Has The CD Played Its Last Tune?

[Kent Pribbernow]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://digitalmusic.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000770073406/' target='_blank'>http://digitalmusic.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000770073406/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"If you’ve been one of the bovine millions being herded through the malls during the holiday season, you’ve heard a sound that can’t quite be drowned out by Bing Crosby’s warbling: the CD’s death rattle. Don’t think it’s just you. For the final weeks of 2005, album sales are down 10% from a year ago, which, as we all know, was even less fruitful that preceding years. During the crucial Thanksgiving week, the Wall Street Journal reports that the top 10 albums sold 40% fewer copies than the top 10 albums the same week in 2004."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/CD.jpg" /><br /><br />Do you agree or disagree with this article? On one hand I won't deny that CDs are a seemingly dated media format in the age of digital media. However, given the disparate (and annoying) DRM solutions that exist, I prefer CDs as a standard whenever available. I've downloaded a king's ransom in music from iTunes, but those were only tracks that I wouldn't otherwise have purchased in CD form. When selecting music from my favorite bands, I ALWAYS go for the CD. Anyone else feel the same way?

[Philip Colmer]

The URL doesn't work for me :-(.

I don't know if the US is ahead of the curve compared to the UK, or if they have used different statistics, but the news I'd been hearing this year was that CD sales were on the increase.

I'm firmly in favour of buying CDs rather than online. I may end up getting albums that are a mix of good &amp; bad tracks, but at least I'll be able to play them in my car, on my computer and on my Hi-MD player. Buying tracks online does not give me that flexibility and I don't have the time to create CDs for the car. I'd rather just bung 6 CDs into the autochanger and be done with it.

But then, maybe I'm too old :-). Maybe online buying of music is for a younger generation.

--Philip

[[email protected]]

I agree, CD's are by far the best solution avaliable. You get the highest quality audio that you can rip to whatever compression you like, as many times as you like and move it around however it pleases you. And you get a high quality backup to put in your archive as a bonus.

I still can't believe that the online music stores expect me to buy a compressed track, DRM'ed up the wazoo for roughly the same price as on physical media.

If I'm ever to buy online it will be when I can buy the rights to a song, meaning when I can redownload or stream it whenever, from wherever an unlimited number of times.

[Jason Eaton]

I... I... have sinned. I buy my stuff online (compression doesn't bother me too much as I can't hear the difference 98 percent of the time) but then I found a rather interesting trick with my Audigy sound card and have DRM free music.

One can argue that I bought my copy and 'Fair Rights' usage is in play... but I won't go to a subscription service as that crosses my ethical tollerance.

[mrozema]

I agree as well. CD's are still the best way to go. I download some random tracks from time to time when I want just the song.

I like that with real discs you can get the enhanced cds and dual-sided cd and dvd combos and cool art work. When you shell out the money you also have something physical to show for it. I love reading the cd inserts.

I've never found a 'Limited Edition' mp3 and I don't expect there to be such a thing. Mp3s just don't eminate the same coolness factor as cds.

[Jason Dunn]

It depends on what I'm looking for. I did the music subscription thing for a while, but it was such a hassle I gave up and went back to buying CDs. But now with all the stupid DRM'd CDs out now even that is becoming a hassle. The 160 kbps WMA's from MSN Music sound great, so I don't mind buying from them (through gift certificates) because I burn and re-rip to get a 256 kbps MP3 that works everywhere.

[Chris Gohlke]

Jason, you've mentioned a couple of times about buying them through gift certificates. Does this change something in the process? Is there a special advantage to buying a GC to buy them with over just buying directly?

[Jason Dunn]

Is there a special advantage to buying a GC to buy them with over just buying directly?

Sure. I can actually buy the songs. ;-) MSN Music isn't available in Canada, and no amount of IP-trickery on my part has allowed me to buy music from it. But with a gift certificate, I can purchase the music just like you Americans. ;-)

[Macguy59]

But then, maybe I'm too old :-). Maybe online buying of music is for a younger generation.

Depends on how new the music is I'm interested in and how many songs off a given CD I really like (which seems to be fewer all the time). As for being able to play the music I buy online . . . I can play it in virtually every type of player I have. I can download and burn CD's for my cars in much less time it would take to drive somewhere and buy the CD.

[timmy]

I am also more into the physical CD's.. I am the type that likes to have the printed cover, the lyrics etc . Then when I have the real CD I always rip it to MP3 anyway, but it is the feeling of having the 'real thing' that I like.. But I turned 40 last year so that might explain things ;)

I can easily be convinced to buy individual tracks from a download service, but not full albums so far. I mean, paying 75-80% of the physical album, then having to burn it yourself to a anonymous silver disc, writing the title on it with a marker... That is no fun to have in your music collection.

What surprises me is that no one is offering you to buy the digital album and if you then want the physical album, you just pay the difference. You have already payed for the marketing, rights etc once. So why pay for it twice?

/Timmy

[sub_tex]

I definitely go for the CD. I like total control over how I use the music, and right now, CDs are the only game in town.

Plus I really couldn't live with the lower bit rates and compression used by all the online music stores. I shudder at the thought of burning compressed music to re-rip it. It's funny how I never thought much about it until I got good headphones and a good sound system at home.

Playing my lower bit rate mp3s then was a whole new experience then. It was like, "holy crap, these files sound like poop!"

If I just want a single track, I'm more apt to use eMusic or AllOfmp3 since I can get DRM free music from them.

[Jason Dunn]

Plus I really couldn't live with the lower bit rates and compression used by all the online music stores. I shudder at the thought of burning compressed music to re-rip it.

I used to think the same thing, but I have to admit that the 160 kbps tracks from MSN Music burned and re-ripped as 256 kbps MP3s sound really, really good to my ears. You might want to try it as an experiment just to see (99 cents is a cheap experiment). ;-)

If I just want a single track, I'm more apt to use eMusic or AllOfmp3 since I can get DRM free music from them.

Sorry, but I have to call you on AllOfmp3: you know it's 100% illegal and no different than getting music from Limewire or another file sharing service right? If you're ok with that, fine, but it gets under my skin when people talk about AllOfmp3 as if it's a legitimate music service where the artists get paid. It's not - it's just a "legal" service insofar as the ass-backwards Russian "law" has no rules against someone selling the intellectual property of someone else.

[sub_tex]

I used to think the same thing, but I have to admit that the 160 kbps tracks from MSN Music burned and re-ripped as 256 kbps MP3s sound really, really good to my ears. You might want to try it as an experiment just to see (99 cents is a cheap experiment). ;-)

Why bother ripping it at 256? You're not getting a better bitrate really. At most, you could rip it lossless and get a 160 kbps file back.

I'll try the 99 cent test with a friend's account. I'm not expecting much from it though....:lol:

Sorry, but I have to call you on AllOfmp3...

Well yeah, it's not legit at all. I don't see it as a legit music service, I see it as what music services should be aspiring to. eMusic is nice, but still only 192k mp3s.

With allofmp3 I can get FLAC! That's insane.

I still buy CDs though. I'm the kind of guy who likes album art, and all that. I like having it in my hands.

Sort of like me buying paper books when I've only read it in ebook form. I like it in my library or to give out to friends who don't have PDAs/smartphones with eReader.

[Jason Dunn]

Why bother ripping it at 256? You're not getting a better bitrate really. At most, you could rip it lossless and get a 160 kbps file back.

I used to think the same thing, then someone very correctly pointed out that the compressed files being sold are not simply CDs ripped with WMP10, they're prepared with industrial-grade encoders...so 160 kbps is not always the same 160 kbps. I rip at 256 kbps knowing there's a bit of headroom, but I'm confident they're better quality than ripping at the same bitrte they were encoded at.

Although it would be really interesting to know if there's any truth to what I believe!

[Bob Christensen]

I'll continue to buy CDs... but not any with DRM schemes. I would guess that the Sony fiasco had some negative effect on CD sales (even non-Sony CDs).

[craigf]

My wife and I own well over 1,000 CDs and have so far purchased zero tracks through online music services (e.g., iTunes, Napster, etc.). For me, the reasons are clear: CDs are safer (you always have a physical backup and you don't risk your service/DRM format making your music inaccessible), loanable, provide a bigger overall experience than a downloaded MP3 track does (e.g., booklet art, lyrics, etc.), and are generally more inclusive of the artist's work (which can be bad, but there are lots of songs I enjoy or are part of the artist's larger overall vision for the album that I wouldn't have purchased separately).

Plus, we purchase CDs from a lot of niche and lesser-known artists who, most likely, won't ever get on the radar of the most prominant download services. For them, a CD is still the best, if not only, option.

Ripping my collection has taken a long time. If I were king of the world, I'd make it mandatory that every music CD comes with high-quality MP3 tracks of the standard audio files, complete with accurate ID3 tag info per the most recent standard. That would save me time and help ensure a good listening experience whether I'm playing off the CD or from MP3.

Oh, and no DRM. DRM is important to the most successful 5% of musicians, but the other 95% generally don't give a crap -- the more people hear their music, the happier they are (and the more income they get, even if it's a fraction of the total listening going on). To make an analogy, DRM is to music what estate tax relief is to taxpayers -- it generally only benefits those who need its protection the least.