distributors of compact disks and three large music retailers have agreed to pay 143 million bucks in cash and CDs to settle charges they cheated consumers by fixing prices."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: This suit accused the record companies of conspiring with music distributors to boost the prices of CDs between '95 and 2000. So it wasn't your imagination.

MYERS: No. I can burn my own CD for $0.73, right? I mean...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ooh, the record companies don't like you, let me tell you that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they don't.

MYERS: No.

COSTELLO: Well, the thing that bugs me is this settlement is only $143 million. That's not very much with the amount of money that these companies make.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. In fact, and most of that money, too, is not going back to the consumer, but it's going to other areas that they have dedicated that money for. But it's interesting to see, yes, actually what they were doing is they were paying particular retailers advertising dollars in order to sell CDs at a particular price. And there are big, big companies involved in this, too, Sony Music, Warner Elektra Atlantic, EMI and Bertelsmann, some of the biggest companies in the business.

COSTELLO: Yes, and some of the record stores are quite large, too, Tower Records, Musicland Stores, Trans World Entertainment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes. That's all he says is yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MYERS: Well, when I was a kid, you could buy an album for $5.98 at Pickles Records (ph) in Lincoln, Nebraska.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

MYERS: Now, I mean you, that's, you know, I mean, what, 15, 16 bucks now for a kid to listen to a CD.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But look at the advantages of a CD. I mean you can comb your hair, use it as a mirror. I mean it makes a great coaster so.

COSTELLO: That's right. You can play Frisbee with it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go.

COSTELLO: But, you know, what will it take to get the price of a CD down? I mean what is it going to take? I mean you always hear these stories about the music industry being so corrupt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, I'll tell you what, too, a lot of folks thought that the Napster thing, the downloading thing off the Internet would make the record companies realize that they need to lower the prices. But that's a billion dollar industry. For the first time in history in the past two to three years, it's a billion dollar industry in CD sales. So people are still buying them. And as long as people buy them at those prices, they'll continue to sell them at those prices, I guess.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

OK, Andy and Alison, thank you for your input.

MYERS: All right, guys.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, you have a good day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MYERS: You, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's wearing orange today, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Tennessee orange, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MYERS: Yes, go Vols.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's either that or the color on our TV is really bad.

COSTELLO: I think that's more it.

Anyway, we'll see you next week.

Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 1, 2002 - 05:55   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to do a little Talk of CNN. Yes, it's that time where we find out what people across the country are talking about.
So what are the hot topics in Tennessee, you ask?

For that we check in with Andy and Alison and the morning crew from Radio Station WIVK in Knoxville.

Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you guys?

COSTELLO: Hey, we're fine. I've got something hot off the presses for you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

COSTELLO: OK, because, you know, we're all angry about the high price of CDs, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course you are.

COSTELLO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, being a parent of a teenage son, I know my pocketbook has been affected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes, some are as high as 18, 19 bucks. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: That means Chad will never buy a CD because he's way too cheap for that.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not new. I only wait for it to get out, come out used.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we can hook you up with some free ones there, man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was going to say, I've never really noticed the price of CDs. I get my stash from The Price Club.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a smart idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Hey, let me read this news hot off the press, though. It says, "The top five U.S. distributors of compact disks and three large music retailers have agreed to pay 143 million bucks in cash and CDs to settle charges they cheated consumers by fixing prices."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: This suit accused the record companies of conspiring with music distributors to boost the prices of CDs between '95 and 2000. So it wasn't your imagination.

MYERS: No. I can burn my own CD for $0.73, right? I mean...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ooh, the record companies don't like you, let me tell you that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they don't.

MYERS: No.

COSTELLO: Well, the thing that bugs me is this settlement is only $143 million. That's not very much with the amount of money that these companies make.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. In fact, and most of that money, too, is not going back to the consumer, but it's going to other areas that they have dedicated that money for. But it's interesting to see, yes, actually what they were doing is they were paying particular retailers advertising dollars in order to sell CDs at a particular price. And there are big, big companies involved in this, too, Sony Music, Warner Elektra Atlantic, EMI and Bertelsmann, some of the biggest companies in the business.

COSTELLO: Yes, and some of the record stores are quite large, too, Tower Records, Musicland Stores, Trans World Entertainment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes. That's all he says is yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MYERS: Well, when I was a kid, you could buy an album for $5.98 at Pickles Records (ph) in Lincoln, Nebraska.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

MYERS: Now, I mean you, that's, you know, I mean, what, 15, 16 bucks now for a kid to listen to a CD.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But look at the advantages of a CD. I mean you can comb your hair, use it as a mirror. I mean it makes a great coaster so.

COSTELLO: That's right. You can play Frisbee with it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go.

COSTELLO: But, you know, what will it take to get the price of a CD down? I mean what is it going to take? I mean you always hear these stories about the music industry being so corrupt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, I'll tell you what, too, a lot of folks thought that the Napster thing, the downloading thing off the Internet would make the record companies realize that they need to lower the prices. But that's a billion dollar industry. For the first time in history in the past two to three years, it's a billion dollar industry in CD sales. So people are still buying them. And as long as people buy them at those prices, they'll continue to sell them at those prices, I guess.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

OK, Andy and Alison, thank you for your input.

MYERS: All right, guys.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, you have a good day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MYERS: You, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's wearing orange today, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Tennessee orange, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MYERS: Yes, go Vols.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's either that or the color on our TV is really bad.

COSTELLO: I think that's more it.

Anyway, we'll see you next week.

Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com