Eric Miller (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) hasn't bought a CD in a record store since the fall of last year.

He attributed this to an endless supply of music files available online for a whopping cost of nothing, thanks to file-sharing.

In an attempt to win back record buyers like Miller, bands have begun adding bonus material to discs to help those who are willing to spend their money on the music get the most for it.

But students still don't want to pay the money when it is available online.

Mark Biega, owner of Arboria Records, 119 E. Beaver Ave., said, "The average price of a new CD is $14.98," which is nearly three movie tickets or quite a bit of beer money.

"A lot of big-selling bands ... will sell even bigger because of the bonus material," said Ken Kubala, manager of City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave.

Kubala said bands are adding such things as extra tracks, CD-ROM features and even stickers and T-shirts.

Biega said bands are mostly adding DVDs and other video features.

"I don't think a lot of the extras offered can be found online," Biega said.

Kubala believes the bands are making a good move in their on-going struggle with the file-sharing business. He said people would be more likely to purchase a disc that includes interesting features.

"It certainly gets people to rush out and buy [new releases]," Kubala said. He noted that sales have somewhat increased since artists began endowing their albums with special features.

However, it seems anything that can be added onto a CD can just as quickly become a part of file-sharing programs.

Erica Cobb (senior-biobehavioral health) said most of the extra material and more is already online. She said she isn't sure if she would be more enticed to purchase a disc because of its bonuses.

"If I've seen or heard [the extras] before and know the material is good, then it would probably be worth it to buy the CD," she added.

Jason Rabinovich (sophomore-finance) said he recently bought a CD with a special CD-ROM feature, but said the added feature did not influence his decision to purchase the disc and he hasn't even accessed the material to see what was on it.

"It takes too much time to open the programs and I don't think it would be worth it," he added.

Biega said although bonus material has sparked an interest with customers, he thinks lowering CD prices would be more effective in fighting file sharing.

"Universal [Music] announced it's lowering CD prices and [Arboria] sells a lot of used discs for a cheaper price," he said.

According to the Universal Music Web site, the company plans to cut its manufacturer suggested retail price to $12.98. The price cut has been scheduled to go into effect sometime before the end of the year.

Miller doesn't think even cutting the prices of discs will help.

"What's the point [of buying a CD] when you can get it for free?" he said.

Kubala said he likes to purchase CDs to have the colors of the cases in his collection.

"It's more interesting to have a variety of cool covers instead of the plain, black and white sleeves with track lists printed on them," he said.

Good cover art is what catches the eye and tempts someone to pick up the CD.

Rabinovich said when he's looking for CDs, the cover art can influence his decision on whether or not to purchase a disc.

"If I'm looking for CDs and I see something with a really cool cover but I don't know much about the band, I'll probably buy it anyway," he said.

Kubala said, "Image is a huge part of buying music," and bands should get more creative with the artwork on the covers to show buyers what their music is about and prove it's worth the money.