What would improve CD’s

With Amazon.UK selling burnable CDs for 10 quid a hundred, i.e. 10 p each, then you have to know a recorded CD has to be the same price. So the packaging, advertising, artist royalties and significantly the price are disproportionately large. (In the Uk CDs are sold wholesale into the shops for £8 to £11 each!!!).

In my other life as a materials engineer, and about ten years ago I asked the MD of Nimbus Records, how much it cost them to manufacture a recorded CD. He was quite candid, and told me the company at the time were sub-contracted by EMI to press up most of the remastered Pink Floyd albums. His company were selling each CD to EMI, fully packaged for ~60p  and being pressed to knock 10p off that price (they did). Ten years later I'll put a small bet on  fully packaged CDs being 30 to 40p each - what 50 to 70 US cents.

My other frustration is the diabolical jewel case - makes an excellent case study (no apologies for the pun) for design students , i.e. what not to design, what plastics you shouldn't use and how a process can make  bad much worse. Gramophone magazine published a long technical letter of mine on the subject in the late 80's - clearly  little change in 15 years.

Velvetclown wrote: I agree, who need the single edits !!!

Yep, I agree too. But I have found an exception that proves the rule: the US single version of 'Hocus Pocus' which is tacked onto the end of the 1994 album "The Best Of Focus" absolutely rocks. It's quite different from the original, which of course is also on the album. But it's the only example I've ever heard where I've been pleased a "bonus" single has been stuck on the end of a CD.

I don't mind bonus tracks but sometimes they really annoy me.  Take Time and a word for instance.  Three of the songs appear on the album twice, as orignals mixs or single versions, whatever.  but really, who gives a f**k ?  Why do I want to hear the same song twice.  Or even three times, as this is what happened on my version of closer to home by grand funk railroad.  I don't care about radio or single or orginal versions!  Give me the list of songs with no repeats and if you're going to tack on extras, make them different from the orginal lineup! 

Oh, and I voted for artwork.

Besides the costs (20 Euro for a cd is far too expensive), Id like the cd's to contain no specialities.

No hidden tracks

No dvd with extra featurretes

No extra songs (include them in the set or discard them, if it isn't good enough for the album don't waste my time on it, extra's on a seperate cd please. if I'm interested and I think it's worth it I'll buy it)

JUST THE MUSIC PLEASE

As for the art work, I like a good albumcover, somehow it tells something about the music, if not the musicians

Please add the lyrics, though sometimes meaningless it helps one to get through the music like a guide, for me important.

But again not to many extra's, it's not a novell or a picture book like a family album, just enough to support the music. I know there's much to say about a band and it's influence, but leave some mysticisme to the band. 

I agree with your point that once you have purchased the work you can do anything you want go use it for skeet shooting, a frisbee for your dogs, whatever, with it because the artists havee recieved their royalties.

I go a bit further I believe you can buy ilegal copies in CD format from the black market and it's still legal if you bought the LP's before.

I am aware of that but I get DVD's with the UK top 60 albums on in MP3 format every fortnight. Also I distribute them amongst friends, also DVD's etc.

Ok, this case is different, if you're busted this will be considered a civil crime.

Iván

  HOW ABOUT SOME BETTER MUSIC

I am all for copying cd's-I know it is theft,

Hi Reed Lover, I'm gonna give you some good news, copying a CD is not always a Civil Crime (And of course is not a felony as RIAA pretends us to believe).

If you own a legally sold album, you're entitled to make copies for your own use.

The law doesn't discriminate between formats, so if I have a vynil copy of Close to the Edge, I believe I'm entitled to make a CD copy because I already paid the rights. Courts are specific in that point, if you bought an album, you're entitled to make copies for your own use.

RIAA wants us to buy the same product as many times as posible, you may have 1 or two vynils (if one got scratched), a cassette tape bought during the late 80's when no more vynils were sold and CD was not a popular item), a CD, a remastered edition, a remnastered edition with bonus tracks and of couse a 5.1 surround edition.

This means you have to pay 6 or 7 times for the same album, I don't think so.

Iván

I've got a very simple solution, let's just lose interest in music and take up basket weaving instead. Just kidding. I am a vinyl junkie and if I can find something on Vinyl in a second hand record shop or junk  store or a flea market I will grab that before paying $25 for a CD, anyway I'm into mostly older stuff. I find that the old analogue recordings which have been remastered and  transferred to CD sound overproduced and clinical. I will never give up my vinyl not even a team of wild horses. Nothing could improve CD's for me. I like sitting with the headphones on with album sleeve in my hand in my recliner watching the record go around on the turntable. and another thing with CD's I hate the gimmick of bonus tracks the record companies use such as studio run throughs and discarded material to jack up th prices of CD's. For example the re-mastered CD of Misplaced Childhood, the bonus tracks take up more time than the original bloody vinyl version! And no I don't own it I lisented to it at the listening station at a local music store. CD'S I have never owned a discman or walkman and believe music is a special and sacred artform  which requires your full attention. I 've even seen morons driving their cars with the things on. I guess we all have different approaches to listening, mine is more of a technical one I try to figure out the time signatures, what keys are being played in etc. it requires my complete and undivided attention somtimes I will play play a track over and over and over again until my dogs start snarling at me and my wife threatens me with slow agonizing painful death. The moog at the end of lucky man is a good example I will play that part over and over. I have favourite parts of songs whether it be prog, Elvis or Classical Music. But I guees some of you younger guys on the site grew up with CD's and that's the only format you know but that's OK. Heck I am so old as the hills that I remember 8 tracks and 45's.! But seriously I think that the way to improve CD's is to lower the prices is to stop all this downloading over the internet perhaps another format will be introduced which will prevent this. I have never down loaded music over the net it hurts the artists and the music lovers and Mariah. There! I have spoke my mind and as Maani would say peace to all.

(Danbo is that specific enough for you. Obviously I voted other)

The question is... What would make a CD buyer (You) more inclined to buy a CD?

Only one thing THE MUSIC.

I don't buy an album for it's lenght, bonus tracks, beautiful art covers (though it helps a bit), footage, etc. I simply buy what I like.

Iván