The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I think it's likely that there will be a replacement for the CD, for a few reasons.

• People prefer owning physical media (even if they later rip it).
• Gives RIAA an opening for media with decent copy-protection.
• The CD market is saturated and fairly stable. A new media gives the RIAA an excuse to charge more for a "gee-whiz" format.