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katy
Guest
Now I hear that music is undergoing yet another switch, this time from CD to Mp3. What do you think about this? If it is a good thing, how so? Not being a Luddite, but just tired of switching formats.
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CaptBell800
Guest
I know that as far as video games go, the upcoming PS4 is going to drop CD capability. It looks like many of the newer devices coming out that traditionally had CD support are going to be dropping it. There are so many people with cell phones and MP3 players that it probably costs more to manufacture and distribute CDs now.
Personally, I get tired of adjusting over to new formats, too. And I like having physical copies of things I buy. But that’s the way the world is now, it changes fast!
Personally, I get tired of adjusting over to new formats, too. And I like having physical copies of things I buy. But that’s the way the world is now, it changes fast!
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logic_oriented
Guest
I’ve seen some artists releasing their albums on vinyl with a digital download key included, which I think is great. You get the best physical version with the largest album art, and a quick and easy way to download it for your computer/phone/etc.
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
I also like to have the physical copy of the music. Being a classical music lover, I had already built up an extensive collection of CD’s in that genre. MP3’s have never been strong in that type of music anyway. I don’t like the idea that my 12 or 15 dollar investment would only exist in the form of magnetic impulses that could be wiped out by any number of random events. I also think that it’s crazy for the price difference between a physical CD and an album download to be so little (and I have the same concern with e-books, too).
The one advantage of MP3’s - which I have occasionally made use of - is when I purchase a single track from a larger album, say because I heard something on Pandora. I would be embarrassed to confess how many CD’s I’ve bought in the past because I liked only one thing on it.
The one advantage of MP3’s - which I have occasionally made use of - is when I purchase a single track from a larger album, say because I heard something on Pandora. I would be embarrassed to confess how many CD’s I’ve bought in the past because I liked only one thing on it.
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CaptBell800
Guest
That’s pretty neat. I bought a record player off amazon.com but it was broken when it arrived. If I ever get another, I’m going to get it from a local store, hah.
It was kind of annoying because I had just found a big collection of old jazz records from the 20s that I got on ebay dirt cheap.
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Rolltide
Guest
Well, aside from the whole “I can carry my ENTIRE music collection of thousands of songs with me on a device smaller than a credit card, or even on my phone”. I’d say that’s a pretty huge advantage, and the one that pretty much relegated CD’s to the dustbin. They’re virtually obsolete already. Apparently, within just a couple of years, they’re planning on ending production entirely.
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alokin123
Guest
I have always wondered about this. I have a lot of CDs, mostly independent artists CDs i have purchased over the years and was wondering if the CD format disappears in favor of digital stores, what are smallish acts supposed to sell after a concert? Itunes gift cards?
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
We were talking about the advantage of MP3’s vs. CD’s, not iPod-type players per se. I, too, can and do carry my music collection with me on an iPod – the difference being that I ripped the music from CD’s that I physically own, so have no worries about my music only existing “virtually.”
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Joe_5859
Guest
MP3’s are already the new format. You speak as though it is something that has not happened yet. 
Personally, I will be buying the CD format as long as they keep making them. Once I have the CD, I immediately convert it to MP3 and put it on my iPod. But I like having something tangible. Plus, I feel it gives me flexibility to download a song in a variety of formats (AAC, MP3, etc.) and at a variety of quality levels (128 kbps, 256 kbps, etc.).
I know that more and more people are going digital with pretty much everything, but I still am skeptical that CDs will go away completely. Maybe I’m just an old-fashioned minority, but don’t people like having something in their hands that they can hold?
My concerns are being slowly eroded, though. I used to be concerned about “losing” the song. But really, Amazon and iTunes let you re-download the song at any time should it get erased. In many cases, those songs are even in a “cloud” which enables you to listen to it across multiple devices without sacrificing storage space.
I also used to be irritated that the digital copy cost about the same (or sometimes more) than the physical copy. But then I heard someone explain how it’s not necessarily that much cheaper for them to produce a digital copy. Both formats have some of the same costs that don’t change (royalties, etc.). Plust, digital copies require server space, and all the various computer costs associated with running that type of business. Manufacturing a CD (or a book) can cost literally pennies as the manufacturing plants are already well in place.
But, yeah, I still like my CDs. I’ve never been one to only buy an album for one song, so that aspect of digital copies doesn’t really entice me. The only digital songs I’ve really bought have been bonus tracks or other types of digital exclusives.
Personally, I will be buying the CD format as long as they keep making them. Once I have the CD, I immediately convert it to MP3 and put it on my iPod. But I like having something tangible. Plus, I feel it gives me flexibility to download a song in a variety of formats (AAC, MP3, etc.) and at a variety of quality levels (128 kbps, 256 kbps, etc.).
I know that more and more people are going digital with pretty much everything, but I still am skeptical that CDs will go away completely. Maybe I’m just an old-fashioned minority, but don’t people like having something in their hands that they can hold?
My concerns are being slowly eroded, though. I used to be concerned about “losing” the song. But really, Amazon and iTunes let you re-download the song at any time should it get erased. In many cases, those songs are even in a “cloud” which enables you to listen to it across multiple devices without sacrificing storage space.
I also used to be irritated that the digital copy cost about the same (or sometimes more) than the physical copy. But then I heard someone explain how it’s not necessarily that much cheaper for them to produce a digital copy. Both formats have some of the same costs that don’t change (royalties, etc.). Plust, digital copies require server space, and all the various computer costs associated with running that type of business. Manufacturing a CD (or a book) can cost literally pennies as the manufacturing plants are already well in place.
But, yeah, I still like my CDs. I’ve never been one to only buy an album for one song, so that aspect of digital copies doesn’t really entice me. The only digital songs I’ve really bought have been bonus tracks or other types of digital exclusives.
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Joe_5859
Guest
Does anyone else feel like the other entertainment industries (movies, books) have actively tried to avoid going the route of the music industry? I can put in a CD and download a digital copy in a dozen different ways. Indeed, I think it would have taken the portable MP3 market years longer to get off the ground if that were not possible to do.
But with DVDs or books, if I want a digital copy, I have to pay for it again. I can somewhat understand them learning their lesson in light of the widespread music piracy that ensued. But it does seem inconsistent that they pretty much developed a different set of standards for the movie and book industry as they had for the music industry.
But with DVDs or books, if I want a digital copy, I have to pay for it again. I can somewhat understand them learning their lesson in light of the widespread music piracy that ensued. But it does seem inconsistent that they pretty much developed a different set of standards for the movie and book industry as they had for the music industry.
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johnmann
Guest
I threw out all my CDs last year though I’ve kept a couple as souvenirs of the 90’s. I ripped them all to FLAC which is a lossless digital format meaning that it’s an exact copy of the CD. From FLAC I can convert it to any other format so I’m future-proof. I convert it to AAC which is a lossy digital format like MP3. It’s was iTunes uses. I carry around my entire collection on my phone.
All the FLAC files are on my laptop and backed up to an external hard drive as well. When I get around to it, I plan to set up some remote storage at my mother’s house so that I can store it there as well which protects me if my place were to burn down. As an added benefit, I can transfer songs to my mother who’s clueless about digital music. You can’t do that with CDs.
Ideally, none of this would be necessary. All the world’s music should be available on Spotify available for streaming anytime anywhere. Spotify is great but there’s a lot of music I listen to that isn’t available on it.
All the FLAC files are on my laptop and backed up to an external hard drive as well. When I get around to it, I plan to set up some remote storage at my mother’s house so that I can store it there as well which protects me if my place were to burn down. As an added benefit, I can transfer songs to my mother who’s clueless about digital music. You can’t do that with CDs.
Ideally, none of this would be necessary. All the world’s music should be available on Spotify available for streaming anytime anywhere. Spotify is great but there’s a lot of music I listen to that isn’t available on it.
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katy
Guest
Reading how to use the Mp3 format, it seems to me that a much greater knowledge of the technical aspects is need than to pop a CD in the player. What about us non-techies?
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thomasf
Guest
This is all the knowledge you need:Reading how to use the Mp3 format, it seems to me that a much greater knowledge of the technical aspects is need than to pop a CD in the player. What about us non-techies?
Buy a song on itunes. It automatically downloads to your computer. Plug in your ipod. Click on the button that says “sync” in itunes. Unplug your ipod. Insert headphones into your ear. Select the song on your ipod. Push play. Pretty easy.
I haven’t bought a cd in a long time. When I want a song, which isn’t often because I don’t buy a lot of new music, I download it from itunes. Play it on my ipod. That’s it. Don’t need physical copies. I can store it on my computer, back it up onto the cloud so I can get it anywhere. Why would I buy a clunky cd that I’d have to play on a portable cd player 100 times larger than my ipod? Also, I can run, bike, do physical actiivity with my ipod and the songs don’t skip like they did with a portable cd player. And, I don’t have to carry all the cds I want to listen to with me in some huge clunky cd purse. My ipod slides into my pants pocket, and I can take it anywhere. My newest one has bluetooth and I can play the content through my car radio if I want.
Digital is so much easier and simpler. Plus, I listen to audiobooks at work all day on my ipod. I can put dozens of books on my tiny little ipod, take them with me anywheres. CD audiobooks are huge, and I’d need between 8 to 40 cds for a whole book. In digital form, they take up no space at all.
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