Will CD's Die?

[kevin]

I always see the "woLOLOL I LIKE TO OWN A PHYSICAL COPY OF MAH MUSIC" posted here as a main reason why people will always buy CDs. But I don't think that will stay for too much longer,

So what would you want to replace CD's? Or do you think like diamonds, CD's ARE FOREVER?

[Wando]

Vinyl + download option and illegal mp3s.

[Shuffle]

Vinyl + download option and illegal mp3s.

The thread might as well be locked now.

[KBear]

High end audio companies are already selling music servers, where you can store music on a hard drive. Maybe you're thinking, why would you store mp3s on a high end audio product. But the idea isn't to store mp3s, it's to a) store CD quality music directly ripped from actual CDs, and B) to download high quality files of new music. There are websites that will sell not mp3s, but CD quality downloads along with artwork, and perhaps one day (maybe it's already happening, I'm not sure) even better than CD quality music. CDs kind of limit the quality that we can get, to get better quality you'd need SACD or DVDA, but of course when you aren't limited by the constraints of a medium like data discs and the hardware that reads them, when it's simply just stored on a hard drive, you can have higher sample rates and resolutions. Presumably, you'd need the software to decode it of course. Also, this all but eliminates read errors from things like scratched discs.

Here are some examples:

http://www.naim-audio.com/products/hdx.html

http://www.sooloos.com/www/index.php

This is almost surely where we are headed, and if enough people care about quality I'm sure it could be amazing, a definite step up from CDs.

I don't know a lot about the technical aspects behind this stuff, I just read about the audio market so I know this is where things are going, and some high level information about it.

Edited March 15, 2009 by KBear

[kevin]

i feel that kbear

i'd like to see at like, a best buy, you can still look at music and put headphones on and do the whole album prview thing. Then you have your flash drive, connect it to a machine and get a high quality file of what you want right to your flash drive

that'd be fun

[KBear]

I agree, I'll miss that part of it. Going to a music store and flipping through the CDs or even vinyls. But hell, I buy probably half of of my music off of Amazon or CD Universe now anyways, so I'm already half way there. The problem with most "music stores" is that they don't actually carry a lot of music any longer. Unless you've got something like the HMV superstore that I have close by.

[Getizzyback]

For record companies, I still say going back to vinyl is their best option.

CD's and cassettes from the past are so duplicated, and people are now

even producing their own covers as well. AS For an official physical product

with a UPC, vinyl is the way, they are not able to be duplicated. They need to

get the computer out of music, it needs to be more physical again. Let the record

Co's take care of the quality of sound, not computer geeks.

[kevin]

The need for portable music will make it very difficult for vinyl to become the predominant music medium again

[GNRs00ks]

It's an inevitability that digital downloads will take over completely. It's going to be a slow transition, but it's been happening for years already. Downloads are going to go nowhere but up. While CDs will continue to drop.

[Getizzyback]

The need for portable music will make it very difficult for vinyl to become the predominant music medium again

Yea, I know, I'm just old school, and I like listening to music the old fashion way, by the album.

Not some songlist I have on the computer. If the record companies could produce a vinyl record

that was impossible to duplicate or put on the computer they could regain control of sales. I know

its not possible, and people need their portable players.

[dann]

I don't think cd's will die as long as there are old people. You'd have a hard time telling an old person how to download music on to an Ipod, you know? Some newer albums may see digital only releases, but Sinatra's greatest hit's will be on cd for at least the next 10 years.

There will always be something physical. Even if it's something like SD cards you put in a player.

[Gordon Comstock]

of course the cd will die.

"Back To Black" is the smartest idea's the record companies have hadh - you buy the album on vinyl, and it comes with a piece of paper with a website and a code on it so you can get a digital copy of the album as well. this is the way it should be until they can find something with better quality than vinyl that you could put on a computer

[maXx]

I don't think cd's will die as long as there are old people. You'd have a hard time telling an old person how to download music on to an Ipod, you know? Some newer albums may see digital only releases, but Sinatra's greatest hit's will be on cd for at least the next 10 years.

There will always be something physical. Even if it's something like SD cards you put in a player.

well there was a time when old ppl had to learn to use cd's. Before that there were cassettes, before that reel to reel tapes and b4 that came the vinyl. I've been through the whole range of all these things (well my parents used the reel to reel) but I still prefer vinyl. There's something about the turning of the table, it gives motion to the music which you just don't get from that perfect crisp cd sound. I like cd's too, but they just don't have the 'life' of vinyl.

RickRoses: this is the way it should be until they can find something with better quality than vinyl that you could put on a computer

I knew there was software to put your vinyl on digital, but I never realised it was poor quality. I had a cassette player put into my car so I can tape all my records and play them in my car. It's not the best quality but as I said above, sometimes the realness of something beats perfection, imo.

[mr. orangestone]

CDs are already dying. They're currently in vegetable state.

They had the longest run out of anything. Longer than vinyl, cassette, cylinders, anything. So it's obvious they'll be dying now.

Within the next 5-10 years they might as well be completely gone. They might be around in very small quantity like vinyl is, but digital downloads will replace them.

That is where the music industry is heading, into the digital age. It would already be there if the dinosaurs in charge weren't so stubborn & stuck in the past.

They need to find some way to work with the internet age, not against it (which will just lead people to download illegally more frequently).

Rickroses: a majority of people won't buy vinyl though. I only know 2 people my age with turntables, so why would they waste their money on vinyl? And vinyl has become expensive too. $20 for Chinese on vinyl is outrages, why would you pay $20 for an album? And the vinyl was horrible quality on top of it.

I do like vinyl, and like it around, and I EXPECT a digital download with a copy of new vinyl, but there should be ways to get it without purchasing expensive vinyl too.

Edited March 18, 2009 by mr. orangestone

[kevin]

I don't think cd's will die as long as there are old people. You'd have a hard time telling an old person how to download music on to an Ipod, you know? Some newer albums may see digital only releases, but Sinatra's greatest hit's will be on cd for at least the next 10 years.

There will always be something physical. Even if it's something like SD cards you put in a player.

SD cards would be a good move, it would also help technoretardo people out imo

[Gordon Comstock]

RickRoses: this is the way it should be until they can find something with better quality than vinyl that you could put on a computer

I knew there was software to put your vinyl on digital, but I never realised it was poor quality. I had a cassette player put into my car so I can tape all my records and play them in my car. It's not the best quality but as I said above, sometimes the realness of something beats perfection, imo.

yea ny friend has the vinyl converter thing, i got him to convert a bunch of my records, but the quality isnt great, its worse than cd....

[maXx]

CDs are already dying. They're currently in vegetable state.

They had the longest run out of anything. Longer than vinyl, cassette, cylinders, anything. So it's obvious they'll be dying now.

Within the next 5-10 years they might as well be completely gone. They might be around in very small quantity like vinyl is, but digital downloads will replace them.

That is where the music industry is heading, into the digital age. It would already be there if the dinosaurs in charge weren't so stubborn & stuck in the past.

They need to find some way to work with the internet age, not against it (which will just lead people to download illegally more frequently).

Rickroses: a majority of people won't buy vinyl though. I only know 2 people my age with turntables, so why would they waste their money on vinyl? And vinyl has become expensive too. $20 for Chinese on vinyl is outrages, why would you pay $20 for an album? And the vinyl was horrible quality on top of it.

I do like vinyl, and like it around, and I EXPECT a digital download with a copy of new vinyl, but there should be ways to get it without purchasing expensive vinyl too.

i think your post is pretty accurate. The CD vinyl is too thick.

[GnRIzzy]

I think Best Buy should buy out Limewire, torrents, etc.

[kevin]

I think Best Buy should buy out Limewire, torrents, etc.

I have a lot of stock in torrents

[GnRIzzy]

I think Best Buy should buy out Limewire, torrents, etc.

I have a lot of stock in torrents

Well not just Best Buy, all record companies, CD stores, MP3 stores, etc. should actually stop it and not complain about it all day. How fucking hard is it to work with a Federal Agent and close down an illegal website?

[Wando]

I think Best Buy should buy out Limewire, torrents, etc.

I have a lot of stock in torrents

Well not just Best Buy, all record companies, CD stores, MP3 stores, etc. should actually stop it and not complain about it all day. How fucking hard is it to work with a Federal Agent and close down an illegal website?

Which website are you talking about? What makes torrent sites illegal?

[Gordon Comstock]

CDs are already dying. They're currently in vegetable state.

They had the longest run out of anything. Longer than vinyl, cassette, cylinders, anything. So it's obvious they'll be dying now.

Within the next 5-10 years they might as well be completely gone. They might be around in very small quantity like vinyl is, but digital downloads will replace them.

That is where the music industry is heading, into the digital age. It would already be there if the dinosaurs in charge weren't so stubborn & stuck in the past.

They need to find some way to work with the internet age, not against it (which will just lead people to download illegally more frequently).

Rickroses: a majority of people won't buy vinyl though. I only know 2 people my age with turntables, so why would they waste their money on vinyl? And vinyl has become expensive too. $20 for Chinese on vinyl is outrages, why would you pay $20 for an album? And the vinyl was horrible quality on top of it.

I do like vinyl, and like it around, and I EXPECT a digital download with a copy of new vinyl, but there should be ways to get it without purchasing expensive vinyl too.

i think people might buy it, back to black is 180 gram so the quality kicks ass, dunno where you bought cd on vinyl from but it shoulda been 180 gram, dunno why you got horrible quality. but $20 for 180 gram vinyl isnt that bad. plus a download, high res artwork, if i like the band i'd buy it. i think most people that pay $15 for a new cd wouldnt mind paying an extra $5 for that. and the people that use torrents or sites like free-albums.net or whatever arent gonna pay for music no matter what, so they shouldnt be focused on anyway.

[maXx]

CDs are already dying. They're currently in vegetable state.

They had the longest run out of anything. Longer than vinyl, cassette, cylinders, anything. So it's obvious they'll be dying now.

Within the next 5-10 years they might as well be completely gone. They might be around in very small quantity like vinyl is, but digital downloads will replace them.

That is where the music industry is heading, into the digital age. It would already be there if the dinosaurs in charge weren't so stubborn & stuck in the past.

They need to find some way to work with the internet age, not against it (which will just lead people to download illegally more frequently).

Rickroses: a majority of people won't buy vinyl though. I only know 2 people my age with turntables, so why would they waste their money on vinyl? And vinyl has become expensive too. $20 for Chinese on vinyl is outrages, why would you pay $20 for an album? And the vinyl was horrible quality on top of it.

I do like vinyl, and like it around, and I EXPECT a digital download with a copy of new vinyl, but there should be ways to get it without purchasing expensive vinyl too.

i think people might buy it, back to black is 180 gram so the quality kicks ass, dunno where you bought cd on vinyl from but it shoulda been 180 gram, dunno why you got horrible quality. but $20 for 180 gram vinyl isnt that bad. plus a download, high res artwork, if i like the band i'd buy it. i think most people that pay $15 for a new cd wouldnt mind paying an extra $5 for that. and the people that use torrents or sites like free-albums.net or whatever arent gonna pay for music no matter what, so they shouldnt be focused on anyway.

well just to get this out of the way, I pay for all my music (not saying you were inferring me in any way)

My son bought CD for me here in australia and it cost $50.00

The vinyl is thick & heavy. The sound quality is good, but I have a lot of vinyl and I've heard better in some of the older releases. With the thinner more flexible records, the needle seems to stay in the grooves better. Dunno, maybe it's just me. But it's not only CD.. all of the new release records are the same.

[kevin]

well just to get this out of the way, I pay for all my music (not saying you were inferring me in any way)

My son bought CD for me here in australia and it cost $50.00

The vinyl is thick & heavy. The sound quality is good, but I have a lot of vinyl and I've heard better in some of the older releases. With the thinner more flexible records, the needle seems to stay in the grooves better. Dunno, maybe it's just me. But it's not only CD.. all of the new release records are the same.

So by a worse quality vinyl today than before, why would you not advocate a new medium instead of trying to force an old one to work again?

[maXx]

well just to get this out of the way, I pay for all my music (not saying you were inferring me in any way)

My son bought CD for me here in australia and it cost $50.00

The vinyl is thick & heavy. The sound quality is good, but I have a lot of vinyl and I've heard better in some of the older releases. With the thinner more flexible records, the needle seems to stay in the grooves better. Dunno, maybe it's just me. But it's not only CD.. all of the new release records are the same.

So by a worse quality vinyl today than before, why would you not advocate a new medium instead of trying to force an old one to work again?

well I do have a lot of cds. I also have a nano. But I have a lot of records, and a lot of them originals, as I started listening to them when i was 13. It's a sweet nostalgia to relive something you're fond of, especially when it's all but vanished from life. If you were in my shoes, you might do the same. And besides, the new vinyl isn't that bad. It's quite good in all respect, I was just comparing and commenting about it. No biggie.