CD format abandoned in 2012?

I had read something about the demise of VHS before.  It's going the way of Betamax within about 10 years or sooner.  Reel-reel, isn't surprising to still be around as it was the audiophile's choice of the day and there's a lot of master tapes out there, so the technology will still be needed to be employed to digitize the stuff.  Still I feel that portability and independency of the digital file format was a big revolution that has yet to be fully appreciated by some.  Radio brought a lot of portability, but it often came with commercials that interrupeted the music.  8-tracks, cassettes, brought better fidelity, but being able to listen to something on the go with much better quality than any of those is priceless.

darkshade wrote: Good points all around, but the part I bolded is not an excuse these days when you can go online and check if your local record shop has the album(s) you're looking for.

As a retail employee, let me assure you that there is no electronic inventory system in the world that is reliable, much less one that can be accessed online by customers.

darkshade wrote: What about calling the stores themselves?

Well yeah, that usually works, but who has the time to wait on hold? ;-)

darkshade wrote: Catcher10 wrote: I don't see the issue anywhere with this CD thing. You can still buy blank cassette tape, reel-reel tape and VHS tapes. The big record companies may be looking at digital downloads but I doubt it will be the only media they are involved in. CD's are here to stay, the music companies don't make them, some media storage company will still make blank CD's. And there will always be small indie labels issuing CD albums just like they are doing now with vinyl....Its their niche. Sony and the like are only looking at how to capture the mass media market via the internet, its quick and easy money for them....specifically the pop, hip hop and country music scene. Seems to me all other genres do not fit this profile. Although I do believe the online music subscription service will only grow.....The ability to download music on the fly whether at home, work, airport, park, beach is what makes it so attractive versus having to get in your car, bus, bike and go to a music store and purposefully browse for music for 2 hours and only to find that what you are looking for is not physically available.   You all know I love vinyl and I will sit and dig thru countless bins looking for those gems and jewels....but I also will sit at home in my PJs and download music without batting an eye.   You can still find parts for a '64 VW Bug or a '57 Chevy.......why on earth would the CD go away after about 35yrs.... Good points all around, but the part I bolded is not an excuse these days when you can go online and check if your local record shop has the album(s) you're looking for.

^ Well I agree....Tower was awesome!!! I remember the big room they had sectioned off from everything else, which was the Classical section......Only the distinguished people went in there.....I did once and everyone stared at me So I ran out....

Of course the major labels will switch to download only as quickly as possible.
No cost at all for any sort of packaging and especially artwork! Accountants' wet dream.


Edited by npjnpj - November 11 2011 at 07:31

I like albums and CDs. I like the tactile nature of album sleeves and reading liner notes. It's like owning a piece of the band in a sense. I don't particularly like the idea of downloading whole albums from the ether, but I do find it handy to download single songs when the rest of an album is not something I care for. I'll keep buying CDs, used or otherwise, because I don't like the perceived lack of ownership involved in merely downloading (I have heard there are ownership and transfer difficulties with books on Kindle and Nook, for instance).

jammun wrote: Youse guys are getting me all teary-eyed  I used to live about three blocks from the local Tower Records. I used to love just hanging out in there, looking at the new releases, checking my funds to see what I could afford, then maybe picking up some Zappa or some Wall Of Voodoo or Miles Davis or for that matter the latest single by The Pretenders. This was all vinyl, of course. I think that maybe possibly around 1986 they may have had a small CD section, or perhaps not. It was not a concern because I had no CD player, nor the $ to afford one. About the closest one can get to that experience now (and it's a pale imitation) is browsing Amazon.

Henry Plainview wrote: Catcher10 wrote: Nope......browsing Amazon using a web browser will never take the place of actually browsing down the aisles of a record store and flipping album sleeves in a bin. I will never understand why some people are so attached to wasting their time.

Intruder wrote: Call me a geezer but stumbling upon a used copy of the first Juicy Lucy CD for $1.50 is a thrill that can't be replicated on a computer.  Just last week my local Half Price Books store had a clearance sale....it was like a clambake!  I picked up 70 CDs, some new, for less than $70!  Got some off the wall stuff but also some flat out classics....and all in excellent to new condition.  There's something about spending a few hours in a groovy shop with like-minded individuals listening and browsing.  This is a hobby I've had since I was in my early teens and still something I look forward to every week.

I find this kind of weird.  CDs may be going into a kind of LP phase.