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A theory on the evolution of the cd....


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This relates mainly to the effect that downloading and ipods ect are having on the sale and therefore the production of cds.

 

I was thinking this yesterday when digging through racks of cds, 99% of which seemed to be discs from say 1993-2005.

 

Back in the 80's cds were one of 3 formats availabe, hence many titles were avaialble in limited numbers in cd format becasue there were 2 other formats to choose and also the price difference (why pay $AUD28 for the cd when you could get the tape or record for $AUD12.) Some of these cd pressings have since become more scarce and I guess 'collectible' (for lack fo a better term). I put forward Vain 'No Respect' as an example... major label but scarce (before the re-issue).

 

During the mid-90's thru to late-00's cds were so massed produced that dics were overflowing from stores and 2nd hand stores, that not many discs from this era are gonna be too difficult to find. (Yes, i know there's always gonna be the exception to the rule.)

 

Now with the whole dowloading idea, do you think this is gonna turn full circle?

Less discs purchased, much lower production numbers required, in 10 years time certain discs are gonna be very diffucilt to find?

 

Even independant stuff... as even the indie folks are offering the download service.

 

Make sense, or is this cold-flue medication getting to me?

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I think it's a reasonable theory. But I wonder if MP3 players will eventually make the CD player obsolete, thus making the point mute.

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I think it's a reasonable theory. But I wonder if MP3 players will eventually make the CD player obsolete, thus making the point mute.

 

Vinyl still exists today, so you could safely bet that CDs will live on for years to come yet.

 

You could be right, glam man. Maybe we should start stocking up on as many low run CDs as we can and store them away for retirement. ;)

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I dont necessarily think its about low runs (although obviously when they keep making a CD to this day such as Appetite for destruction or Slippery when wet, thats got a much bigger production run), I think value of CDs is dictated more by how popular it was initially.

 

An album like No respect, sold really well in the day, and maybe didnt have as many copies made as something like the first Trixter CD, for instance as that probably kept being made, but then you look at something like Noisy Mama, that was on Atco, that probably didnt sell that well, so these days you can pick it up for next to nothing.

 

Obviously the less copies that are made of something, the higher liklehood is that it could become a rarity, but it would have to have sold in the first place.

 

At the end of the day, if a CD has a production run of 10,000, but only sells 1000 of those, then there are probably 9000 that will end up in bargain bins gathering dust.

 

On top of that, we have already started seeing CDs from the last few years on labels like Frontiers etc, start to increase in value because they have ceased production.

 

Indies are always gonna be the most likely to increase in value, but I think that albums on bigger labels will be very hit or miss as to whether they increase in value.

 

Also, from my understanding, CD sales were predicted to suffer because of illegal downloading, but for the last few years, they reckon that CD sales have actually increased.

 

Even with downloading being so readily available, I still think most people prefer to have a physical media when they are spending money!

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Even with downloading being so readily available, I still think most people prefer to have a physical media when they are spending money!

 

I would like to think that this would be the case...but I'm not sure after having a phone conversation with the drummer from Black Widow USA. Black Widow released their 2nd full length CD not long ago and it is available many places on line. Besides thephysical CD being available they decide to make downloads available too. They didn't expect much from the download sales but were surprised buy the amount sold. In most cases the buyer only purchased a song or two and not the whole release via download. You did mention that CDs sales had increased over the last year or so... It would be interesting to see if any of those who purchased downloads later returned and purchased the actual CD. Could it be that downloads are helping with CDs sales?

 

Anyway.. I see the CD being around for awhile. At least for the rest of my life.

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dscn1485r.jpg

 

George, you can do this also with vinyl :lol: use maybe STREET CHILD or WYZARD. ... :axe:

 

The most problem for me at the moment to collect indie and private pressing cds since a few years is, that the most bands still releases only CD-R's and this is by heart a real bad thing for all indie CD collectors. Don't think that this stuff will be rarities in about 10 years... Anyway, in my opinion cd's are not passing by the next few years and as you can see for vinyl, everything turns back!!! MP3 is cool for listen, but have you ever seen a shelve with mp3's? We need shelves full with VINYL and CD's and this rules...

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MP3 is cool for listen, but have you ever seen a shelve with mp3's? We need shelves with VINYL and CD's and this rules...

 

:lol: My wife would love such an mp3 shelve ! ;)

 

Yeah, shelves with CD's rule !! :tumbsup::headbanger:

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dscn1485r.jpg

 

George, you can do this also with vinyl :lol: use maybe STREET CHILD or WYZARD. ... :axe:

 

The most problem for me at the moment to collect indie and private pressing cds since a few years is, that the most bands still releases only CD-R's and this is by heart a real bad thing for all indie CD collectors. Don't think that this stuff will be rarities in about 10 years... Anyway, in my opinion cd's are not passing by the next few years and as you can see for vinyl, everything turns back!!! MP3 is cool for listen, but have you ever seen a shelve with mp3's? We need shelves with VINYL and CD's and this rules...

 

 

with wyzard yes....but i'll build a church for the street child....mp3s, mpdevils, mpsomethings are good as "working tools"....it's like going for some sporting with water gun instead of some armi perazzi...

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MP3 is cool for listen, but have you ever seen a shelve with mp3's? We need shelves with VINYL and CD's and this rules...

 

:lol: My wife would love such an mp3 shelve ! ;)

 

Yeah, shelves with CD's rule !! :tumbsup::headbanger:

 

Hey Bernd, My wife would do that :sm164: if I would ever run into a mp3 shelve ;) maybe she's the only woman who says "...your shelves are lookin sooo cool with all those cd's"...

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MP3 is cool for listen, but have you ever seen a shelve with mp3's? We need shelves with VINYL and CD's and this rules...

 

:lol: My wife would love such an mp3 shelve ! ;)

 

Yeah, shelves with CD's rule !! :tumbsup::headbanger:

 

Hey Bernd, My wife would do that :sm164: if I would ever run into a mp3 shelve ;) maybe she's the only woman who says "...your shelves are lookin sooo cool with all those cd's"...

 

LOL ! Does your wife know this one ............... ?!

 

Tintenfish-Evolution-front.jpg

 

:lol:

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MP3 is cool for listen, but have you ever seen a shelve with mp3's? We need shelves with VINYL and CD's and this rules...

 

:lol: My wife would love such an mp3 shelve ! ;)

 

Yeah, shelves with CD's rule !! :tumbsup::headbanger:

 

Hey Bernd, My wife would do that :sm164: if I would ever run into a mp3 shelve ;) maybe she's the only woman who says "...your shelves are lookin sooo cool with all those cd's"...

 

LOL ! Does your wife know this one ............... ?!

 

Tintenfish-Evolution-front.jpg

 

:lol:

 

 

:rofl2: no she didn't know and I'll never show here this :lol:

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I think it's a reasonable theory. But I wonder if MP3 players will eventually make the CD player obsolete, thus making the point mute.

 

I hope not...mp3's suck balls. I can't stand listening to stuff that badly compressed. Long live the cd!

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Even with downloading being so readily available, I still think most people prefer to have a physical media when they are spending money!

 

I would like to think that this would be the case...but I'm not sure after having a phone conversation with the drummer from Black Widow USA. Black Widow released their 2nd full length CD not long ago and it is available many places on line. Besides thephysical CD being available they decide to make downloads available too. They didn't expect much from the download sales but were surprised buy the amount sold. In most cases the buyer only purchased a song or two and not the whole release via download. You did mention that CDs sales had increased over the last year or so... It would be interesting to see if any of those who purchased downloads later returned and purchased the actual CD. Could it be that downloads are helping with CDs sales?

 

Anyway.. I see the CD being around for awhile. At least for the rest of my life.

I think that sorta fits into the try before you buy method.

Its a kinda double edged sword though.

It could help a band sell a CD that maybe someone wouldnt buy without hearing something from it first (which is obviously the main reason singles were invented), but at the same time it could stop you taking the plunge and spending that $10 or whatever, on a CD that may or may not be any good.

Spend 99c on a track as a tester, then go out and buy the CD if you like it.

 

 

I personally dont pay for downloadable MP3s, but I certainly do DL "free" MP3s, but only as a tester or to tide me over til I can get the real deal on CD.

 

There will always be people who dont care about having it on CD, or just wanna download the tracks they like, rather than a whole album, but I do think there are a lot of people who only go the tester route for downloading!

 

Plus, look at it this way, if all you did was download songs and never buy CDs, yer gonna be pissed off if your PC blows a gasket while yer MP3 player is plugged in, and you lose everything....at least CD owners have a nice physical back up!!

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