The high price of being a portable music pioneer (1999)

plus heavenly tax moves from a Charlie's Angels star

͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  February 28, 2022 • Issue #4 Money is turning 50! To celebrate, we've combed through decades of our print magazines to uncover hidden gems, fascinating stories and vintage personal finance tips that have (surprisingly) withstood the test of time. Throughout 2022, we'll be sharing our favorite finds in this special newsletter. Ready to dive into the archive? Money has never aspired to be fashionable or hip. But through the years, we've often been there with advice as a new product or technology was moving into the mainstream.  A case in point is a small sidebar in our July 1999 issue about the then-emerging music format known as the MP3, a file type that soon kickstarted a revolution in digital music. You "ripped" the files from CDs to your computer with help from a disc drive and software.  Playing music on a smartphone was still a few years away, so to go mobile with MP3s required buying a pricey new gizmo known as a portable music player. Money's recommended player, the Diamond Rio, cost a hefty $137.95 — that's $230 in 2021 dollars — and held a paltry hour of music. The iconic Apple iPod MP3 player that debuted two years later carried up to 50 hours of tunes, but it started at $399.   Given such prices, and questions about the MP3's longevity, Money wisely warned about investing "time and money" in a format that "could go the way of Betamax" — a reference to the Sony videotape format that lost the VCR battle to VHS, which left owners of Star Wars on Betamax with nothing to play their tapes on.  As it happens, our editors needn't have worried about MP3 obsolescence. While other portable-music alternatives have come along — notably, streaming services like Spotify —  the format obviously lives on. If you happen to have a CD of Millennium by the Backstreet Boys — the biggest selling album of 1999 — it's easy to rip and play it on your computer today as it was when you (or your dad) did so for a Y2K party playlist.  Read the sidebar, along with writer Penelope Wang's larger story about web CD stores, here. — Paul Reynolds, insurance editor IN OTHER NEWS… 💰 Predictions, schmedictions A June 2005 Money story on housing prices reported the recent sharp rise in buyers with risky subprime mortgages. But it reassured readers that "the bottom is unlikely to fall out of the housing market"... a mere 18 months or so before just that began to happen, fueled in large part by defaults on those subprime loans. Oops. 💰 Bond villains In a 1985 poll, we asked people the best way to get rich in America. Less than 20% of respondents said investing in stocks. 💰 Advice from the ashes Money was about to send an issue to the printer on Sept. 11, 2001, but staffers tore up plans and — "with clouds of smoke and ash still visible from our Manhattan office windows," according to an editor's note — prepared a story on the possible impact of the catastrophe on personal finance. It included the poignant question: "Is It OK To Talk About Money Now?" SHOW ME THE MONEY   Coping with Charlie's… cash? In our March 1977 issue, Jaclyn Smith spilled on her heavenly tax moves to manage her newfound wealth as a co-star of Charlie's Angels — the breakout TV hit of 1976. TEST YOUR MONEY MEMORY Actors on hit TV shows can now make $1 million an episode. How much was co-star Jaclyn Smith paid per Charlie's Angels episode? $50,000 $10,000 $5,000 $250,000 Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this edition of Money Classic, please forward it to a friend or tell them to sign up at money.com/subscribe. We've got a full year of 50th anniversary surprises planned, so stay tuned — and in the meantime, check out Money.com for up-to-date news and advice. Recent stories include The Russia-Ukraine Conflict Is Rattling the Stock Market, A 'Rude Awakening' Is Coming for Millions of New Investors and A Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping Your Plants Safe During a Move.

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