Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar
Member
This is a long article but it is interesting. later.......JO
http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2007-01-04/news/feature_print.html
http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2007-01-04/news/feature_print.html
The Death of the CD
- Thread starter Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar
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Nothing new, but good article. However, if the CD will be a dead medium very soon, what format will the industry come up with next? I doubt artists will record a bunch of songs and sell them on iTunes or Rhapsody. And come to think of it, CDs won't totally disappear, as people will no doubt be purchasing CD-Rs and CD-RWs to download music on. Hardly anybody buys blank cassettes anymore, but I can't see the CD-R and CD-RW disappearing anytime soon. I have to agree with the writer of the article (and I know there are others on this forum who feel the same way) that it is a shame that the music industry is more concerned with profit than artistry. One thing the article fails to mention that is a factor of slipping sales is the price of CDs. I once asked my parents, "How much did the average vinyl record album cost?" "About $7.00". Along with the high price of a CD, with the industry placing so much emphasis on the look of jewel cases, cover designs and the disc inside, as the article suggests, the industry is hypocritical. If this is what it's all about, than the labels deserve to lose the money.
I don't think CDs are going down the tube quite that fast. Digital track sales are still a very small percentage of overall sales.
Technology has been the best and worst things to happen to the music business. It has made more music available to everyone, but at the cost of the best way to experience the music -- the album. The very last paragraph of that article says it all:
People say CDs are overpriced. BS, I say. An album cost $7.98 30 years ago - today a CD is available with more music for $10 or $11, or less. How is that a ripoff?
The biggest stupidity of the record companies is, they figured they'd bail themselves out of the hole by selling tracks for 99 cents. WRONG. I've bought many songs on iTunes because I liked that song....previously I would have bought the whole CD. iTunes has saved me a bunch of money, but it has cost the industry money.
As for the industry being more concerned with profit than artistry... Believe it or not, that's the way it has ALWAYS been. To run a business you have to have profit. When you have millions of dollars in the bank, it's easy to say how you're more concerned with artistry and to hell with the profits. But if you're losing your shirt, you'll be out of business and then it won't matter.
Technology has been the best and worst things to happen to the music business. It has made more music available to everyone, but at the cost of the best way to experience the music -- the album. The very last paragraph of that article says it all:
People say CDs are overpriced. BS, I say. An album cost $7.98 30 years ago - today a CD is available with more music for $10 or $11, or less. How is that a ripoff?
The biggest stupidity of the record companies is, they figured they'd bail themselves out of the hole by selling tracks for 99 cents. WRONG. I've bought many songs on iTunes because I liked that song....previously I would have bought the whole CD. iTunes has saved me a bunch of money, but it has cost the industry money.
As for the industry being more concerned with profit than artistry... Believe it or not, that's the way it has ALWAYS been. To run a business you have to have profit. When you have millions of dollars in the bank, it's easy to say how you're more concerned with artistry and to hell with the profits. But if you're losing your shirt, you'll be out of business and then it won't matter.
Mike Blakesley said:
Some single CDs, though, sell for a list price of as high as $18.98. That, IMHO, is a rip-off. I have no problem paying $10 for a disc.
I think part of the rip-off, too, is that many new albums coming out barely have two or three good songs on them. And with some artists attempting to fill out more space on the CD, they're apt to put a lot more weak "filler" on a single disc than they would have in the LP era. I still say that the ideal album is something like 8-12 good songs, maybe 40-45 minutes, tops. I think many of us just have a problem with the value of what we are buying, not so much the price of it.
thetijuanataxi
Well-Known Member
Dave
Well-Known Member
Well, whatever the "replacement" for the CD is, then may it have the "Quality" in terms of "song-selection"...
Compact Discs do allow "the manufacturing of homemade compilations" tapes once did as long as you don't change your mind and want to replace a song or two as I've done... I had to have someone make me another copy with one song changed, so far... And at least one other title by this particular artist has come out, soooo...
I, too, in short, have a problem with the value VS. price these days, too...
Yes, how can a medium offering more music and the ability to reprogram the tracks be a ripoff? That to me is still one anjoyable advantage I never got with the LP, not to mention never having to "change sides"...!
Dave
Compact Discs do allow "the manufacturing of homemade compilations" tapes once did as long as you don't change your mind and want to replace a song or two as I've done... I had to have someone make me another copy with one song changed, so far... And at least one other title by this particular artist has come out, soooo...
I, too, in short, have a problem with the value VS. price these days, too...
Yes, how can a medium offering more music and the ability to reprogram the tracks be a ripoff? That to me is still one anjoyable advantage I never got with the LP, not to mention never having to "change sides"...!
Dave
Sure, but anyone who pays full list price for a CD is not much of a shopper. An $18.98 list disk is usually available for under $15 or maybe even close to $10.
He mentions that in the article. A good recent example for me is Fleetwood Mac's SAY YOU WILL. It had half good songs and the rest was unlistenable crud. I made a 40-minute CD out of it that's darn good.
Dave
Well-Known Member
With so many Artists' Works still yet to be Reissued and so many Artists' Catalogs still in Disrepair, I really hope it isn't Doomsday for the CD just yet...
There are still a lot of reissues I hope to see, but if this is the end for the so-far LAST hard-copy recorded medium, then I hope whatever the NEW Format is that comes along will let us hear what is still "unreleased" in this Digital Day & Age...
Dave
There are still a lot of reissues I hope to see, but if this is the end for the so-far LAST hard-copy recorded medium, then I hope whatever the NEW Format is that comes along will let us hear what is still "unreleased" in this Digital Day & Age...
Dave
Mike Blakesley said:
Agreed. I think the point was that if the list price were $14.99 or even $12.99, the CDs themselves would be even cheaper.
Mike Blakesley said:
I didn't even listen to the album more than twice! I'm probably missing something, I'm sure. In fact, I haven't even listened to it since I hooked up my main system for surround, and I have the DVD-A version...
Yeah, I realize that the music business has always been about profits, but the article talked about labels' emphasis on packaging and artwork over the music itself. Someone on this forum one time said that CDs are meant to be listened to, not looked at or admired. It's great to read liner notes and see pictures, but the most important aspect is what I'm hearing. A lot of CDs have the time length of vinyl LPs with only 11 or 12 tracks clocking in at 30 or so minutes. It's mostly compilation discs that have 20 tracks on them, therefore, you're getting 70 minutes or more of music. While I personally don't mind paying $12 to $14 for a single CD with 10 tracks, I could, however, see the logic behind such prices being thought of as ridiculous. It's a smaller medium, and I've read articles by various audiophiles that the digital sound is inferior to the "warm", natural sound of vinyl (I disagree, though there are many poorly-remastered discs of albums and compilations that lack the feel that the artist is in the recording studio).
alpertfan said:
The key is in how the music is recorded and mastered. Digital can sound good if great care is taken at all steps in the chain. Look at how much better some of those gold CDs sound over their standard-issue counterparts. I'm one that thinks analog still has a slight edge, but well-made CDs can give vinyl a run for its money! And with the higher-resolution SACD or DVD-Audio titles, the difference is even less.
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
I agree with Neil. If a CD is recorded and mastered well (which most are not these days), it is possible to make great-sounding digital music. The funny thing is that there's no inherent sonic difference between the 24K gold CD's and their aluminum counterparts. The gold CD's are more resilient but there are no properties inherent in them that makes them sound better. They sound better because the mastering process is more painstaking.
I also agree that analog technology has a definite edge of it's digital counterpart. The results are warmer and more real. Again, though, it's all about the mastering process itself. I've heard some absolutely dreadful vinyl that sounds far better on CD (Al Jarreau's records immediately spring to mind).
Ed
I also agree that analog technology has a definite edge of it's digital counterpart. The results are warmer and more real. Again, though, it's all about the mastering process itself. I've heard some absolutely dreadful vinyl that sounds far better on CD (Al Jarreau's records immediately spring to mind).
Ed
This is slightly off topic, though in the same ballpark. With album sales slipping, how is it that any of today's artists maintain high chart status? There are claims from time to time about a particular artist's material selling very well. How is this when nobody (or very few people) are buying CDs? I know a lot about how the music biz works, but that part confuses me 
Mike
Active Member
I think that CDs are primarily being purchased by people in their 40’s and older. These are the people who are more comfortable with playing CDs than they are with downloading music. These are also the people with money! They can afford a nice stereo system for listening to music, or they still have the one they bought when they were younger; when being an audiophile was popular. This is the age group that likes to look at their CD rack full of CDs and think to themselves, “my, what a nice collection of music I have”.
I am one of these people.
Mike
I am one of these people.
Mike
Plenty of people are still buying CDs. The media would like you to believe that record stores have been deserted. That's not the case - millions and millions of CDs are still sold every year. Online sales are something like 5% or 6% of the total sales. So CDs are not exactly gathering dust yet.
Chart status is determined not only from store sales, but from online sales of full albums -- both in the "real" format and as downloads.
Singles are ranked differently - they go not only by sales, but by airplay. The main Billboard singles chart is ranked by a combining of those two statistics. (They provide a "sales-only" and an "airplay-only" chart in the magazine.)
My favorite Billboard chart is the Comprehensive chart, which is only available online to subscribers. That chart lists whatever is the best selling, without regard to how old it is or any of the other silly "rules" that apply to the main published charts.
It's all relative. CD's really are still selling just fine. The "red alert" has been sounded because there is no longer growth in CD sales the way there once was. And that's natural. For years, many of us waited for the CDs we wanted to come along, and now they mostly have. Many of us have just about all of the CDs we ever wanted or needed, so there's no reason to go out on buying binges and pick up tons of back catalog releases.
So the only things out there are the occasional re-releases that we've waited for, some new mastering of a favored title, and the odd new release that happens to strike our fancy. Naturally, that, as an average, would tend to mean lower CD sales than just a few years ago when many of us were still in "hunter/gatherer" mode.
Harry
So the only things out there are the occasional re-releases that we've waited for, some new mastering of a favored title, and the odd new release that happens to strike our fancy. Naturally, that, as an average, would tend to mean lower CD sales than just a few years ago when many of us were still in "hunter/gatherer" mode.
Harry
That's very true. I used to have a pretty long list of stuff I "wished" would come out on CD...it's pretty much empty now, containing mostly Herb and Julius material.
Of course now I'm buying the occasional "special edition" of some favorite album. I've probably picked up half a dozen of those in the past year or so.
I think the big longterm problem for the record business will be, once the shift to the "tracks" mentality is complete, they will eliminate a lot of the future purchases of hunters and gatherers like us. If the 'album' as a format disappears, then there will be no incentive to ever buy those extensive back catalogs on a new format...or at least, the motivation will be to cherry-pick the best songs, spending a lot less money. There are very few albums in my collection that I would be lost without the whole thing....I'd buy three or four songs off of Aerosmith's TOYS IN THE ATTIC, for example.
Of course now I'm buying the occasional "special edition" of some favorite album. I've probably picked up half a dozen of those in the past year or so.
I think the big longterm problem for the record business will be, once the shift to the "tracks" mentality is complete, they will eliminate a lot of the future purchases of hunters and gatherers like us. If the 'album' as a format disappears, then there will be no incentive to ever buy those extensive back catalogs on a new format...or at least, the motivation will be to cherry-pick the best songs, spending a lot less money. There are very few albums in my collection that I would be lost without the whole thing....I'd buy three or four songs off of Aerosmith's TOYS IN THE ATTIC, for example.
A lot of the press likes to tout the "next big thing" and give a death knell for the current format long before its time. If you think about it, the three major formats we've had in our lifetime are the 78RPM records, LPs, and CDs. Each of them lasted 30-35 years. We still have 5-10 years to go with CDs before something else takes over. My guess is that with memory storage prices being what they are, our next music purchase format may very well be on 1GB memory cards that cost a buck or two to replicate...or something else with no moving parts.
There are a lot of downloaders, true, but think of how many other consumers out there who don't own a computer, or do own one but don't download their music online.
I do think that online shopping is going to be the way most of us will buy our future music, though. Look at all of the big retailers that have fallen from their former greatness: Tower Records was the last fatality that comes to mind. The "big box" stores only carry a small fraction of the music that is out there--I can walk into any Best Buy, Target, Circuit City or wherever, and walk out empty-handed each time. Their selection sucks, as they carry mainly the titles that sell in any decent volume, rather than the tens of thousands of other titles that collectors like us look for. Yes, some bookstores carry CDs, but unless you catch a deal or promotion, their prices are usually top-gouge, full list. Ditto the mall stores. I just wonder how long it will be before *all* we have left are the big box stores with their favorite handful of titles available for sale. The smaller chains and specialty shops can no longer exist on CD sales alone.
Unless I hit the used record shops, I buy pretty much exclusively online these days. Less running around, no wasting half a tank of expensive gas, no lost time, no stress from all the traffic. I don't really care for browsing through CDs any day, but I'll stay at the record shop for a couple of hours looking at all the great LP jackets, trying to decide which of a handful of discs I should walk out with.
There are a lot of downloaders, true, but think of how many other consumers out there who don't own a computer, or do own one but don't download their music online.
I do think that online shopping is going to be the way most of us will buy our future music, though. Look at all of the big retailers that have fallen from their former greatness: Tower Records was the last fatality that comes to mind. The "big box" stores only carry a small fraction of the music that is out there--I can walk into any Best Buy, Target, Circuit City or wherever, and walk out empty-handed each time. Their selection sucks, as they carry mainly the titles that sell in any decent volume, rather than the tens of thousands of other titles that collectors like us look for. Yes, some bookstores carry CDs, but unless you catch a deal or promotion, their prices are usually top-gouge, full list. Ditto the mall stores. I just wonder how long it will be before *all* we have left are the big box stores with their favorite handful of titles available for sale. The smaller chains and specialty shops can no longer exist on CD sales alone.
Unless I hit the used record shops, I buy pretty much exclusively online these days. Less running around, no wasting half a tank of expensive gas, no lost time, no stress from all the traffic. I don't really care for browsing through CDs any day, but I'll stay at the record shop for a couple of hours looking at all the great LP jackets, trying to decide which of a handful of discs I should walk out with.
Chain stores have ruined the fun of browsing. Either they put CDs in plastic keepers, which obscure a lot of the artwork, OR the plaster their price tags over the top front of the CD, often obscuring the title/artist in the process!
Here at my store, since we have a very small staff we keep the CDs in a locked cabinet, but we open it anytime someone wants to look at the disks. And, our price tags are small and on the backside of the package, so the artwork is free to do its job. We have a display of the current best sellers "face front" (and any current Mendes or Alpert product often shows up there, as well!)
Here at my store, since we have a very small staff we keep the CDs in a locked cabinet, but we open it anytime someone wants to look at the disks. And, our price tags are small and on the backside of the package, so the artwork is free to do its job. We have a display of the current best sellers "face front" (and any current Mendes or Alpert product often shows up there, as well!)
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
Sadly, browsing through CD bins is something I can no longer do. This is due to the fact that the only "deep catalog" retailer we had - Tower Records - is no more. Now, I too have been forced into the on-line thing. I much prefer doing it the traditional way. I'd rather touch it and bring it to the register than do the "click and ship" thing.
What made Tower great is that they never did the "plastic keeper" thing and their price stickers were small. Every other retailer I know of has the huge stickers that Mike mentions. Thanks to the Best Buys and the Wal-Marts of the world, this is an inconvenience that we're just gonna have to get used to.
Ed
What made Tower great is that they never did the "plastic keeper" thing and their price stickers were small. Every other retailer I know of has the huge stickers that Mike mentions. Thanks to the Best Buys and the Wal-Marts of the world, this is an inconvenience that we're just gonna have to get used to.
Ed
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
Since I live in DC, I am right in the middle of 4 different former Tower locations. I visited all of them as they were liquidating (2 on their last days of operation) and what was so striking is how sad the employees were. This was especially true of the Tyson's Corner, VA location. I felt like I was at a funeral. The night the store closed, they hung a plastic angel between the upright Sensormatic detectors at the front door and put a flashlight on the floor that pointed up to it. They loved that store and they were sad to see it go. We all were...
It is just this kind of thing that may hasten the demise of the CD. People nowadays are about "instant gratification". You can either order a CD online and wait a few days for it or you can go to iTunes and download it right now. Most don't care about sound so guess which one they'll likely go for?
Absolutely tragic...
Ed
It is just this kind of thing that may hasten the demise of the CD. People nowadays are about "instant gratification". You can either order a CD online and wait a few days for it or you can go to iTunes and download it right now. Most don't care about sound so guess which one they'll likely go for?
Absolutely tragic...
Ed
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