R.I.P. Compact Discs

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jeromewasfired

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Mar 5, 2009
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I know that Aphotic has been out for some time but I just recently got around to going to Best Buy to pick it up. Yikes - it has been awhile since I was at a Best Buy but holy cow has the CD section all but disappeared.

I did not find Aphotic. I did not even find Novembers Doom slot. What the hell?

Old habits die hard man - I appreciate the convenience of itunes but I simply miss the experience of going to the record store (R.I.P. Metal Haven, too!) getting the disc I have been waiting for; opening it in the car (Where is a dime so I can break this infernal plastic wrapper? Why is this sticker at the top so frickin' hard to get off?); throwing it in the CD player and driving around while experiencing the new album at maximum volume with the windows down. Then I get home, throw it in the stereo and flip through the liner notes. And geez - is it weird to admit I love the smell of a new CD?

So after this disappointing visit to Best Buy, I went home and bought the album from itunes. It downloaded. I added it to my playlist. I listened through my tiny earbuds. No book to flip through. No new car smell.

Sure I could have ordered it. I should have taken advantage of the preorder t-shirt deal. But I just figured I would pick it up at Best Buy next time I was there. I will go out of my way next time to make sure I preorder.

I lament the death of physical entertainment media. I abhor the nothingness that is digital music transfer, movie streaming and ebooks. Is it too soon to feel nostalgic for record stores, video stores and book stores? Rest in peace CDs.
 
dude, Best Buy sucks these days when it comes to CDs. a couple i've been to in my state used to be pretty good on CDs, but they've gone down the shitter as of late. so with that, i say fuck Best Buy. go to an FYE outlet; theirs is way better.
 
Agreed, very few Best Buy locations carry a good stock of metal cd's, especially from "underground" artists. If it's a big name band, on a big name label, you'll probably find it, but that's about it.

You can still buy cd's from plenty of online vendors:

Amazon.com
The End Records/Omega
CD Universe
Laser's Edge (prog/power oriented)
Century Media/Nuclear Blast
Metaldisc.com

Etc.
 
well, its sad but true, I hate to admit that. I love having CD's, and there really is an emptiness to digital media.
 
This brings up a questions I've had in my head for awhile... Would people who download music, be willing to pay, say .99 or $1.99 for a PDF or ebook of the liner notes? This would of course be wide open to all sorts of new design ideas, but would allow you to have access to all the art, lyrics, and most likely much more per release, do to the non print cost?

Also, i too love the smell of a new CD. It's the ink you're smelling of the printed booklet. I worked in commercial print shops most of my adult life, and I would smell that every day walking into the press room. THAT, I can't duplicate digitally, but I could try to recreate the content in some way.

With a digital booklet of some sort, even if someone steals the CD via a torrent site, the band could STILL make their "royalty" rate for the CD by directly selling the artwork.

Thoughts?
 
As was mentioned earlier, FYE is still a good place to find our cd on the shelves. I've had people from all over the country send me pics and messages showing that "Aphotic" was available in their local FYE. Alot of times they have good sales happening too, where you can get the disc at a pretty reasonable price (for those who complain that discs are too expensive to buy at retail). Back when the album came out in May, I saw it on sale for $11, which is pretty reasonable.
 
FYE always has ND cds, I bought the last 3 albums when they came out.
 
I would be interested in giving it a shot. The lack of a booklet is part of why I've only bought three digital releases in my life. Honestly can't guarantee continued patronage though. Digital stuff simply doesn't make me feel like part of the experience. I didn't go to a show, get enthralled by the music, and blather like an idiot at some member of the band. Nor is there a lazy quest to find the disc at a store during which I run across a half dozen unfamiliar bands to check later.
 
I think it's unfortunate, but it's the way things are going. I remember 33rpm LPs and the sense of occasion when you bought one. The advent of CDs reduced this sensation and digital downloads have wiped it out completely.
 
Fortunately there are a couple record stores here in Vegas that generally fulfill my new music release needs; picked up Aphotic the day it was released there.
 
You'll have to pry my cd's from my cold dead fingers. I've never bought a digitial copy of any album, I always get the CD. Of course that now involves mail order for the most part, I miss running out to my car and throwing a new dsic in. Best Buy and Walmart just don't have the selection to fulfull the void out this way. (west of chicago)
 
Novembers Paul said:
This brings up a questions I've had in my head for awhile... Would people who download music, be willing to pay, say .99 or $1.99 for a PDF or ebook of the liner notes? This would of course be wide open to all sorts of new design ideas, but would allow you to have access to all the art, lyrics, and most likely much more per release, do to the non print cost?
Click to expand...

Can't know that until you do it once or twice. For most bands, no, but for yours which has a certain brand name (you guys may scoff at that notion but it's true), might be worth your while. If you guys want to just make it for the hard core of your fans that would absolutely buy it, in this case that's me saying such a group of people exists, then the answer is yes. You have people who would buy it.

Will that cover the cost of its creation? No idea. I think most bands are not charging for the covers on itunes. What they do is that to get bonus tracks, you have to buy the full album. And on top of that, only the full album contains the digital book. Get my drift?
 
Paul, I haven't replied to this yet, as I have been thinking about it some. I hate to be a naysayer, but you are asking for honest feedback so I am going to provide it.

Most of the time, if someone is listening to an MP3, they are in their car ,at the gym, on the train, walking in the park on a nice sunny day, etc, etc.....

Therefore, to fully enjoy a PDF of the booklet, you would have to be in front of your PC. I suppose maybe it would look ok on an IPHONE or other medium with a bigger screen.

As Naglfar says above, I think you would have to do it and see how it goes. I have no idea what the cost would be to do this. I think if initially you simply recreate the existing APHOTIC (or other already released) booklet in PDF form, the cost should be pretty immaterial, correct?
 
I lament the passing of the days when I could run to a local store and pick up a new CD. It's getting tougher and tougher. There are still a few around, like FYE (if I feel like dealing with the fucking mall :erk:), but since Tower closed, it's definitely not as easy. Hopefully enough diehard CD folk will continue to buy from the online outlets, or CD's are in REAL trouble...

I honestly don't think I would pay for digital liners. But then again, if the art was cool enough, maybe I would. If it was a favored band, like you guys, I'd be much more likely. It may be worth a try.
 
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