Digital music vs Cds

[remington69]

Call me old-fashioned, but I still buy CDs of albums I want. A friend, however, has commented that she only buys digital muisc (mostly from iTunes). That scares me. I've had a hard drive and it's backup die on me before. Also, what about music quality? Is the ACC format from iTunes really that good? I have CDs made from 128kbs mp3s and I can definitely tell a difference in audio quality.

Is the CD a dying medium? Or are true fans of music still putting their faith in them?

Another thing that scares me is the music industry leaning even more towards singles instead of whole albums. A coworker once commented that she likes iTunes because she doesn't have to get the crappy songs on the album and can get only the one song she wants. Granted she mostly listens to pop and pop-rock. I rarely get an album where I skip over tracks. Good musicians put out solid albums, IMHO.

Forgive this rambling, but this is something that has been bothering me.

 

[Arg_Hamster]

I´m with you on this one remington. I don´t trust my hard drives enough to just store my music digitaly. And yes, I prefer the CD-sound quality played through a good hi-fi system.

And I also like to have some cool artwork, extra tracks and lyrics and so on, most bands I listen to nowadays gives you goodies for buying the CD-version.

 

[sufferer]

Yeah I lost so many pictures that were on my computer when my drive crashed, I now print them all out. The same with music, like you said I think real fans want the artwork, pictures, etc. that come with CDs.

 

[BIGPHAT442]

Count me in. I want something I can hold. I want to skim through the booklet, read it and look at the pics while I listen.
The quality of downloads sucks too, you have to turn the volume way up. If something is available only to download, I won't buy it. They're not pushing this on me.

 

[remington69]

It also makes me wonder what is actually better for the artist, moneywise. I know I read that Weird Al says he actually gets less money from songs downloaded from stores like iTunes than if you actually bought his CD.

I wonder how bands are negotiating that in their contract.

 

[Catharsis70]

I will D/L a track or two now and then but Mostly only to sample before I buy the CD etc. Buying a new disk, opening it up, reading the liner etc is all part of the romance of new music. As far as sound quality, its getting harder and harder to tell. Digital recording is getting so much better and some computer speakers are just nuts. I have a Klipsch 5.1 THX speaker system for my PC and they kick total arse.

 

[Arg_Hamster]

I love my computer speakers, but I don´t want to put the damn thing on just so I can listen to music. When I sit there I switch between my stereo and Winamp.

 

[BIGPHAT442]

I will D/L a track or two now and then but Mostly only to sample before I buy the CD etc. Buying a new disk, opening it up, reading the liner etc is all part of the romance of new music. As far as sound quality, its getting harder and harder to tell. Digital recording is getting so much better and some computer speakers are just nuts. I have a Klipsch 5.1 THX speaker system for my PC and they kick total arse.

"...the romance of new music". Classic

 

[MikeyBong]

I agree with all of you on this one. I have over 1,300 CD's in my collection and I love 'em all! The "album" as we remember it is becoming a thing of the past and it really saddens me. Kids now would never get "Physical Graffitti", "Tommy", or "The Wall". They just want something that sounds like everything else out there these days. Am I sounding like an old man yet?

 

[whitey131]

I buy from I tunes, i scratch all my cd's I burn everything to a cd and put it in a book I don't use.

 

[aliasp]

CDs all the way. I want the artwork... I want the cool feeling I get when I see all my favourite Bands CDs on my shelf.

No joy looking at my harddrive on a shelf

 

[THEBALDGUYFROMBLACKLODGEVIDEO]

I remember that feeling when I was opening the first vynil I bought (I was 11, and it was Queen's "News Of The World"). I didn't pee down my pants only because I had only two pairs of them. I read and re-read all the credits, all the "thank yous"...
I'm the only man in my family these days, but I take enormous pleasure every saturday while dusting my CDs... No one else is allowed to do that.

 

[DarbysDad]

I agree with all of you on this one. I have over 1,300 CD's in my collection and I love 'em all! The "album" as we remember it is becoming a thing of the past and it really saddens me. Kids now would never get "Physical Graffitti", "Tommy", or "The Wall". They just want something that sounds like everything else out there these days. Am I sounding like an old man yet?

I still have Physical Graffitti on vinyl but lost the re-mastered CD

 

[dbluntman]

CDs all the way. I want the artwork... I want the cool feeling I get when I see all my favourite Bands CDs on my shelf.

No joy looking at my harddrive on a shelf

I couldn't agree with u more..cds all the way for me as well..I like the package deals..the artwrk and plus the bonus dvds...I would like to SEE my moneys worth..not have my music stored in a harddrive..music of today and how u can get it..is getting pretty interesting

 

[THEBALDGUYFROMBLACKLODGEVIDEO]

I still have Physical Graffitti on vinyl but lost the re-mastered CD

#1 album in my book.

 

[karrokid]

i buy cds but consumers are def getting away from buying them. look at all the record store chains that are going out of buisness. people download a lot more now. look at all the ipods and mp3 players out there. the mall by my house does not have a music store in it, if you want a cd there is a best buy outside the mall and there selection is limited. most people just want the song or two they heard on the radio. we are breeding a fast food nation with short attention spans.

i wanted to buy a copy of the doors "waiting for the sun" album. i went to best buy, circuit city and a used cd store( as those are my choices in my neighborhood). all i could find at the first 2 were best of compilations. i went online and downloaded it from napster for 9 bucks. i could have saved 5 dollars in gas if i would have just done that first.

 

[aliasp]

But Karro are kids buying them online or downloading them illegally?

Thats the real question too.

Gimme CDs anyday.

 

[mrthrax]

cds are great but digital can easily be better quality wise,i play my music thru magix mp3 maker and u can change setting just like on a real stereo system and itr sounds so damn fresh.

 

[thraxx]

but I still buy CDs of albums I want

This is what we all do.... I only buy the CD's i want... You need the Artwork.
Otherwise is download what you want and get from and give to friends.....

 

[Arg_Hamster]

I spread the word of Anthrax when I was in Norway, I was bored and asked a guy if he could burn a CD with some Thrax for us to listen to after work (sorry bout that). He was like "Anth-who?"

Two days later he came back with a burned CD and was "Hell yes! Thank you Satan for giving us this band!" He was now a Thrax-head. Guess downloading has it´s uses. But I told him to buy a couple of albums.

One of our bosses was a real asshole and every time he showed up we started humming "Here comes the biggest asshole...".

We sat up drinking and listened to Thrax all night before I left.