CD's...will they stick around?

weegee

Active Member
Was reading a few articles on the demise of CD's. Here are a few...

http://time.com/4252483/kanye-west-life-pablo-streaming-cds-albums/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/28/how-the-compact-disc-lost-its-shine

https://www.quora.com/When-will-the-production-of-CDs-for-music-software-etc-be-discontinued

I'm thinking that if you want to buy a CD, the day will come when you can't buy them at the stores anymore and they are custom burnt like Amazon does with a lot of its on demand R DVD movie media.

What do you think?
 
I'm thinking that if you want to buy a CD, the day will come when you can't buy them at the stores anymore and they are custom burnt like Amazon does with a lot of its on demand R DVD movie media.

What do you think?

I agree ... especially w/ low volume titles ... but when that comes to pass is the question. :dunno:

Longevity of CD's was asked at RMAF17 of Michael Howe, VP, Warner Bros. Records.

Jump to 42:25 minute mark

 
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400,000 CD players were sold in the US between 83 -84. That's just the players! IMO, this was the first time that the music consumer had the best sounding medium that had ever been before (red book standard). I remember my first CD burner. It was the first time I was able to release music that sounded as good as the master tapes or files and to do so without degradation. Digital now seems to be all about real estate - size of the file. That's what led to mp3 and the other flawed coding formats. Save space regardless of quality.
 
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Well considering that there were over 200 billion CD's made up until 2007, I don't see that vanishing anytime soon! Sure, the day is coming when the CD will cease to be made and I predict the next digital thing will be some sort of compressed hi rez that they sell as the next greatest audio revolution, but will also have restrictions attached at some point. The recording industry will NEVER make the same mistakes again that were made with the CD as to the ease of copyright infringement, and making something without regard to the ever more important law of built in obsolescence that requires the consumer to continually buy the same thing over and over. I predict future music bought, (whether hard copy or download) will be restricted to a fixed number of devices and when your new HI Def CD comes there will be a code you punch in, at which point you are directed to a web site where you register that music. Want to play it on your phone, another process. Want a copy somewhere else, a message comes back saying you have exceeded your device count.

NO MORE 50 cent CD's at garage sales, flea markets, second hand stores continuing to steel profits from the labels.. Of course this will probably drive most to rent their music online.. UGH.
 
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There's still a large number of machines (computers, DVD & Bluray players, etc.) capable of playing them, so they have that going for them, unlike the dead and resurrected record format. As long as consumers can buy them cheaply, and have a hard copy backup as well as the ability to make digital copies, the format will carry on.
 
400,000 CD players were sold in the US between 83 -84. That's just the players! IMO, this was the first time that the music consumer had the best sounding medium that had ever been before (orange book standard). I remember my first CD burner. It was the first time I was able to release music that sounded as good as the master tapes or files and to do so without degradation. Digital now seems to be all about real estate - size of the file. That's what led to mp3 and the other flawed coding formats. Save space regardless of quality.

And saving space seems less and less relevant now which should make the MP3 format unnecessary- one would think. They now have 512GB SD cards- pricey but not for long. What is that like 700 cd's worth of storage or so?... just throwing that out there. Bob
 
Somewhere I read that CDs "have the appeal of office supplies," and that sums up how I feel about them to a T. I still buy them, begrudgingly, if vinyl is not available, but I definitely wouldn't miss them much if they went away. The worst thing about them are the "jewel" cases. If they at least come in cardboard, I hate them slightly less .As to whether I'd miss them, ask me again in 20 years, I guess... :D

What I find interesting is how much prices for used CDs have gone up. A few years ago, used cds could be had at local stores for $2.99 . No more. These days, it's rare to find a used CD for under $6. $8 and up are common. Riiiight.... In times when I can get a new CD for 10 bucks or less . What are those people thinking?
 
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I remember when the same topic applied to records. I kept all my records, stashed in peach crates, in the back of a closet. I'll most likely keep the CDs I have, and add to the collection. Someday they may end up in the back of a closet, awaiting, "the return of the CD".
 
I'm thinking that if you want to buy a CD, the day will come when you can't buy them at the stores anymore and they are custom burnt like Amazon does with a lot of its on demand R DVD movie media.
I'd far rather download the content (at same or higher resolution) than waiting for delivery of the media.

Playing CDs today is like having a computer with application specific floppies for each.
 
Keep in mind that it's not so much the labels, but the retailers who will largely determine CD's fate. This article appeared in Billboard and I reported on it on another site.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/...get-threatens-to-pay-labels-for-cds-only-when

Short version: Best Buy is pulling CDs from stores, and Target wants to sell CDs but only on a consignment basis (where they don't pay for the inventory until it is sold). Granted they only carry the top-selling titles, but both retailers can move a large volume of these small numbers of titles. And once they make a move, other mass market retailers will follow, and that will kind of push two ways--1) it pushes consumers to download rather than purchase physical product, or 2) pushes them to order online, and CD becomes more of a niche format.
 
It won’t be long before we see people rummaging through the used CD bins the same way we rummage through the used LP bins.

I already do that! Then I rip them to FLAC and throw them in a box in the back of the closet.

I predict that in a few years it won't be worthwhile to do that anymore.
 
The same was said about cassette tapes. And now they are back and trendy for the hipsters.

Personally, I cannot remember the last time I purchased a CD new or used. The way I see it is that purchasing new CDs are not cheap. For the price, it's a solid months worth of a Tidal subscription for a single disc. I still occasionally spin a CD....but that's more because I feel bad about my transport going totally unused.
 
Well considering that there were over 200 billion CD's made since 2007, I don't see that vanishing anytime soon! Sure, the day is coming when the CD will cease to be made and I predict the next digital thing will be some sort of compressed hi rez that they sell as the next greatest audio revolution, but will also have restrictions attached at some point. The recording industry will NEVER make the same mistakes again that were made with the CD as to the ease of copyright infringement, and making something without regard to the ever more important law of built in obsolescence that requires the consumer to continually buy the same thing over and over. I predict future music bought, (whether hard copy or download) will be restricted to a fixed number of devices and when your new HI Def CD comes there will be a code you punch in, at which point you are directed to a web site where you register that music. Want to play it on your phone, another process. Want a copy somewhere else, a message comes back saying you have exceeded your device count.

NO MORE 50 cent CD's at garage sales, flea markets, second hand stores continuing to steel profits from the labels.. Of course this will probably drive most to rent their music online.. UGH.
I was at a basketball practice at my daughter's high school back around 1998. I noticed a lot of the kids had portable CD players with headphones and there were CD's scattered all over the empty stands. Then I noticed something else: Every single CD was "home burned".

That was the day I realized that pre-recorded music was about to have the same value as the free toy in a happy meal.
 
Well considering that there were over 200 billion CD's made since 2007, I don't see that vanishing anytime soon! Sure, the day is coming when the CD will cease to be made and I predict the next digital thing will be some sort of compressed hi rez that they sell as the next greatest audio revolution, but will also have restrictions attached at some point. The recording industry will NEVER make the same mistakes again that were made with the CD as to the ease of copyright infringement, and making something without regard to the ever more important law of built in obsolescence that requires the consumer to continually buy the same thing over and over. I predict future music bought, (whether hard copy or download) will be restricted to a fixed number of devices and when your new HI Def CD comes there will be a code you punch in, at which point you are directed to a web site where you register that music. Want to play it on your phone, another process. Want a copy somewhere else, a message comes back saying you have exceeded your device count.

NO MORE 50 cent CD's at garage sales, flea markets, second hand stores continuing to steel profits from the labels.. Of course this will probably drive most to rent their music online.. UGH.
I hear you but honestly... as far as the music 'industry' is concerned, it's a losing battle so long as there are competent recording devices commonly available that accept an analogue signal input... and digital recorders abound. If the industry makes it too difficult with security and truly affective copy protection it will seriously hurt sales, maybe worse then CD ripping, by limiting versatility of use to the point that enough people would lose interest to make it self defeating. One can have sympathy all around but when given the upper hand, the industry is brutal with greed, and when the consumer has the upper hand they want everything for nothing and, either way, are prone to complain about quality. For musicians and the industry... put it out there, make it popular by being heard, then tour and sell tickets and branded items.
 
I hear you but honestly... as far as the music 'industry' is concerned, it's a losing battle so long as there are competent recording devices commonly available that accept an analogue signal input... and digital recorders abound. If the industry makes it too difficult with security and truly affective copy protection it will seriously hurt sales, maybe worse then CD ripping, by limiting versatility of use to the point that enough people would lose interest to make it self defeating. One can have sympathy all around but when given the upper hand, the industry is brutal with greed, and when the consumer has the upper hand they want everything for nothing and, either way, are prone to complain about quality. For musicians and the industry... put it out there, make it popular by being heard, then tour and sell tickets and branded items.
Probably so, but if they make the new music restricted from ripping, (easy enough with DRM > MQA and Utimaco) than one is left with digital recording the analog output of the restricted format back to digital, a time consuming exercise. What the industry is after is to drive us all to renting music, via streaming. Once the masses are on board, profits will start to be realized and monthly prices will fluctuate upwards. How far into the future is hard to say as the music industry today is pretty different nowadays. Of course they will still offer hard copy music on disc with its restrictions, but will likely be more expensive..
 
It won’t be long before we see people rummaging through the used CD bins the same way we rummage through the used LP bins.

It almost seems to me that things have already flipped. New CDs, even at full retail, are much cheaper than new LPs these days, and I see a lot of used CDs in the record stores, while the used LP sections seem to be shrinking. In my experience, anyway.
 
Probably so, but if they make the new music restricted from ripping, (easy enough with DRM > MQA and Utimaco) than one is left with digital recording the analog output of the restricted format back to digital, a time consuming exercise. What the industry is after is to drive us all to renting music, via streaming. Once the masses are on board, profits will start to be realized and monthly prices will fluctuate upwards. How far into the future is hard to say as the music industry today is pretty different nowadays. Of course they will still offer hard copy music on disc with its restrictions, but will likely be more expensive..
Oh yes... I agree about industry intent... renting, and hard core copy protection... but that is the area of consumer kick back I was referring to, interest will wane enough it might... might... be self defeating, especially when abuses to follow the 'upper hand' begin to exercise themselves. The question is will the 'masses' normalize themselves to industry intent, something I doubt. The time spent using the analogue loop is time spent with the music by those who enjoy it and I'm not sure that is a big hindrance to making copies.. copies that can be quickly copied and shared among friends, hand to hand.... like making mix tapes from an earlier era... a good proportion of media buying consumers enjoy it, ripping just makes it quicker, more convenient. Anyway... it's a problem for the industry... making money directly from recordings and every attempt so far to return to the world of the hit record has failed. I don't know..... have the ticket prices for concerts increased significantly over the last so many years to compensate for losses in media sales.. besides inflation, etc.? One thing I do buy for groups whose music I might have bought before is quality video concerts on Blu ray... and yet I don't see the industry making much of an attempt to market them, just here and there.
 
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