Mike's Music, 226 W. College Ave., will be closing and moving all inventory to its Atherton Street branch in the next several weeks.

"The market for pre-recorded music has diminished over the last three years, I think, due mainly to peer-to-peer [sharing]," said Mike Negra, owner of Mike's Music. "Downsizing is a reality. We've been struggling."

Mike's Music has lost more than 60 percent of its business, or $2 million in sales since 2000, Negra said.

"In a college environment, it is worse," he said. "We saw [the trend] before it hit the nation."

"[State College has] lost Blue Train [Compact Disc, 418 E. College Ave.] and Vibes [Music, 226 E. College Ave] -- now we're losing Mike's. You've still got City Lights [Records, 316 E. College Ave.] and Arboria [Records, 119 E. Beaver Ave.] Could you lose those? Sure. Will anyone care? No one's buying, so why should anyone care?" Negra said.

Mark Biega, owner of Arboria Records, said online music sales and downloads, along with rising music prices, are contributing to the decrease in compact disc sales.

"It's the nature of the business right now," Biega said.

Low record sales are causing Mike's Music to close soon, employee Doug Heverly said.

"Initially, [Mike's Music was] supposed to close at the end of the month, but that's changed," he said.

Store sales may have declined because CD prices have risen consistently in recent years and the economy has inflated, Heverly added.

In addition to financial concerns, the convenience of online music may deter customers from shopping in CD stores.

"I download a lot of music," Charlie Vogt (junior-crime, law and justice) said. "I started a few years ago with Napster until it was shut down. Now I use Kazaa."

Vogt said he stopped buying CDs because they always include a few songs he likes but mostly songs he does not want to pay for. Vogt said he can choose each song online himself.

The current consumer wants products for free, Negra said.

"I have a passion for music," he said. "I think it's sad what's happening to the industry. Why would anyone get into the music business? The business as we know it is gone -- how it will resurface is a fantastic question."

Consolidating stores will reduce expenses from an administrative standpoint, Negra said.

The demographics surrounding the Atherton Street Mike's Movies and Music represent people less likely to download all of their music, he added.

"It's not the 'burnable society,' " Negra said.

Negra said as a company, Mike's is very strong, but "what Napster started, and Kazaa is continuing, has a domino effect."

He said he hopes the trend toward downloading and burning files will not also ruin the movie industry.