Are plastic music CDs destined to join vinyl records as obsolete? Perhaps they already have.
Market researchers at the NPD Group report U.S. consumers spent 10 percent less on music in 2007 compared to the previous year thanks to declining CD sales and an up-tick in a la carte digital sold online at services like iTunes Music Store.
But a decline in CD sales isn't just be traced back to the fact more individual music tracks are being sold online. NPD says the use of peer-to-peer networks to illegally swap music tracks continues to rob the industry of music sales. The percent of the Internet population in the U.S. who engaged in peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing reached a plateau of 19 percent last year, according to NPD. The bad news is the number of files each user downloaded increased and P2P music sharing continued to grow aggressively among teens.
Music CDs Going, Going, and ??
Numbers aside, the fact of the matter is that the allure and costs of owning a shiny compact disc has been outweighed by the extreme convenience of being able to download CDs or a la carte songs online through online music services like iTunes or for free entirely through peer-to-peer networks.
Personally, I haven't purchased a CD in probably seven or eight years and have no intention on purchasing one ever again. Is the influx of online buyers, like myself, really have the potential to completely eliminate the CD market? I would say yes, but what do you think? Out of your next 10 CDs purchased, how many will come in the actual CD form?
I personally have resolved to never buy another CD (except directly from the artist, usually in person) until the RIAA stops suing people. BTW I'm over 50.
Its also matter of economics. Why pay upwards of $13 for a CD when you only want a couple of songs from it, which you can get at itunes for .99 cents a song.
Call me old fashioned, (but know that I am not old), but I like having the actual packaging and artwork that comes with the purchase of a compact disc.
I have long utilized digital music files mp3's, etc, but I still enjoy having a physical library of discs. I also hate to see the current mindset of song by song purchase...my favorite artists have usually always (and still do) produce an "album" (haha, now that's an old term) of material that is good from start to finish. When you can press "play" and never skip a track you have something special. Compact discs...gone but not forgotten. RIP
Call me old fashioned, (but know that I am not old), but I like having the actual packaging and artwork that comes with the purchase of a compact disc.
I have long utilized digital music files mp3's, etc, but I still enjoy having a physical library of discs. I also hate to see the current mindset of song by song purchase...my favorite artists have usually always (and still do) produce an "album" (haha, now that's an old term) of material that is good from start to finish. When you can press "play" and never skip a track you have something special. Compact discs...gone but not forgotten. RIP
Man evolves.
The world evolves.
Music evolves too.
So why can't the media itself?
I think this would become true in just a few more years to come..;)
I don't care so much that the CD will go away, but more he fact that sound quality in the way the artist intended the music to be heard is going away.
It's amazing that people will pay .99 cents for a low quality song when they can buy a new or used CD, rip them to high quality, and sell it back to the music store. While the music store will buy it back from you for less, you still pay the same or in many cases less than downloading the individual tracks. Not to mention you will have a higher quality song!
While some may argue that if the musician?s music is quality, then the entire album should be worth purchasing as in Trey3's example; the fact is that the record industry has always had this "hit single" mentality and that is why most songs on a lot of album?s suck. In a way the "hit single" which the record industry used as a quick money making scheme has backfired on them, making the one song download popular.
What do you mean ALREADY absolete? Compact Disc technology has been obsolete since DVDs were introduced. CD's first came out in 1980, and the technology is over 20 years old. They've long outlived their usefulness as a medium.
It has been my experience in my short life of only 39 years that most technology advances have a lifetime of about 20 years. CDs were good in their time, but they lack the ultra portability that MP3s and other digital formats offer. I, personally, prefer the ability to carry my entire music collection in a small device no bigger than my cell phone than having to pick and choose only a few CDs to take with me on a road/airplane trip.
The fact that CDs are even still around is a testament to the technology, but I think they are well past their prime and are definitely heading out.
Edit: line out "Are Music CDs Already Passe?" insert "CDs Only Purchased by Faux Audio Snobs and People Without PCs Who Live by Top 40 Music and Shop At Wal-Mart". Shorten as necessary.
Real audio snobs only buy releases on DVDAudio or SACD or whatever BS the 'phile market is pushing today.
I realize you're looking for traffic-driving headlines but this just makes you sound out of touch.
My next CD will be Vendetta Valentine - There's Nothing Safe. It comes with killer art, lyrics, and all 13 songs are awesome. If there were more discs like this, where every song rocked, I would buy a lot more cds.
While I am certainly not an "audiophile," I do know for a fact that the digital crap sold on iTunes and other online music stores sounds terrible when played on a large home entertainment system.
It might sound reasonably good played through an iPod or through your desktop PC speakers, but good lord, spare my stereo system (and my ears) from low-bitrate garbage that most people seem to accept without question these days.
Compare audio to video -- if everyone was raised viewing television at 1080p HDTV, would they suddenly accept 720x480 (standard resolution) for some perceived reason of "convenience?"
I don't think so.
The only thing I agree with is the fact that CDs are overpriced and usually contain more dreck than gems.
I am a music fan! I have over a 1000 vinyl records and about 200 CD's. I absolutely hate mp3s! Why? Because of the quality. I am willing to pay more to listen to my favourite music in the highest possible quality. I 've even invested in Super Audio CD and DVD Audio. I absolutely refuse to accept lower sound quality in my music. Oh, and one other thing... My passion for music made me a music producer and a songwriter and you know what? I refuse to accept lower quality in my music.
I've not completely given up on CD's but I have slowed down considrably on the number of CD's I've purchased. The quality of releases has definatly declined over the years, its hard to justify spending $15 on a cd for a good song or two. I don't think the CD is passe yet, but will soon be when the quality and affordability of digital downloads improves. I know I tunes has begun including liner notes when buying the full cd.
CD's are better than downloads. Also you can take a cd anywhere and make your own MP3brary and put it on any MP3 playey except an ipod. IPODS are way overated and limit you to where you can place the MP3's. No wonder why ipod sales are dramatically decreasing.
Personally, I buy a lot of downloads because it's the only way I can find the somewhat obscure music I want to listen to. However, while CDs may be obsolete, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. And thank goodness for that! Libraries are the ultimate purveyor of free music, but the iTunes/Amazon/Napster/etc. business model is not copyrighted music but rather licensed content. Libraries cannot buy music downloads because they wouldn't be allowed to loan the music afterward. So for now, CDs it is.
The only CD's I purchase is at CD Exchange - And I am usually trading in more CD's than I purchase so thatbmy current CD library is shrinking, not growing.