CD format abandoned in 2012?

SaltyJon wrote: I'm also not pleased at all about this.  I too use my computer for most of my listening right now, but one of my big goals for the next 10-15 years was to get myself a totally amazing sound system with which I'd play all my CDs, old and new...with the lack of new, sure I'd still have all the stuff I already have, but as others have said, I don't want to have to pay for mp3 downloads in low quality sound.  Maybe if enough people still cling to CDs (pleasepleaseplease) then the record labels will lose a ton of money in this move and decide to stick with the physical product.

I think the article in the OP was concerning major labels doing away with CDs than smaller labels, like Inside Out for example.

One problem is that I imagine most record shops survive on those major labels' sales. Another problem is some of our favorite artists may be on major labels, even if they are prog or whatever. Or labels like Columbia which sell mainstream music, but also have jazz artists on their label. I wonder how jazz albums would be affected...

Not going to happen nearly that soon

Yea, I would prefer the Spotify mdoel to the iTunes model. Cuz then you dont have to worry about losing your music.

Yeah, I figured that would be the case.  Though some sites (ArkivMusic, for example) are offering some albums as mp3 downloads now.  I love the liner notes which usually come with classical music releases (the Stravinsky set I just got was particularly disappointing, as it was 22 discs with no info about the performances on any of them, etc). 

Plus...some of the sets would just be flat-out impractical to make available as downloads (the Complete *insert composer* stuff, for best example, usually being close to 100 discs per set). 


Edited by SaltyJon - November 04 2011 at 14:25

darkshade wrote: New albums need to contain liner notes, that would make it more worth it to buy a CD. Some old jazz albums used to contain liner notes in the sleeves.

By "liner notes" are you specifically referring to the kind of ponderous drivel you'd often find on those aforementioned jazz LPs or do you mean booklets in general? The vast majority of CD releases these days at least go the effort of a booklet with lyrics/artwork/etc.

Also, I'm not sure liner notes are really going to do much for the record buying public these days. Let's face it, CDs have largely been the preserve of the older generations and the genuine music collectors. It probably makes perfect financial sense for major labels to do a pretty limited run of physical copies for new releases as itunes, spotify, amazon mp3 store and the like have become the norm for an awful lot of people.

Small, independent and specialist labels will almost certainly continue releasing on CD and vinyl for the forseeable future because they're not pursuing that same casual market. I can't see specialist prog labels abandoning CDs any time soon.

The Hemulen wrote: darkshade wrote: New albums need to contain liner notes, that would make it more worth it to buy a CD. Some old jazz albums used to contain liner notes in the sleeves. By "liner notes" are you specifically referring to the kind of ponderous drivel you'd often find on those aforementioned jazz LPs or do you mean booklets in general? The vast majority of CD releases these days at least go the effort of a booklet with lyrics/artwork/etc. Also, I'm not sure liner notes are really going to do much for the record buying public these days. Let's face it, CDs have largely been the preserve of the older generations and the genuine music collectors. It probably makes perfect financial sense for major labels to do a pretty limited run of physical copies for new releases as itunes, spotify, amazon mp3 store and the like have become the norm for an awful lot of people. Small, independent and specialist labels will almost certainly continue releasing on CD and vinyl for the forseeable future because they're not pursuing that same casual market. I can't see specialist prog labels abandoning CDs any time soon.

By liner notes, I mean the artist, or "leader" of the band, talk a little about the making of the album, or some back story to a song, etc.. At that point, in this day and age, a bonus DVD or something would be more appropriate with studio footage, etc..

A limited pressing of new releases is a good idea. It gets the people who want the album to get it as soon as possible, or it sells out. Kind of like how it used to be in the 60s and 70s right? (for those who know). After that, you'd have to order it online.

Someone on another board made a good point on this topic. The record industry is not concerned about people who buy 1 or 2 songs online, since that's not where the money is at. They are concerned about album buyers, like us. This makes me believe that the CD format will not disappear as quickly as the article states.

Henry Plainview wrote: darkshade wrote: The record industry is not concerned about people who buy 1 or 2 songs online, since that's not where the money is at. Yes, it is. Good point about the leaders, though. I don't think people care that much (and the modern releases with that sort of thing typically aren't very interesting either), but it would be something.

I should have went into more detail about that (about the singles buyers), but I have no time now; maybe tonight I'll explain. You are right, since they market the mainstream stuff to those people, especially since there's more of them than album buyers.

As I said, I'll go into detail later.

Yeah, the LP format was successfully eradicated in the early '80's, so the CD format will be just a successfully eradicated and supplanted in 2012. 

I remember having a conversation down the pub about 10 years ago saying I would never download music ( I also said I would never own a mobile phone either). In the last couple of years though I have downloaded several albums just to save a few pennies. I would be disappointed though if the CD format disappeared altogether. It is nice just to own something that you can touch. I have stacks of CD's all around me and its a big part of my life.However as long as they keep the special editions its not so bad I suppose ,I could live with it.

Edited by richardh - November 05 2011 at 03:38

stonebeard wrote: As long as they provide .wav or .flac files. I'm not going to pay for lossy crap.