However with the introduction of lighter weight and more flexible plastic substrate magnetic tapes, combined with a vacuum column to control the tension that the magnetic tape experiences during use, the IBM 726 was a prototype of the modern digital tape recording system.

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The company is a founding member of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), the recording industry's effort to develop an open, secure access system for digital music.

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If they could, the recording industry would have recognized that digital downloading is the new distribution system for music and, perhaps, they would have bought Napster, instead of putting it out of business.

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