how would you save physical media?????

[Justin G]

Yeah, a couple years ago when I first got an IPOD, what would drive me nuts is buying a CD, burning it right to ITUNES, and then putting it on my IPOD. I probably have 10 CDs that are open in my collection where I never even listened to the album ON CD. Like you I only spin CDs if I am working at home. Just depends on the consumer.

I have a CD player at work, so I rotate a book of 48 CDs every week. That's about the only time I actually play my discs. In the car and on the computer it's MP3s. If I didn't love the collecting aspect, I could totally walk away from CDs. But I do love it, so I need to order another CD shelf...

 

[Justin G]

Yep, sorry, I don't pay full price for things you don't have to pay full price for.
CDs is one such item.
We have had this discussion many times years ago, on why I wouldn't always purchase stuff from Metal Haven, as one example.
You had no problem paying $14.99 for a new CD, because you wanted to see the store survive.

With so many online retailers including the label itself, I never saw the point in paying that price for a new cd. Sure, if it was something older and a bit harder to find, that is one thing.

I think too it also comes down to how much expendable money you have.
I know Bob you always like to say "the economy" is a cheap excuse as to why people aren't buying like they used to. This is a MAJOR reason (Aside from others such as illegal downloading which is probably at an equal level to or slightly less than the economic situation).

The funniest thing is that Bob admits in this thread that sales of the physical format is on the decline, yet gets pissed when I say it. Honestly my lonely friend, what it boils down to is that you are fighting a losing battle. It will always be around, but nothing is going to save it to make it more popular again. Why do you think Vinyl is so hip again? To a younger generation who missed it the first time, it is something new and exciting and different. There isn't really anything less hip these days than an album on CD. Its a fact. I like CDs as much as the next guy but you are fighting for something that's on the decline.

I'm with you on the price thing. Why pay more if you don't have to? Some titles I wait to buy used, and some I wait to buy at ProgPower for $8. It's only my A-List bands that I'll pay retail for, and even then I'm looking for the best price.

 

[Jasonic]

Yep, exactly.
I guess though too as I get older, new releases are less important to me.
There is always SO much stuff to revisit from my collection where if I dont get a new CD for 6 months, I am not exactly hurting for something to listen to.

Believe me, I think it is awesome that guys like Bob are around who do support the scene and buy 20 or more CDs a month.

For me, I get most of new additions to my physical collection from trades.


As far as new releases this year though, I have gotten more downloads than physical product.

 

[Element_man]

Something that is blowing my mind right now is how most of the people posting here think $15 for a pro-made, full length album (say 40+ minutes of music) is too much money. Are you fucking kidding me? Maybe things are different in the states, but if I go to a big-name music retailer and want to buy a new album from a metal band, I'll typically be spending between 18-25 dollars. Until a couple years ago, you could not buy an album put out by Limb Music for less than $25, all the older Rhapsody and Luca Turilli were close to $30. When the last Stratovarius album dropped, I think it started at 15.99 or something and they might have put it back to 20 by now. I mostly buy online from Shadow Kingdom, and I'm seeing many of their new CDs hovering around $12. Factor in the slight dollar difference and shipping to my neck of the woods, I'm paying at least $15. Even CDs, records and certain tapes don't go down too much in price at the used shops. I haven't paid a cent for a digital-only release before, I'm not really interested in that because I'm pretty rough on my gadgets, I would hate to spend a hundred dollars on like 11 or 12 albums only to have my computer blue screen on me and totally crash. I know there are ways around stuff like this, but you get my point I'm sure...

When you factor in recording costs, mixing/mastering fees, layout charges, pressing costs, and then the cost of gas + any time off work it may cost for the band to get to your shitty club to play for you, $15 for their album doesn't seem so bad. Assuming the band isn't complete crap.

 

[dcowboys311]

Combination of
a) things are different in the states
and
b) based on the names you've been dropping, you probably buy a lot of imports, which are always more expensive due to shipping + conversion rates

 

[Element_man]

Hah, there's not a lot in Canada that interests me, musically speaking...

 

[Jasonic]

Canada never has to apologize for anything......ever.......

You have given us VOIVOD, and the world will forever be in your homeland's debt!

 

[Diabolik]

no it is true.....I know at metal haven when people from out of country would come they would buy tons because it was a lot cheaper for them than in thier home country.

 

[DMR]

In Europe new CDs are like $25-$30, including taxes. So $15 doesn't seem so bad.

Also, Dimension Gaytross is reason enough to declare war on Canada.

 

[Element_man]

or this

 

[Vegetaman]

I have the same gripe with CDs that I have with DVDs... If they expect me to pay $15+ for something new, and all it is, is a plastic jewel case with a color cover and a plain disc in it... I'm waiting for it to go on sale for cheap unless I really, really want it. What happened to albums with like 15 pages of liner notes? Or DVDs with cool inserts inside. Everything feels cheap and less these days. That's my main gripe, I guess. I still like CDs though.

 

[SteelFireRecs]

In Europe new CDs are like $25-$30, including taxes. So $15 doesn't seem so bad.

Also, Dimension Gaytross is reason enough to declare war on Canada.

This must be why I get so many orders from people in Europe.

 

[Keir]

I like to look at Buried by Time and Dust's catalogue. They seem to sell out (or close to it) of their stuff regularly and their shit is the highest quality there is. Does anyone here own anything by these guys? My Solstice "New Dark Age" DLP is heavy enough to kill a small child with, the records and the case both. The packaging is gorgeous and a different colour from the CD, and the solo/title is foil-stamped. The booklet features exclusive liner notes written candidly and with great prejudice from the main man himself. ALL their shit is this cool.

I have at least 2 of their LPs (Max Planck and Street Child) and you're right. Both are incredibly high quality records in gatefolds with lots of interesting photos, notes, etc. However I must admit I only bought those because I wanted the music that badly. If they offered a standard price CD I would have bought that instead. (Admittedly, Stormspell did release a Max Planck CD but I had already bought the LP from BBTAD.)

 

[Jasonic]

This must be why I get so many orders from people in Europe.

It's also the reason why European pressings and Japanese pressings have bonus tracks, to help make the item more attractive relative to the higher price tag.

 

[Jasonic]

Also, Dimension Gaytross is reason enough to declare war on Canada.

Your comment almost made me cry......

That's seriously a top 10 metal album of all time for me.

That album seriously changed my mind as to what "heavy metal" could be.

Not to sound like a dick, but you might think differently if you heard the album in 1988 in relation to everything else that was going on in metal at the time.

If you are just saying, "Hey, it's not as kvlt sounding as RRRRROOOOOAAAARRRRR or Killing Technology", then that's your problem.

 

[DMR]

What's so great about it? I asked you that once before and you never told me. To me, it doesn't sound like they did much different from "Killing Technology", except for having the absolute worst vocals of all time.

 

[Jasonic]

What's so great about it? I asked you that once before and you never told me. To me, it doesn't sound like they did much different from "Killing Technology", except for having the absolute worst vocals of all time.

For me, it's that Piggy took David Gilmore's guitar techniques (IE - time signatures and chord progressions) and translated it to metal.

As far as vocals, I dont know what to tell you.
Either you like Snake or ya don't.

Once again, I think it also has to do with what was out at the time.
Compare this to South of Heaven, Master of Puppets, Four of a Kind, Into the Pandemoneum, Keepers I and II, etc, etc....

There was simply nothing like it......at the time.....

 

[DMR]

I've never listened much to Pink Floyd, so I didn't connect them with Voivod. I always thought they sounded like elevator music.

 

[nomisofsiman]

I've never listened much to Pink Floyd, so I didn't connect them with Voivod. I always thought they sounded like elevator music.

Better not be dissing the Floyd...

 

[Jasonic]

PF are not for everyone.
They were one of the first 10 bands I ever got into.
I seriously must have watched the WALL like 100 times as a kid.
I think I still have my VHS Copy of it somewhere.
I taped the ad from the TV GUIDE (Remember those kids?) from when I taped it off network TV.

Though The Wall, Dark Side, and Wish You Were Here will always be 3 of my fav albums of any genre.