Is the CD dead?

[bjorn_skurj]

The worst thing about CDs (and cassettes) had to be the moment album cover art shrunk to the size of a postage stamp.

Yeah, and it's tricky to roll a doob on a CD cover.

[Shakey]

If you can't hear a difference between a CD and an iTunes downloaded song, you're not listening. Through my stereo its very noticeable.

 

I always buy CDs and I then always download them lossless.

[Guest Speed Racer]

If you can't hear a difference between a CD and an iTunes downloaded song, you either don't care, have been to too many concerts, have hearing just a smidge worse than the audiophile population, aren't lying to yourself, or, once again, don't care.

 

Fixed it.

 

I can kinda hear the difference, but not enough that it matters for the 8 or so downloads I have. For someone who has their entire collection digital by now, they clearly don't care about the difference they do hear, if they hear one at all.

[tinnitus photography]

ame='CortezTheKiller' date='09 November 2009 - 10:04 AM' timestamp='1257782656' post='1379684']

While it is far from dead, I think the CD has taken a bit of a hit recently. I tend to subscribe to solace's purchasing plan - Spend a few extra bucks for the vinyl and download the free digital files. Or be Google savvy if they aren't included with the purchase of the vinyl.

 

 

this is my thinking, but then i take it one step further...just get the download.

 

 

 

 

drag city stuff isn't available anywhere. i wish it was at least on itunes.

 

what about emusic? i find it strange that Koretzky doesn't sell via iTunes.

 

drag city is a kickass label though...so many good bands and records...

[u2roolz]

As someone who has had a fluctuation in funds in the past few years, I buy a lot of music at iTunes. Now, the only cds I will buy are from people like Wilco, U2, R.E.M., & Pearl Jam to name a few.

Since I became a big user of my several iPods I found it strange to keep buying cds, since I don't play them as much. I can tell the difference in sound, but I don't want to get into an accident by changing my cds while driving. That's why we invented text messaging.

 

Once things turn around for me financially, I may switch back to all cd since there is only an extra 2-4 dollar difference. But then it comes back to the cd collecting dust as I put said cd onto my iPod.

 

Directed to OP: A friend of mine, Bryan Pero, is a musician who still hasn't put out his cd yet. One of his friends, Patrick Dunn, has his album on iTunes. Which to me seems pretty good, since you save on pressing costs. But then the question arises as to how people find out about someone like that. I guess maybe at his shows he sells his album and/or tells folks to buy it on iTunes? Both folks record out of Dirt Floor Studios in CT run by Eric Lichter. For anyone that is curious.

[tongue-tied]

I don't buy CDs too often anymore, they're not a particularly attractive middle ground between MP3 and LP.

[CortezTheKiller]

this is my thinking, but then i take it one step further...just get the download.

The "one step further" being you will purchase the vinyl, and if it does not come with a free CD or digital download, also purchase the digital download via iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic?

[MattZ]

what about emusic? i find it strange that Koretzky doesn't sell via iTunes.

 

drag city is a kickass label though...so many good bands and records...

 

Not through iTunes, not through emusic, and no mp3 downloads with the LP. Since I buy most of my new stuff on vinyl, if I want digital versions of these songs, I have to go out and buy another copy of the album on CD. It says a lot about Drag City and the quality of their artists that I am willing to do that (even on occasion). But it is pretty annoying. I would probably be boycotting any other label for this.

[The High Heat]

When my computer quit last year I had almost 8000 songs on iTunes. I had only downloaded 3 (for a special occasion), so i would have been all kinds of pissed if I hadn't had the cds as backups. I like and buy cds. I do not have a record player and listen to music mostly in the car, so I'm sticking with cds. My personal economy has been tight the last five years, but my budget is about to free up a bit, so I'm going to get back to buying about a half-dozen cds per month. I have, however, decided to buy mostly used or discounted whenever possible. If there is an old release I'm confident I'll find it somewhere in a store or online. I don't know how confident I am about finding an old release on a downloading site.

[jimmyjimmy]

Middle aged and overly nostalgic I enjoy LPs old or new and I don't mind scruffy examples of desirable stuff found in the used bins.

I have always hated CD jewels. With a passion.

[tinnitus photography]

Not through iTunes, not through emusic, and no mp3 downloads with the LP. Since I buy most of my new stuff on vinyl, if I want digital versions of these songs, I have to go out and buy another copy of the album on CD. It says a lot about Drag City and the quality of their artists that I am willing to do that (even on occasion). But it is pretty annoying. I would probably be boycotting any other label for this.

 

i bought a copy of the Chijimi 10" from Bonnie Prince Billy and it came w/ a download coupon for _Beware_. but not the songs from the record i bought.

 

of course, it was $20 for that 10".

[myboyblue]

Mr. Heartbreak brings up another good point...

if you somehow lose your digitally purchased files, you have absolutely NO backup... vs. the only way I can lose a physical CD/LP is theft or fire.

 

i have a couple terabytes of storage and backup a ton of my computer files (music, photos, software, etc.), but i've still lost tons of things over the years, whereas the number of CDs i've had to replace can probably be counted on 2 hands.

Why would you have no back-up? I have two external drives that back up my entire catalog a couple of times over. Further, anything you purchase through iTunes, you are entitled to. Prior to backing up my music on external hard drive, I had a crash. Everything that I purchased through iTunes, I was able to download again. I don't recall exactly how I did it...but I did.

[Moss]

I still buy tons of CD's. I do most of my listening in the car or on a stereos, not at my computer or Ipod. Plus with all the upgrading and crashing and whatever I just don't trust that the electronic files will last.

 

Won't be long and Amazon will really be the only place to buy physical copies. Borders, Best Buy, etc... keep shrinking the CD section and don't really offer anything outside the mainstream. The independents keep dying.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Everything that I purchased through iTunes, I was able to download again. I don't recall exactly how I did it...but I did.

 

When my iPod's screen bit it, I hadn't backed it up since before I got Tetris. I went to the App Store and downloaded it again and wasn't charged - I imagine songs would be the same, so long as you were doing so on an authorized computer?

[Calexico]

I haven't bought a cd in a while but that is nothing new for me. Christmas shopping I will splurge and buy a whole bunch of stuff I have on a list. I tend to bulk buy a couple times a year. I still like to have the actual artifact in my posession. Having said that, I do have a fierce amount of digital music. I only tend to buy the albums that I REALLY love. I don't think cd will die out for a long time yet. Everyone said that cd would herald the death of vinyl and that is still motoring along, in a smaller stream albeit.

[solace]

Why would you have no back-up? I have two external drives that back up my entire catalog a couple of times over. Further, anything you purchase through iTunes, you are entitled to. Prior to backing up my music on external hard drive, I had a crash. Everything that I purchased through iTunes, I was able to download again. I don't recall exactly how I did it...but I did.

that backup is a manual process is all i'm saying...

even as a computer nerd such as myself, i'm not the best about backups.

 

and you cannot re-download purchases from the iTunes MUSIC or MOVIES store:

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1469

 

it's amusing that you can re-download ANY purchased iPhone app from the App STore as many times as you want for free after you've purchased it, but not iTunes music/movies...

[Guest Speed Racer]

That is wild about the Apps v. music.

 

I'm pretty superstitious - maybe mnemonic is a better word? about back-ups. Since recycling is every other week here, I start my computer (and now iPod) back-ups right before I take out my recycling every other week. I have a hard time remembering to do one thing unless I'm doing another; I change my passwords at the same time I do a few other quarterly household chores too.

[cryptique]

I'm pretty superstitious - maybe pneumonic is a better word? about back-ups.

You misspelled "neurotic."

 

 

I think what you were actually going for was "mnemonic."

[Guest Speed Racer]

I think what you were actually going for was "mnemonic."

 

I'm a mnmoron. Edited.

[Maggie]

I'm trying to move away from mp3's and back to CD's, but it's hard when you're used to the instant gratification. I hate to think my music collection will be outdated one day when lossless downloads become more prevalent. Additionally, I've always looked forward to growing old with a huge collection of music to flip through. It's not the same when all you've got to show for your collection is a hard drive (or 2) and an iPod.

 

There are no real record stores within 45 minutes of where I live (that I know of). About 99% my physical CD/LP purchases are done online anyway. On top of that, I NEVER listen to CD's anymore. Even when I buy the physical copy, it gets ripped to the computer immediately, and the CD is put away for storage. I do most of my listening on my computer and iPod, and I use the turntable when I want some more ambiance. When I'm browsing amazon.com this makes it way too easy for me to look at the $2.00 difference and decide to go for the download rather than the CD.

 

I started buying mp3's about 2 years ago when I lost my job. I found out about emusic.com, which was offering 50 free downloads, no questions asked. After the free trial, I figured it would be a cheap way to supplement my need for music until I found employment. The thing is, I discovered that I didn't miss the physical aspect of the purchase. If I absolutely loved an album, I could always purchase a physical copy later on (though I've only done that once: Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co on vinyl).

 

I've been re-employed for almost 2 years now and I'm downloading as many mp3's as ever, while continuing to buy CD's and LP's. I swear I'm going to shut down the emusic account soon and put myself on a music budget. But I've been saying that for months now . . .

[brianjeremy]

My wife and I were discussing the cd and if it's still important last night. I guess I fall on the side of "I'd rather have the physical copy" or at least something physical that represents music. I hate the idea of not having something to hold or pull off the shelf.

[LouieB]

There is a supply and demand issue here.

 

This has been brought up before, but it is important. There used to be "record stores" (and I am not talking about LPs vs CDs vs cassettes, etc, which are all records..) where they had a large selection of music including rock, folk, jazz, classical, vocal, international, etc. etc. You walked in, checked out what was happening in each department and bought what you liked and wanted. Those stores really don't exist any more (with a few exceptions) and have been replaced by either the indie store (small and usually greared to a particular audience) or online or the increasingly shrinking departments at the big box stores (Best Buy, etc.).

 

This is NOT true of other sorts of merchandice which has these types of stores (Walmart, Home Depot, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Foot Locker, etc.) where you still can go and see real merchandice in real life and make a decision based on what you see and maybe make an impulse buy deterimed by what seems cool, what is on sale or what is being promoted that week. Now admittedly lots of commerce is done online, but somehow you can still go to the mall and find these others markets in real life, but music, not so much.

 

If the music industry was still interested in pushing physical product (rather than virtual product which is what MP3s etc. are), they might actually still sell more product. Hell people buy merch at shows like crazy when it is available. Bands didn't used to have to push so much merch at shows (maybe a few shirts or hats) because they had record companies to do that for them. But ultimately the music industry bet on virtual/digital product and in the process they got screwed, along with the artists.

 

(I have told this story here too recently, but at the Califone show at the MCA, they were selling gobs of LPs and CDs, because people have no idea how to get this stuff on a whim at anyplace else...unless they regularly patronize places like Laurie's or go to Califone's website and make a concious decision to buy an album.)

 

I do long for the days of the full service record store where you could see what was current and buy it on the spot, even if it was a rock album or folk or jazz or some piece of pop crap, it didn't matter. Now you can't do that. Even in Chicago, the third largest city in the country and a huge music market, there isn't a single full service record store left.

That is totally fucked up.

 

It isn't a question of the CD or the LP or the album or any other format being dead. It is a question of the music industry not really knowing how to market it's product. They got greedy and stupid. (And don't get me going on how fucked up radio is; which is how people found out about music for more years than any of us have been alive until they blew that too.)

 

LouieB

[Nobody Girl]

But I'm weird.

But in this case, it's a good weird.

[Beltmann]

Losing the digital files is a major concern. I am now rather vigilant about using DVDRs to back up the files, which are also stored on an external hard drive. I need to know they are stored safely where a computer meltdown will not eat them up. I've been vigilant ever since my computer crashed two years ago; fortunatately I didn't permanently lose very much because most had either been backed up, or ripped from physical CDs, or purchased via eMusic. It was time-consuming, but I was able to re-rip all the missing CDs, and re-download everything from eMusic. That's one major advantage of eMusic--it remembers your purchase history and allows you to re-download for free. I must have re-downloaded 100 albums, all free of charge. The only cost was the time involved, a cost that could have been avoided had I backed up the files more regularly in the first place.

[HungryHippo]

the whole mp3 vs. physical media debate is like a relationship. of course it's cool to talk to your girlfriend over the phone, but it's so much better to talk to them in person. you only get the voice over the phone, but you get the entire package in 3-D (better sound quality, lovely artwork, etc.)