jem777az
Bozzman
A-fucking-MEN!!
Alphabetically by band and in chronological order by release date.
Is the death of the CD looming?
- Thread starter Saladbar
- Start date
A-fucking-MEN!!
Alphabetically by band and in chronological order by release date.
Yes, of course, but that's not what was implied in my statement, I said a truckload of NEW one-hit-wonder artists, meaning more than usual.
For the latest TSO album (Night Castle) - if you bought it via MP3 you could download the liner notes in PDF format. I bought it on MP3 first (since it came out in that format first), then later on CD.
So those who say "well with MP3 we miss the liner notes", that excuse will soon no longer work.
One might wonder then, why did you buy the CD at all?
Personally, I have no intention of paying for an album twice, regardless of format.
I paid for both, tho this is one of the rare times that I did so. I bought the MP3s for the bonus track and because it was relatively cheap. I bought the CD because it is the only way I can listen to it at work. Combined, I probably paid about $16, which isn't out of line.
skyrefuge
Member
Again, the fact that you see no value in a download implies that you place no value on the music that the songwriters composed and the musicians recorded. Apparently when you pay $14 for a CD, you think that you're paying $14 for some bits of paper and plastic? For me, when I bought CDs, I figured I was paying $2-3 for the paper and plastic, and $10 for the right to listen to the music contained on that plastic. So when I buy a $9 download, I feel like I'm paying $9 for that same license to listen to the creative work of an artist as often as I would like. The value of a download doesn't drop to zero when the packaging is removed, because only a small percentage of the total value is the packaging anyway.
So the only way for illegal downloading to increase when CDs become obsolete is if there are a lot of people like you who see no value in a license to listen to music, and only see a value in the packaging. However, since people are purchasing downloads in ever-increasing numbers, while the CD-equivalents *are still available*, this is a clear indicator that most people value the music itself, and so the eventual death of the CD will have little effect on illegal downloading rates.
You didn't need a top-the-line-stereo to enjoy "high-quality" CDs either. The marketing mavens just tricked a certain segment of population into thinking that they did. Now, their power is waning, so people no longer want to waste their money on that stuff like they used to. And it's probably the audiophile companies' own fault too: they malign mp3s as "low quality", but then people listen with their own ears, think they sound great, and so that totally destroys the credibility of the audiophile segment.
heh...this is like trying to get a kid to try cauliflower: "Mikey, just try it, you might like it!" "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" "How do you know, if you've never tried it before?" "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" "If you try it and don't like it, don't worry, I won't ask you to try it again." "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Have you guys never ended up liking something that you didn't expect you'd like? Your predictions about your own behavior and likes/dislikes are always 100% accurate? If you've tried buying an electronic download, and haven't felt satisfied, that's totally cool, I completely understand. But if you haven't tried it, how can you be so sure? Especially since I was once the same way with buying and placing my CDs on my rack to get that "ownership" feeling. So like I said, I was surprised how much that feeling actually transferred over to purchased downloads, because I didn't expect it either. Certainly that's no guarantee that you'd feel the same way, but given all the other people who have switched to downloads and been satisfied, we know that the feeling is not unheard-of.
And all the "AMEN"s give me a feeling of "the lady doth protest too much!" If you don't want to pay for downloads, no one will force you to (yet!)...there's no need to band together in an anti-downloading religion, unless you feel you need the social support to avoid giving into temptation.
Nobody. All vendors sell albums based on album-pricing, just as CDs are priced, so if you want the entire album, you pay a set amount ($5-$10) for all the tracks on the album. If people want to buy single tracks instead of complete albums, then they won't have any interest in the intro track, or most other tracks from that album. So the issue you bring up doesn't exist in reality.
There's a "standard" in the works, CMX, and it actually sounds like a pretty good approach. But, progress seems deathly slow, so I'm guessing it'll never actually come to anything, mostly because Apple is not part of the consortium, and without the dominant player in downloadable music on-board, it will never be a true "standard". And Apple's solution is kind of crappy (and I don't know how much they're pushing it), so it doesn't seem like that's on its way to becoming a de-facto standard either. So yeah, it sucks.
Yeah, with the old-fashioned paper liner notes, you can never see the art larger than a tiny 5-inch square, you can't do text-searches, you can't see them without getting up from your computer and digging them out of the CD rack, you can't keep multiple copies in multiple places, and you can't keep them from getting worn out every time you jam them in and out of the CD case. So I totally agree, it just isn't the same!
Neil
Buying cds was a religious experience for me, I used go to either Tower Records or Impulse Music every Saturday and come out with 5+ cds every single time. There was no better feeling than to go cd hunting and finding those gems every once in a while, I just had to have the "Super-Deluxe-Import-Extra-Tracks-w/Kung Fu Grip" version of every cd possible and display them on my shelf autobiographically.
Then Tower Records closed. That's when stores started to carry less and less selection to the point that I ended up not finding anything I wanted.
The last straw came when I went to Impulse Music looking for 3 cds and they did not have a single one. After that I just asked myself if it was worth going to these stores if they never had what I wanted. So I went to the internet and started ordering cds online. That went fine for a while until I purchased my first MP3 album. That's when everything changed.
Everyone talks about having to have the cd in your hands and how good of a feeling it is rather than just buying a file. Well let me say what a great feeling it is to have my entire music collection in my hands in the form of an MP3 player. Liner notes? It takes 2 seconds to google lyrics. Album cover? I remember when cds came out people said that you can't appreciate album covers anymore because they are not in a 12 x 12 sleeve on cdsand you know what? They were right you can't. But people looked past that and continued to buy cds eventually having them take over Vinyl.
Again these are the reasons of why I don't buy cds anymore.
My favorite quote of the article was this:
"Vinyl was the predominant configuration from the '50s and the '60s all the way up through the early '80s, and then cassettes became the predominant format from the early-mid '80s to the very early '90s," he said. "Then CDs became the predominant format and cassettes really didn't go away until a few years ago. It's kind of a natural progression, to a degree."
If you look at it from that point of view it makes perfect sense, but amongst us with a passion for our music it is very hard to accept it.
At the end they won't stop making cds just like they haven't stopped making vinyl records. But the reality is that they are not what they once were and will probably never be again.
Then Tower Records closed. That's when stores started to carry less and less selection to the point that I ended up not finding anything I wanted.
The last straw came when I went to Impulse Music looking for 3 cds and they did not have a single one. After that I just asked myself if it was worth going to these stores if they never had what I wanted. So I went to the internet and started ordering cds online. That went fine for a while until I purchased my first MP3 album. That's when everything changed.
Everyone talks about having to have the cd in your hands and how good of a feeling it is rather than just buying a file. Well let me say what a great feeling it is to have my entire music collection in my hands in the form of an MP3 player. Liner notes? It takes 2 seconds to google lyrics. Album cover? I remember when cds came out people said that you can't appreciate album covers anymore because they are not in a 12 x 12 sleeve on cdsand you know what? They were right you can't. But people looked past that and continued to buy cds eventually having them take over Vinyl.
Again these are the reasons of why I don't buy cds anymore.
My favorite quote of the article was this:
"Vinyl was the predominant configuration from the '50s and the '60s all the way up through the early '80s, and then cassettes became the predominant format from the early-mid '80s to the very early '90s," he said. "Then CDs became the predominant format and cassettes really didn't go away until a few years ago. It's kind of a natural progression, to a degree."
If you look at it from that point of view it makes perfect sense, but amongst us with a passion for our music it is very hard to accept it.
At the end they won't stop making cds just like they haven't stopped making vinyl records. But the reality is that they are not what they once were and will probably never be again.
The_Q
No More Posts
LOL Ever hear of supply and demand? Maybe you were too late and it sold out. It happens. LOL oh geez.
TribunalRecords
Record Label(s)/Vocalist
Well, i do my part to make sure that it will never die off. i gladly issue CD ONLY releases. when i do release things both digitally and via CD i make sure when i can the CD release has the bonus track, not the digital one. i also do NOT do digital only releases, ever. in fact i will swoop in and work with bands to release their physical release for them.
am i one of the few left? is it a lost cause? it could be, but why not go down fighting?
am i one of the few left? is it a lost cause? it could be, but why not go down fighting?
They always had what I wanted, always.
One time when the Dio live in London double cd came out I called on the release day and they said they were going to hold the cd for me 'till I got out of work. When I showed up they told me it was gone and I told the guy that I was the one who called so he took an envelope that was ready to ship and ripped it open. The Dio cd was inside and he handed it to me just so I could have it.
Towards the end there was nothing left at the store that I wanted so I ordered online from them for a while.
Call it what you want, that place just wasn't the same for me at the end which is a damn shame cause that was thee place for me for years.
Diamond45
Terminate Bad Music
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
I'd say 98%. I'm fairly self-aware. I feel as though I have a strong insight into what makes me tick and what motivates me.
Well... I've never been ganged raped in prison, but I can say with almost complete certainty, I wouldn't enjoy it.
In all seriousness, I already have the files. I download them when the disc leaks. Why would replacing files I downloaded from source A, with files I download from source B, come with any satisfaction whatsoever? I guess you can argue that until I've done so, I won't know for sure. However, I feel 99.9999% certain. And that .000001% isn't worth $9.99 to me.
Jasonic
Doom On!
I mentioned something along these lines in another thread.
Smart bands will put LESS songs on an album as then its digital purchase will be more attractive, since on some sites you "pay per song"
Some seem to offer a max price, or max "Download credits", if the album is over lets say 12 tracks.
Though if an album has only 6 tracks, you could possibly download it track by track for 6 bucks. (Though I have seen sites prevent this by making certain tracks ONLY available if you download the complete album at a set price).
Will be interesting to see.
AMBR
Metal Grandma
I tried it. I don't like it. I'm in with the choir of Amens - Love to hold it, read it, store it alphabetical and chronological. I can Google up the artwork if I want it on my computer for something.
Jasonic
Doom On!
I have a couple other thoughts on this.
Some fans consider their CDs to be part of a "collection" and not just a format of the album. I am one of them. Not necessarily for EVERY band I like, but there are certain bands (IE - ones that make up my personal top 10) that when their new one comes out, I HAVE to have the physical copy, because the album becomes part of my collection of that band.
My opinion of MP3's changed DRASTICALLY once I finally got a GOOD MP3 player (an IPOD nano), and a car that has an MP3 adapter. Makes listening to tunes in the car a lot easier (Esp for me who is in the car 2+ hours a day, for my work commute)
Some fans consider their CDs to be part of a "collection" and not just a format of the album. I am one of them. Not necessarily for EVERY band I like, but there are certain bands (IE - ones that make up my personal top 10) that when their new one comes out, I HAVE to have the physical copy, because the album becomes part of my collection of that band.
My opinion of MP3's changed DRASTICALLY once I finally got a GOOD MP3 player (an IPOD nano), and a car that has an MP3 adapter. Makes listening to tunes in the car a lot easier (Esp for me who is in the car 2+ hours a day, for my work commute)
The Invisible Guest
Member
This is another issue I face. I download everything before the release date .. just like you, but then I also make a digital purchase of the stuff I like when it becomes available. I end up not replacing the files because I like to be able to see the play counts I have amassed via Itunes. Basically I have a directory of purchased mp3 files that I never do anything with. It's kind of silly.
Instead of buying the files I already have downloaded I would rather have the ability to go to that artists website and make a $10 donation. The bands probably benifits from a straight 10 bucks like that as compared to getting small amounts from a store bought cd, or download from Itunes or whatever.
Britt
This is a very good point. For the first time ever for me I have zero interest in having to have every single format of my favorite band's new album (Iron Maiden). I just have my MP3 download on preorder and that's it. In 2006 when AMOLAD came out I had like 5 different versions of it, I just can't justify that anymore.
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