Is the Death of the CD Looming?
Newch91
Posts: 17,560
Great read. Would love to hear what all of you think.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/0 ... tml?hpt=C1
Is the death of the CD looming?
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
July 20, 2010 4:40 p.m. EDT
(CNN) -- If you think the musical compact disc is dying or dead, you're probably younger than it is.
"Show me a teenager buying a Susan Boyle album on CD and I'll show you someone buying a gift for their grandparent -- for Christmas," jokes Billboard senior chart manager and analyst Keith Caulfield. "There is definitely an age component to the consumption of music."
As the music industry as a whole struggles in a down economy and direct download business models like iTunes flourish, the compact disc -- which was commercially introduced in 1982 -- has the appearance of going the way of vinyl.
And contrary to the recent declaration of singer Prince -- who said that the Internet is dead and released his latest CD for free via European newspapers -- there's some evidence that consumers aren't as enamored with ripping the cellophane off that new CD as they once were.
According to data from Nielsen SoundScan, in 2007 CDs accounted for 90 percent of album sales in the United States, with digital accounting for the other 10 percent. Just two years later, that number had shifted to 79 percent CDs and 20 percent digital, with the remaining percentage point being made up of vinyl and other media.
Billboard's Caulfield said that so far this year, about 44 million digital albums have been sold, compared with 40 million during the same time frame last year. But while digital sales have increased slightly, CD sales have dropped from 147 million last year to 114 million this year for the same time period.
Caulfield stops short of speculating on a date when CDs might be phased out, but he does see similarities with the history of other media.
"Vinyl was the predominant configuration from the '50s and the '60s all the way up through the early '80s, and then cassettes became the predominant format from the early-mid '80s to the very early '90s," he said. "Then CDs became the predominant format and cassettes really didn't go away until a few years ago. It's kind of a natural progression, to a degree."
That's not to say that some artists aren't still selling well. Country group Lady Antebellum has so far racked up 2.4 million in album sales -- both CD and digital -- making them the top-selling act so far for 2010. In second place is teen phenom Justin Bieber, with 1.4 million.
"When an artist like a Drake or Eminem sells a bunch of albums, that shows that there are a lot of people that really want to spend money and give money to the artist that they are really, truly a fan of," Caulfield said. "The younger an artist skews in terms of who they appeal to, you'll see a larger share of their album sales tilt towards digital."
One obvious benefit of digital downloads is their ability to scratch an immediate itch. Caulfield observes shows like Fox's "Glee" make songs almost instant hits because "they have already heard and liked the song by the time they download it." Paul Grein, who writes the "Chart Watch" column for Yahoo.com, agrees, seeing hope for the music business in the success of "Glee" and "American Idol," which have helped spike downloads.
Despite the CD's decline, Grein believes the format will be around for the foreseeable future.
"I think it's becoming less of a mass-market item and kind of a niche product that caters to a small but loyal following," he said. "But there are enough cases where we are seeing albums that are selling in big numbers that I think they will be around for a while." Younger-skewing artists, such as singer-rapper Ke$ha, enjoy a larger slice of the digital pie than older-skewing artists such as James Taylor, he says.
Indeed, the format isn't the point, he said. In 100 years, recorded music has gone from cylinders to shellac 78s to vinyl LPs to cassettes, CDs and now digital downloads. Through it all, listeners still crave tunes.
"Music is definitely still in fashion," he said. "It's all around us."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/0 ... tml?hpt=C1
Is the death of the CD looming?
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
July 20, 2010 4:40 p.m. EDT
(CNN) -- If you think the musical compact disc is dying or dead, you're probably younger than it is.
"Show me a teenager buying a Susan Boyle album on CD and I'll show you someone buying a gift for their grandparent -- for Christmas," jokes Billboard senior chart manager and analyst Keith Caulfield. "There is definitely an age component to the consumption of music."
As the music industry as a whole struggles in a down economy and direct download business models like iTunes flourish, the compact disc -- which was commercially introduced in 1982 -- has the appearance of going the way of vinyl.
And contrary to the recent declaration of singer Prince -- who said that the Internet is dead and released his latest CD for free via European newspapers -- there's some evidence that consumers aren't as enamored with ripping the cellophane off that new CD as they once were.
According to data from Nielsen SoundScan, in 2007 CDs accounted for 90 percent of album sales in the United States, with digital accounting for the other 10 percent. Just two years later, that number had shifted to 79 percent CDs and 20 percent digital, with the remaining percentage point being made up of vinyl and other media.
Billboard's Caulfield said that so far this year, about 44 million digital albums have been sold, compared with 40 million during the same time frame last year. But while digital sales have increased slightly, CD sales have dropped from 147 million last year to 114 million this year for the same time period.
Caulfield stops short of speculating on a date when CDs might be phased out, but he does see similarities with the history of other media.
"Vinyl was the predominant configuration from the '50s and the '60s all the way up through the early '80s, and then cassettes became the predominant format from the early-mid '80s to the very early '90s," he said. "Then CDs became the predominant format and cassettes really didn't go away until a few years ago. It's kind of a natural progression, to a degree."
That's not to say that some artists aren't still selling well. Country group Lady Antebellum has so far racked up 2.4 million in album sales -- both CD and digital -- making them the top-selling act so far for 2010. In second place is teen phenom Justin Bieber, with 1.4 million.
"When an artist like a Drake or Eminem sells a bunch of albums, that shows that there are a lot of people that really want to spend money and give money to the artist that they are really, truly a fan of," Caulfield said. "The younger an artist skews in terms of who they appeal to, you'll see a larger share of their album sales tilt towards digital."
One obvious benefit of digital downloads is their ability to scratch an immediate itch. Caulfield observes shows like Fox's "Glee" make songs almost instant hits because "they have already heard and liked the song by the time they download it." Paul Grein, who writes the "Chart Watch" column for Yahoo.com, agrees, seeing hope for the music business in the success of "Glee" and "American Idol," which have helped spike downloads.
Despite the CD's decline, Grein believes the format will be around for the foreseeable future.
"I think it's becoming less of a mass-market item and kind of a niche product that caters to a small but loyal following," he said. "But there are enough cases where we are seeing albums that are selling in big numbers that I think they will be around for a while." Younger-skewing artists, such as singer-rapper Ke$ha, enjoy a larger slice of the digital pie than older-skewing artists such as James Taylor, he says.
Indeed, the format isn't the point, he said. In 100 years, recorded music has gone from cylinders to shellac 78s to vinyl LPs to cassettes, CDs and now digital downloads. Through it all, listeners still crave tunes.
"Music is definitely still in fashion," he said. "It's all around us."
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thrillafixterorange.gif" align="left">
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thrillafixterblack.gif" align="left">
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thrillafixterwhite.gif" align="left
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thefixerthrilla1.gif" align="left">
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
agreed. Don't buy what you can't touch.
DEGENERATE FUK
This place is dead
"THERE ARE NO CLIQUES, ONLY THOSE WHO DON'T JOIN THE FUN" - Empty circa 2015
"Kfsbho&$thncds" - F Me In the Brain - circa 2015
But, yes, I fear the cd will eventually go away. I'll be an old man paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a damn cd player just folks do for a record player nowadays I guess. I don't need no stinkin' ipod
They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thrillafixterorange.gif" align="left">
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thrillafixterblack.gif" align="left">
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thrillafixterwhite.gif" align="left
<img src="http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/tremors25/thefixerthrilla1.gif" align="left">
agreed again. i'd also like to screw this direct deposit buisness and get a hard check again, makes getting paid more exciting.
Well put. There is something about having that physical album that just satisfies me. Digital is always, always, always my last resort.
I don't care if CD's or my vinyls take up too much room. I cherish them. I love them deeply and they all mean something to me. I generally can remember each purchase and I'll never get sick of the excitment of buying a new record/CD and (in the case of a CD) rushign to the car and through the cellophane to just get it in the player as if I'm fiending for sound.
Digital might be the way of the future, but music is such a precious thing to people that physical media of it I don't think will ever vanish. Just look at vinyl, which has increased in popularity significantly within just the last 5 years when everyone was saying vinyl records will die and be no more.
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
I agree. It's an album like Hendrix's "Axis: Bold As Love", with its artwork, that makes me love the physical album 1000x more than digital.
There's also nothing like waiting in line the day of an album release, waiting to get into the store hours and minutes before the store opens, just to get the album.
I remember I skipped most of my school day in high school my freshman year when Pearl Jam's self-titled album came out. I waited outside the mall, waiting to go to FYE the minute it opened, just to get the album because that was the first Pearl Jam album I was getting out on its release date. I went home, listened twice, then went to school since I had a baseball game later on for school.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
or Re-download their music illegally then back it up onto multiple hardrives
When I buy an MP3 album, the first thing I do is burn it to a CD and print out the "artwork." I usually only buy digital if it's a good bit cheaper, or if you get nice bonus songs. For example, I bought Into the Wild in digital for the 3 extra songs (and I'm getting it in vinyl soon - yeah!!!). Anything from any of my favorites has to be on CD though.
That said, I take the record with digital download if available, such as Them Crooked Vultures & the new Arcade Fire. I count this as a physical music purchase; I have the artwork and after I burn it I have the CD, in addition to having the most superior format for listening.
Phila, PA 4/28/16; Phila, PA 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22;
Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; Phila, PA 9/7/24; Phila, PA 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24
Tres Mtns - TLA 3/23/11; EV - Tower Theatre 6/25/11; Temple of the Dog - Tower Theatre 11/5/16
The CD will never be phased out completely. It gives a tangible aspect for those who hate downloads. Artwork and sound quality would have been an issue years ago but the size capabilities of mp3 players is phasing out those issues.
And a CD is much more dependable, reliable, and maitenance free, compared to vinyl. CD's are the perfect alternative to those who want something tangible and reliable.
Cassettes didn't work because they were equally fussy as vinyl, didn't last as long, and the artwork was too small. Minidiscs didn't work because they weren't different enough from CD's. But the compact disc will always be around just as vinyl has lasted through the years.
The only way I can see CD's going extinct is when downloading music of ANY album becomes instantaneous (less than the time it takes to open up a CD and put it into a player). Copyright laws will have to change so that music downloaded online can be owned as many times as one wants from a host company. The download quality will have to be superior, and artwork will have to be all inclusive when wanted to be viewed. And the computer/ download will have to be linked to a stereo system. And all of this will have to occur within 3 clicks of a mouse or remote.
Basically the whole downloading, storage, and playing process will have to be perfectly fluid and as natural as the physical process. This isn't impossible and right now technology is in the primitive stages of making this happen. Right now the biggest hurdle is the copyright issue, the next is the instantaneous speed, the third is the simple linking to a sound system.
Until then, viva la CD.
I buy and download the FLACs and convert to M4a for my iPod and I can burn my own CD's for my car or whatever.
I used to buy Vinyls, Cassettes and CD's, almost to the point of an addiction. I still have a great collection taking up a lot of room in my house. But I cant really play them. I would need to buy a new turntable and who uses cassettes anymore? I feel I have a lot of money invested in media that I cant really use anymore.
I still continue to buy CD's from artists I really like and who I want to support. For example, Pearl Jam, TOOL, and Eminem to name a few. For my wife it's Bon Jovi and the Foo Fighters.
The reason I purchased other random CD's of other artists in the last couple of years, is because I got something more for my money, for example Ozzfest tickets with the purchase of Ozzy's CD, CD's that included a free DVD of the band, or whatever. These little extras made me feel like I got a deal. I think record companies should do more like that.
I love having the physical CD with the artwork, etc. But, I feel that out of my $14 only $1 from that CD sale goes to the band that wrote the material. The rest goes to all the middle men, promoters, distributers, advertisers, agents, record companies, etc. I think that sucks. I hate spending that kind of of money and knowing the band hardly made any money from it.
I go to a lot of concerts and buy posters/shirts. I feel the band makes more money from the fans that way.
I don't know if I am right in assuming that.
I think another reason why the CD sales are dying is because people prefer to download only what they want to hear. Pay only for the 1 or 2 songs from a CD you want instead of paying 5 or 7 times as much for a whole CD of songs you dont like and may not listen to.
8/7/16 Fenway Park II, Boston
5/2/16 MSG II, NYC
5/1/16 MSG I, NYC
5/21/10 MSG II, NYC
5/15/10 Hartford, CT
8/02/08 Eddie Vedder - Boston, MA
6/28/08 Mansfield, MA
6/27/08 Hartford, CT
5/13/06 Hartford, CT
5/12/06 Albany, NY
9/13/98 Hartford, CT
10/2/96 Hartford, CT
4/6/94 Springfield, MA
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
I love my iPod too but all my music that gets on my iPod always comes from a CD. My iPod is mainly used for trips in the car. Shuffle is one of the greatest things for a drive. If I'm at home I will always throw CDs or vinyl on first.
I don't think CD's will go away for a long time if at all
2008: MSG I, MSG II, Newark(EV)
2009: Albany 1-2(EV), Philly 3
2010: Boston, MSG I
2013: Buffalo, Brooklyn II, Hartford
2016: MSG 1, MSG II, Fenway 1
Besides, you can't get an mp3 signed.
Same here. All of the music comes from CD, unless I have a crazy amount PJ boots and those come from pearljambootlegs.org.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Physical forms of music will become niche products like vinyl is now...which is fine by me as long as I can still buy a CD and/or vinyl
I think I'll do that.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Oh boy. I have to have an account. I can't believe I'm actually going to do this.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
:shock:
This is all your fault for mentioning it.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
One other thing about digital is the immediacy of it. I had to go out of town rather unexpectedly recently, and I'd been meaning to go get the new Eminem CD, but I didn't have time, and I really wanted it for my drive, so I just downloaded it off Amazon, slapped it on the ipod and there you go. Life is simpler.
And on a related topic, even if you don't have a Kindle, getting a digital book can be pretty cool too - if you have an iphone or ipod touch, you can put a free Kindle app on it and get reading material on very short notice.
So I guess in summary I like the quick and easy access to so much more material with digital availability of media.
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008