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Oblivion blues: Are these the end days for CDs?
Posted: Jan 11, 2008 in Music
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After Rob Guernsey transferred thousands of songs from his CD and vinyl collections to digital files, he decided a smart move for many of his CDs was to send them packing.
Last summer, the 32-year-old Indianapolis resident dropped off five U.S. mail tubs of CDs at a resale store.
Guernsey estimates he has two more tubs ready to go, thanks to a perpetual weeding-out process.
"I'm cashing out of some of this stuff because I see a day not too distant when your CDs are going to be more of a burden than something having any value," Guernsey says.
A limited future for compact discs appears to be guaranteed as modern listening habits revolve around digital media players, computer playlists and what's hot at online music stores.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, the public purchased 844 million digital tracks in 2007. That's a 45 percent increase when compared to 582 million in 2006.
At its popular iTunes store, Apple has sold more than 3 billion digital tracks since going online in 2001.
The news isn't as upbeat in the world of non-digital album sales. The public purchased 450 million CDs, vinyl LPs and cassettes in 2007, a 19 percent decrease when compared to 555 million in 2006.
CDs revolutionized the music industry in the 1980s, when the plastic discs were celebrated for their durability, portability and high fidelity.
But for many consumers who extract MP3 files from CDs, the discs have become music's expendable containers.
"It got to the point where I'd buy a CD, usually it would go in the computer first and then go in the case and on the shelf -- probably never to come back out of the case," Guernsey says.
Bruce Williams, vice president of public relations and marketing communications for the Madame Walker Theatre Center, says he no longer buys CDs. He says he appreciates the convenience of purchasing digital tracks through the iTunes Store.
"I don't miss going in a record store and being intimidated," the 46-year-old says. "You had to find where you needed to go to look for new music. Then there was so much to thumb through. Then you had to go to the listening station and hope the music was even there."
Gone in flash?
If compact discs give way to another tangible music product, USB flash drives may be the successor. In the United Kingdom, record companies EMI, Universal and Warner Bros. are selling albums on the thumb sticks that plug directly into computers.
Locally, rock band Sweet Dilemma is marketing its own flash drive stocked with songs, videos and photos.
Sweet Dilemma drummer Bill Stamper says we're living in the end days for compact discs.
"It's a dead technology," Stamper says. "It has been for years. It's just that in the American economy, we can't kill things that fast. You would be hard-pressed to find somebody with a CD player in Japan."
Not so fast, says John Bachmann, founder of a company that does the work of transferring CD collections to MP3 files for its customers. New Jersey-based TunesGenie also sells new iPod players preloaded with entire CD collections.
"At some point, CDs will go away," Bachmann says. "But the demise is exaggerated. I think it will be 30 or 50 years out."
Donate or sell collection
If a stash of CDs is occupying too much of your living space, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library are two places that accept donations.
If you're hoping to convert CDs into cash, resale stores throughout Indianapolis purchase used recordings.
Disc Replay Movies Music & Games in Castleton pays from 50 cents to $3 for a CD that will appeal to its customers, says store manager Lauren Lemmons. The average payout is less than $2 per disc, and in-store credit can be applied to subsequent purchases of CDs, video games and DVDs.
Lemmons says contemporary hip-hop and classic metal are in demand at Disc Replay, while there isn't much of a market for vintage country CDs.
"I think a lot of people get rid of CDs because they feel like, 'I can just save it to my computer and get rid of the actual CD,'." Lemmons says.
However, there are also nightmare stories of music collectors who don't arrange backup storage for their digital files. Lemmons recalls one customer who brought an impressive collection of indie rock CDs to Disc Replay.
"He got rid of it, and he came back a few months later because his computer crashed," Lemmons says. "He was trying to buy back a lot of CDs he had sold. That was really sad."
Guernsey says he keeps digital files on a hard drive that's cloned weekly by a second hard drive. He also uses DVDs -- which hold 20 to 30 albums worth of songs -- to make tangible backups of music he's purchased online.
WTTS-FM (92.3) on-air personality Laura Duncan says she loads two iPods with songs she's gleaned in her role as music director for the rock radio station. What she hasn't done is transfer any songs from her personal CD collection.
"I looked at everything I had," says Duncan, who has worked in radio for 18 years. "It was daunting. How do you finish once you start? I just don't see the end."
TunesGenie, founded in 2006, caters to the overwhelmed.
"Not everybody learns to fix their own cars and do their own mechanical work," says company founder Bachmann, offering an analogy for music collectors who begin the process of digital conversion before running out of steam.
TunesGenie, which has a single-order record of converting 1,500 CDs to digital files, sends shipping kits directly to customers, who then send their CDs via overnight delivery.
The company's current rates advertised online are $1.49 per CD for collections of 50 to 149 CDs. For collections of 500 CDs or more, the rate is less than 79 cents per CD.
Walker Theatre executive Williams says he keeps about 75 CDs for listening in his car. Instead of converting those CDs into digital files, Williams says he repurchased his favorite songs at the iTunes Store.
"They're only 99 cents, and it helps the artist out."
Duncan says listeners have adopted a single-song mentality since the advent of CDs.
"If you think about it, people that were born in the early 1980s never really had the feel of vinyl. They've always had the CD in front of them with the ability to program tracks 1, 5 and 7, and skip the rest of them."
Guernsey, a musician and former co-host of WICR-FM (88.7) program "The Free Zone," says listening habits determine the fate of his CDs.
"To some extent, I still like to sit down with the stereo and actually listen to a CD," Guernsey says. "I'll hang onto something I think I'll listen to that way. If I'm just going to want one track, (the CD) is out of here."
File it away
By definition, compressed digital files don't retain an audio quality as high as what's heard on a CD. The members of Sweet Dilemma debated the issue of placing large or small digital files on the USB flash drives they're selling for $15.
The final decision was compressed MP3s, which allowed room for the videos and 400 megabytes of storage available to users.
"Everybody says, 'Wow, what a great idea!'." drummer Stamper says of the flash-drive concept. "That's really the best response you can get."
Meanwhile, the uncertainty of future technology may be a compelling reason to hang on to your CDs.
"Let's say the next thing isn't MP3," Guernsey says. "It's 'MP12.' You can always take those CDs and convert them again. But what do you do with the (MP3 files you have)?"
Regardless of changes in the methods of listening to and buying music, Stamper says the sounds remain the same:
"Music is universal. When you hear your favorite song -- whether it's 20 years old or two months old -- you crank it up."
Digital dialect
MP3 files: A popular compression format for digital audio. MP3 -- an abbreviation of "Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3" -- has no security encryption and adapts to virtually all operating systems. Larger-capacity iPod digital media players support the MP3 format as well as the Apple-sanctioned AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format.
iTunes Store: Online site selling authorized digital files for iPod digital media players. Most songs are priced at 99 cents. Visit www.apple.com/itunes. Other popular online sites that sell songs as authorized digital files are Amazon.com, eMusic.com and Napster.com.
DRM: A newly obsolete software coding (an abbreviation of "Digital Rights Management") designed to prevent the copying of downloaded music. Sony BMG Music Entertainment announced earlier this month that it will be the last of the major record companies to abandon DRM, which limited consumer choices in assigning songs to digital media players. By selling MP3 files, companies allow customers to move content among computers and digital media players.
Lossy compression: A way to reduce the size of digital files that discards data but retains essential information. MP3 is a "lossy" format. The uncompressed WAV format is "lossless," and much larger than the MP3 format.
USB flash drive: Also referred to as a "jump" or "thumb" drive, it's a portable storage device that plugs into a computer's USB connector. Such a drive, which has no moving parts, often is used for transporting text, photos and music.
USB turntable: A way to digitize vinyl recordings. Manufactured by DJ-friendly company Numark, the TTUSB model is a conventional turntable that plugs into a computer's USB connector. For more information, visit www.numark.com/ttusb
Downsizing directory
Selected places that accept donations of CDs:
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, various locations. www.goodwill-indy.org or (317) 524-4313.
Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, various locations. www.imcpl.org or (317) 275-4100.
Selected businesses that buy CDs:
B-Sides Music, 10030 E. Washington St., Suite 168. www.bsidesmusic.com or (317) 898-4148.
Disc Replay, various locations. www.discreplay.com/discreplaylocations.html or (317) 578-1240.
Half Price Books, various locations. www.halfpricebooks.com/indiana.html or (317) 889-1076.
Indy CD and Vinyl, 806 Broad Ripple Ave. www.indycdandvinyl.com or (317) 259-1012. Offers in-store credit, not cash.
Luna Music, 5202 N. College Ave. www.lunamusic.net or (317) 283-5862.
Missing Link Records, 4905 N. College Ave. www.missinglinkrecords.com or (317) 466-1967.
Vibes Music, 5975 E. 82nd St. www.myspace.com/vibesrecords or (317) 576-0404.
To hire someone to transfer CDs to digital files, contact:
- TunesGenie, www.tunesgenie.com.
CDs won't go completely obsolete until car stereos move away from them.
CDs won't go completely obsolete until car stereos move away from them.
You've got a point, but things seem to be moving in the digital direction for cars too. I have a lot of friends who'll just use adapter kits to play their iPod's through their car stereos. I also have a friend or two that just use Sirius. And I think some of the new cars coming out have mp3 players instead of cd players.
CDs won't go completely obsolete until car stereos move away from them.
really? when was the last time you bought an audio tape? tape decks are available on many brand new 2008 cars! i would consider an audio tape obsolete...wouldn't you?
I bought a Honda Element with an MP3 adapter built in four years ago. It was standard equipment then.
Most of the music I've purchased in the last five years has been electronic. I think I've purchased two physical albums during that time.
The Audio quality of mp3's is significantly less then CD's. It's not as noticeable when listening with earbuds or factory car stereo. However, when you listen on a traditional component audio system you can hear the difference.
This article, unfortunately discusses nothing about the questionable legality of ripping CDs and then selling them. While "Fair Use" certainly allows one to put music they own on many different devices for playback, I don't think that anyone has argued that you still have a right to keep the digital (or any) copies once you sell the CD.
Personally, I would prefer to have the physical CD just in case anything happens to the digital files (or something better comes along to rip from the original file). Almost all new CDs are available for $9.99 (iTunes cost) at Best Buy, etc. Also, online clubs offer CDs for $6.99 (free shipping) plus tax- email me for an invite on that one.
I do use iTunes heavily when trying to complete a collection from an artist- bonus tracks on a Best of CD, for example- and for one-hit wonders where I have never heard of but one or two songs.
Good point aurbie.... mp3's get passed around like grandma's recipes. It really doesn't seem fair to artists. Not sure what the solution is. I wonder what sort of trend record sales and royalties have taken the last 10 years since the evolution of digital music. I too keep my DVD's. How about another article David?
Maybe there should only be one radio station that just broadcasts the RIAA bylaws. And what about the legality of just thinking about songs from albums you don't own? And forget about humming while walking down the street: that's an unlicensed public performance.
The legality of keeping mp3s once you've sold the CD? Give me a break. By that logic, there should never be any traffic in used CDs, because it would be illegal to re-sell them. But the music industry learned their lesson on that one in the early 90s when the independent shops that sold used nearly went extinct.
I'm glad Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and all the other big boxes can sell their music as a loss leader so you'll buy a refrigerator or car stereo. Congratulations, your business model, along with the archaic practices of the big three labels, are combining to bury your very own industry.
As always, the musicians and other folks who really know what's what are way ahead of the curve. Nice photo, Rob, and good word Dave.
CDs won't go completely obsolete until car stereos move away from them.
Great point! We actually discussed that in the interview. I noted to Dave that by the end of this year most cars will offer MP3 adapters (available http://sweetdilemma.com/store) or stereos with MP3 capabilities of some sort. Which will quickly migrate cars from CDs... Watch for the commercials...
I have absolutely NO desire to ever buy an iPod or other digital music player. It has taken me years and thousands of dollars to obtain all of my cd's and I will continue to buy cd's. I view all the digital garbage as one more thing to break and of no use to me. Oh, and all of you walking around with the headphones in your ears....you look really goofy.
All this talk of CDs becoming obsolete has me wondering when record labels will become obsolete.
Local stores pay pennies for used cds. Your best bet is to sell them online on half.com, ebay.com, Amazon.com, or other sites. I've also had good luck with trading sites such as switchplanet.com. You can trade off all your cds to other users there and get Xbox 360 games in return, for example.
lots of CD players (car stereos included) out there that play MP3's that have been burnt to a CD... you can fit about ten whole albums on one CD in MP3 format. My car has both and MP3 CD player and a 3.5mm aux jack for plugging in any kind of music player with a headphone jack.
the only reason I don't buy my music online is their attempts to keep me from using the music that I've purchased... you can't just put a wma or aac or rma file on a CD in it's downloaded format and expect it to play, and you can't convert them to MP3... so either you burn them to an old fashioned 70 minutes of music CD or put them on a portable MP3 player that's dificult to control while driving. If I buy the CD I can rip it to my computer, put it on a portable device, or burn it to a CD in the format I so choose. And if anything ever happens to the file I have a backup copy on the original disk.
If I buy the music I am allowed by law to maintain copies for myself, I am allowed to play that music any way I choose. The download sales shops deny me of that right.
What fun would the next generation have looking through mom's and dad's mp3 collection? Even if it's to make fun of your lapses in judgment or find some hidden gems, CDs would be much more interesting for them to thumb through. I admit I've bought several albums digitally, but my preference is totally disc. It's nice to hold your purchases in your hand.
This article, unfortunately discusses nothing about the questionable legality of ripping CDs and then selling ...
This is exactly the same thing I thought when I read the article. I believe when you purchase an album you are buying a license to use the music on the CD. When you sell the CD you are basically selling your license, or right, to the music. I am sure resellers pay fees for being allowed to distribute previously owned CDS. However it is understood when you sell your CDs you forfeit your rights to the music. I am sure if you asked the RIAA they would tell you this is illegal, but I am not entirely sure.
CDs won't go completely obsolete until car stereos move away from them.
This is great commentary and isn't that what the whole article is about... As a published musician we would love to paid for all usage of our music for sure. But, I do remember this same discussion when everyone was making a copy of their favorite tunes onto a cassette and giving it to their friends. Some of the distribution of music is technically illegal, but it does get your music around and hopefully those new fans will come to shows or purchase a thing or two... One bootleg song could lead to you wanting the whole CD. THX - www.SweetDilemma.com
It's illegal to share songs across peer-to-peer networks.
From a FAQ posted at the RIAA's Web site:
"Record companies have never objected to someone making a copy of a CD for their own personal use. We want fans to enjoy the music they bought legally."
really? when was the last time you bought an audio tape? tape decks are available ...
The last new car I bought - a 2003 model - was factory equipped with a CD player, no tape deck, but with built in storage for cassette tapes.
So don't rely on car manufacturers, at least the domestics, to be cutting edge in their sound systems.
As far as mp3 and lossless recordings are concerned - there is a huge difference in the sound quality. Its like the difference between a 2 mega pixel camera and a 30 mega pixel camera or even better still a film camera. Not to mention that the artwork and recording notes are worth reading.
My point is until a better, affordable player is distributed for higher quality recordings like CDs - the CD player is here to stay. The example of tapes doesn't work because of the durability and quality differential that tapes have (tapes suck for the most part). The medium is not changing - its the delivery mechanism that will change.
The story is still being written - but perhaps the story that should be examined whether the early death knell is being sounded for the record label. My prediction is that bands and their fans will connect more directly using technology - and the stranglehold that labels will have will be a chapter of the past.
My advice to the gentlemen in the story - keep the cds! Listen on a better piece of equipment. They'll amaze you with the depth and breadth of the sound. Mp3's aren't capable of that!
wow! you guys own cars? lucky. my huffy only has an 8-track player taped to the fork.
Here's the funny thing about this, Dave interviewed me at a time when I have the money to play with to finally put together the stereo I've been wanting for years. I've always done the best I could with the budget I had, but really wanted some vintage tube McIntosh stuff. Now that it's within reach financially, I just don't think I can pull the trigger for the simple fact that I rarely have the time to sit down and listen to music like I once did.
Believe me, I appreciate high quality fidelity. I still have a nice vinyl rig and am, at the very least, springing for a decent pre-amp for that finally. But the thing is, since I jumped on board with an iPod, I listen to more music and frankly don't enjoy it any less than when I was tethered to my stereo system.
Now, I am still keeping most of my CDs. Like I said in the article, the mp3 isn't future-proof enough for me. But, after a lot of trial and error and A/B testing, combined with a BitHeads portable amp, high end Shure in-ear monitors and the amount of hearing loss I've endured playing drums for almost 20 years, only rarely can I hear enough difference in the mp3s I'm ripping to make a difference. Very rarely.
This article has me a little worried and puzzled, I myself have over 3,000 actual cd's, and yes it is a pain to live with sometimes finding a place for all of them. I have recently started ripping them to my computer suggested by my family and so far I am on the letter L, I have a 500g external hard drive, will these all fit? I don't know.
This is not counting the music I already have on my puter' so after reading this article, do I want to rip EVERYTHING to my puter' and sell my cd's? The thought entered my head until I read this: "Let's say the next thing isn't MP3," Guernsey says. "It's 'MP12.' You can always take those CDs and convert them again. But what do you do with the (MP3 files you have)?"
This scares me! + like other people have mentioned I too like to hold my cd cases and look at the artwork and read the liner notes and things, like in the old vinyl days.
So is there an answer? I do have an mp3 player (1 gb, if I have a bunch of short punk songs will hold about 300-500 songs, normal length songs maybe 200) NOT an ipod....I don't even know how to use itunes yet and I am scared to, because I have heard horror stories, I just use my Windows Media Player.
Speaking of, does anyone know if you can delete duplicate songs? Not by doing it manually either, like is there an option where it will find all the duplicate songs for you and you can select for the program to delete them for you? <------- does this make sense? I use SAM to playback music sometimes and this program will do this for you, so was just wondering if Windows Media had this option.
Anyway, Great article really got me thinking and I am at no solution, but I am running out of living space ha ha.
This article has me a little worried and puzzled, I myself have over 3,000 actual ...
Yes, who knows when the next standard file format to use with portable music players will come along. Personally, I think it will take a at least a few years if not more, but it's truly hard to say. There have been alternative audio file types with advantages over mp3 (MPEG-4 AAC, Ogg Vorbis) for quite awhile, but the smaller file size and familiarity of mp3s has kept it up top. I can see how that's troubling you with a music collection that large.
As far as deleting duplicate mp3's, there are lots of options out there, but I haven't used any, so I don't know which to recommend. I believe Clonespy is a recommended one. SyncToy and Dup Detector are a couple of other Windows options.
As far as legality and fairness to the artist are concerned, the music industry & artists must evolve. Take Radiohead and Big Head Todd & the Monsters for example. Radiohead pretty much gave their album away for free but also offered a special album bonus package for purchase. Big Head Todd is also giving his new album away for free. But, you can also opt to purchase the album w/ DVD.
Given the current state of mp3's & downloading, it seems to be a wise move for artist to go this way. Give the album away for free and make all your money on touring & merchandise. If you are truly a great artist, you'll still make your money...just get used to a little less of it.
I'm not a huge audiophile, but I can hear a big difference between CDs & mp3s. Also, I don't consider mp3s a permanent medium. I'll keep buying CDs for now.
The thing that I'm really going to miss about CDs is getting the liner notes. I've put all my music on my computer and am thinking about getting rid of my cds because the space all they do is collect dust and take up space. Being able to take such a huge collection of music to work or on vacation with me is fantastic. I just can't quite bring myself to start buying from iTunes. I still buy CDs and rip them to my computer. When the file quality of the mp3s sold on line improves, I'll probably make the switch.