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175 Comments
- merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -8/+89While I agree that CDs are overpriced, that argument is pure *****. When you buy a CD, you're not paying for the media, you're paying for the content. You might as well say "Books aren't worth anything, 'cause everyone knows you can buy a ream of paper for $2!!", or "VHS tapes aren't worth anything, 'cause everyone knows you can buy a blank VHS tape for $1!", or "MP3s aren't worth anything, you can make 'em for free!".
And yet, books still sell, VHS is rarely pirated, and Apple's making millions on iTunes. The cost of the media has NOTHING to do with the value of the content.
The artists need to be compensated for their work. Granted, in the current system, they receive very little of the price of the CD, but that's what needs to change. - thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32It's going on 7 years, the RIAA can suck me off.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+30Probably 10 years or more for me I quit because music is dead---it's all crap mostly, but it's also a huge ripoff. Example:
You can buy a 200-million dollar Hollywood movie on DVD for $20 or less. A 1-million dollar music CD will cost you $16.
The movie gets you 2+ hours of content--the movie, commentaries, & more. The CD?: 80-minutes at most, but most of the time you get about 35 minutes, of which only about 10 minutes is the reason you bought the thing. - anthony1124, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18buy vinyl, it costs labels more to ship, produce and has greater resale value... and yes, artists still release their albums on vinyl!
- goofballjm, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19Although buying CD's isn't as economic as it once was, I still buy them because of liner notes. I like the artwork and knowing who produced it. It's nice to have an official hard copy of music, as opposed to a single file that can be destroyed with a bad hard drive. If my drive dies, I know I still have the song.
- fogbog293, on 02/10/2009, -4/+17Not to mention higher fidelity
- stokestack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12The fidelity argument barely holds anymore, sadly because all music is destroyed by DYNAMIC COMPRESSION, not just data compression. CDs sound like garbage because their content has been ruined to make it seem "louder."
You can't overstate how badly recordings are being ruined. Goddamned OPERA recordings are now being crushed into the rafters, let alone popular music. You're sick of the noise by the time you'd ever get to the store to buy the disc. Instead of getting more and more into a catchy song with repeated listens, you can't stand it after two.
Our entire musical heritage is being destroyed through the boundless stupidity of record companies. There is nothing more for these jagoffs to do to prove themselves the hateful enemy of their own customers. - tazamore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12I still buy CDs. Why? Some indie bands are only available on CD. I don't mind buying discs from small labels that are not members of the RIAA mafia. iTunes is tempting but given all of it's restrictions I refuse to buy into it. What's really going to change the music publishing business is cheap thumbdrives and stereos with USB ports, especially car stereos.
- celticeric, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I agree. The argument that CDs have to be priced like they are to recover costs is total crap. The movie studios make a big profit (more than from theatres) on DVDs by adding extras like booklets, commentaries, etc and then pricing them to SELL. I remember when new movies on VHS could cost you $40 and your didn't get anything extra. Now I see movies regularly for $15-20. Compare that with music. LP records were art objects with beautiful large sleeves and sometimes great liner notes inside and they cost around $10. CDs, nearly two decades after they arrived, come with jewel case that break easily, a disc that scratches as easily as vinyl, and a tiny square of artwork that looks like a cover under a magnifying glass and costs $20. What a retarded business plan. A CD should be $10 tops.
- SuperRob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8It has nothing to do with the cost of the materials. It's the same problem it's been all along ... no one wants to pay $15 to get the one good song on a CD without hearing the rest first, and piracy is still the most convenient way to do that. Although iTunes is making HUGE strides by sticking to a 99¢ price point for singles and usually $9.99 for an album, which takes some of the risk out of it.
On principle, I listen to an entire CD before I'll buy it, to make sure that I'll repeatedly listen to at least half the songs. That's my threshold, and precious few albums meet that critereia. - DrakeGTA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I still buy CDs, but I buy them of half.com, I can get them for 3-6 bucks shipped, I'd pay 6 bucks for a good cd.
- n00854180t, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I do still buy CDs from independent artists, though. Other than that, no dice.
- Fallout75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+71.) Cd's cost to much - Make them $12 tops!
2.) The bands out there suck! - Sign some different bands, quit selling band clones with different names and a slightly different sound
3.) People are tired of TOP 40 - You can find and listen to the song anywhere it it's TOP 40, so why buy the cd? It's fed to us everywhere.
We need a new boom in the music industry, We need a new music movement, like what grunge and electronic music did in the 90's. All we here now is either punk/metal or Hip-Pop (no, it's not hiphop, all music now is for clubs, I don't consider it hip-hop, IMHO) - Rounin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Yeah, because nobody makes turntables anymore.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/103-9371605-6902226?node=229192 - weebs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yeah, but artists don't get any of the profits through that site. I'd rather steal music by downloading it then paying for it for some foreign company to get rich off of it. It's not a legal site.
- wayjer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I can't wait for that day, (USB ports in car stereos)
- hwood, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7For years I felt I got a good if there were at least 3 songs I liked on a cd.
Now, I only buy the songs I like; two or three from each cd. - SniperX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7More importantly the recording industry just needs to move onto the next media, it happens.
we had vinyl, then we had 8 track, then we had cassettes, then we had CDs, now we have digital. It's natural progression. Why are they so opposed to it now? - scotus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6CDs are still good value compared to ITMS etc. because you actually get full control over the music you buy and the higher fidelity. I still buy CDs pretty often (almost 1 per week) but that's because I'm an "album" guy. Also I find a $18.99 price the exception rather than the rule (maybe depends on what music you buy; I buy mostly indie stuff).
there are still plenty of songs I want where I won't buy a whole disc to get them tho--i wish the majors would allow a music store selling individual songs in lossless .flac or other lossless format. It's not like the DRM on the music stores actually means anything since all the music can just be ripped from CDs or the DRM defeated. - zirtbow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Maybe 6 years... I think they can't sue me for listening to the radio (not yet anyway).
- seattle98104, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5not to mention you can get all the classic albums dirt cheap at goodwill et. all. e.g. 99 cents or less per LP.
- rileyjt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm sure they are working on that ;)
- dbr_onix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"While I agree that CDs are overpriced, that argument is pure *****. When you buy a CD, you're not paying for the media, you're paying for the content"
But look at, for example, allofmp3.com (or the iTunes Music Store, or anything similar), they sell albums for far less than if you bough a blank CD and burned it yourself.. Yeh you don't get the artwork etc, but not everyone wants that..
CDs need to come down in price or their doomed.. The way I see it, CDs were fairly expensive to make at one point, so companys had to charge more, and people bought them (In part due to the fact their far more reliable than vynil, and they were new), then Mr Record Executive though "Hey, people are paying this much, we dont need to charge less".. But now that 1, CDs cost feck all (And to manufacture a thousand CDs, with printed artwork/cd bodies, it works out at under £1GBP a CD), 2, the rise of broadband avalibilty means poeple who wouldn't have dreamed of downloading an entire album can now do so in 15mintues, and for far far less than driving (possible, wich adds fuel costs), to a shop and buying the CD, means CD's aren't going to be around long unless the price comes down..
And if they do that, maybe some of the people who pirate CDs might be less likely.. I don't see any pirated free AOL CDs...
- Ben - zachgc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Other than the whole disco thing, I completely agree with you. The only CD I've bought in the last 5 years was one I bought a couple of months ago by a band called Shaimus (btw their song "All of This" from Guitar Hero freaking rocks). I bought it straight from for $10. And I felt so clean for not handing over my cash to a damn label.
- en3r0, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I have bought one music CD in my entire life. Pure Disco volume 2, I was in 5th grade. I don't, and WILL NOT buy any CD as long as any money goes to RIAA or labels that support them. I will however buy CD's from artists who choose to sell their music on their own (if it's good).
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I have bought a few CD's and DVD-audio disks from independent labels but I haven't touched an RIAA CD in at least 5 years. When I buy music from iTunes I usually just download the lossless version from usenet and burn it to a CD. If I ever lose my MP3 or ACC files I can just re-rip them.
- pairanoyd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+51989
- duke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"that argument is pure *****. When you buy a CD, you're not paying for the media, you're paying for the content."
Nonsense. If that were true, I wouldn't have to pay full price for a CD to replace the same album on vinyl, cassette, or even an old CD that got broken or scratched. Record companies want it both ways, and it's not fair.
duke - bdbr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Did any of you actually READ the article? Its about the cost of CDs versus the cost of, say, buying used CDs off the internet. It wasn't about the comparitive cost of buying CDs versus violating copyright laws.
There are ways to get music cheaper, and still not commit a crime. You can buy used, and you can avoid RIAA labels altogether (there is some really good indie music these days). Legal downloads aren't even too bad of a deal if you avoid the RIAA-endorsed sites.
I buy a CD once every week or two on average. I never pay more than $12, and rarely pay over $10. I usually download the music illegally first; if I like it I buy it, if I don't, I delete it (no reason to keep something I don't like). I know the RIAA doesn't approve of this (even though it results in me buying way more CDs), so I avoid any artists on RIAA labels. - dWhisper, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I purchased 3 CDs last week, all on sale for $10 each. Overpriced, maybe, but no more than anything else quantified as Entertainment.
I'll admit to downloading the occasional song, listening, and if I like it, I go out and buy the CD. More than that, I rely on word-of-mouth and just sticking to artists I know I like. Sure, I might miss some great songs, but I end up happier in the end. - Nerys, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I only buy CD's E;ectronic downloads have almost NO value to me as I have no RIGHTS with them.
the CONTAINER for the content is MORE important than the content. I already WANT the content so its value is no longer in the equation. How I get it is whats important.
with a CD I OWN that copy of the content. its mine to do with as I please. with say an ITUNES download I own nothing. so it has ZERO value to me.
I will only buy CD's - I will never buy DRM'd Music online or offline. DRM means it has absolutely ZERO value its not worth 2 cents.
Chris Taylor
http://www.nerys.com/ - rileyjt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I should add that the fact that it is safer to download pirated music off some random internet site than it is to purchase a legal CD is just absurd.
- redivider, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5It's not all about the cost of materials. I agree CDs should usually be way less than $20, but just because the discs themselves are dirt cheap doesn't mean CDs should sell for dirt cheap. Even on a modest budget with an independent label, you put a lot of money into producing a CD: recording, graphic design, reproduction, distribution, marketing/promotion, etc. all factor into the price of the final product.
- crimson117, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Here's a real link:
http://www.avrev.com/news/0406/20.metallica.shtml
The digg link is just a blog quoting this article. - zbeast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Last time I brought a cd. It's been years. The cost of the CD totaly exceededs its value.
Even if I get a bad movie dvd. Theres always something I can get from it.
To see and actor I like.
Here the music.
Look at the shot setups.
Look at the acting even if its bad.
A bad music cd. well it gets tossed in the box with all the other junk that sucks and you never play it again.
There are way to may bad music cd's.
With MTV, Cable Music, Streaming music, P2P, xmSat Radio over your sat tv system.
Why do I need to worry about music cd's. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I rarely buy CDs anymore, because of the fact that they're more easily damaged than songs on my hard drive. It's a bit harder to scratch the surface of my hard drive, where a CD can become completely ruined if it slips out of my hand.
- Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Until I can download uncompressed (or FLAC) 1400+ Kbps music tracks, I'll buy CDs. Too bad there's not much worth buying, now that I have most of the good stuff.
- r00t3d0ut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Here's a flashback; in 1991, the average price of a CD was $14.99 packaged inside of a longbox. Now that it's 15 years later, the same CD has shed its longbox and is packaged 'live' (usually security tags are located in the tray) but the price has jumped up to $18.99.
I remember back in 1993 when Garth Brooks tried to get used record stores to give him a royalty for every used CD they sold of his. This agrument was easily defeated by comparing this with a used automobile; the original owner doesn't receive any money when that car is re-sold. - ThomasCJohnson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4A couple of weeks ago I got Abbey Road, Revolver, Let It Be, and a Phil Ochs album all for $30 on vinyl. =)
- fsjcp2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Most music that I listen to these days are from independant labels for the originality. These days big music companies push the most generic artists to the public and there are no more ultimate albums worth spending my money on. Towards the end of when I was always buying music CD's I was getting pissed that the one song that initiated my interest in buying the album was the only song worth listening to on the CD. It was rare that two to three songs on the album made the it worth the purchase. These days I'll get music through social music site reviews and recommendations and sharing with friends. If there is an artist that I really like then I'll buy their CD to support them in hopes that their next album would be just as good as the one that turned me on to them.
- ScottyMo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4wayjer:
The time is now. Check your local retailer. - Teh_Psyren, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Monday.
Agreed, CDs are terrible value for money, even at £8 on import (beats the ***** out of the £13-15 high-street prices though) - however I'll continue to buy them because:
- You get superior sound quality (FLAC is rare and takes up too much space)
- Rarer stuff is available on CD - even huge torrent sites don't have everything
- I don't have to waste HDD space, or buy tacky blank CDs
- I get a material possession to add to a collection
- I support the artist (I know they get peanuts from CDs [seeing a band live or buying merch is a much better way to support them], but every little helps
- An album is not just the music, it's the artwork and packaging and everything that goes with it
I guess it depends how into your music you are and what type of music you listen to, but the bands I listen to usually present an album as a piece of art, and I don't feel content without the physical CD.
Just my opinion! - gage006, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The problem with the current music system is not the format (although, music on DVDs would be pretty cool assuming it was more popular), it's the financial structure. All the money goes to the people doing the least work. The artists are the ones who deserve the compensation, not the people sitting in offices.
- syd4111, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There's no argument about the fact that back catalogue items should be priced as such. At the same time, the people who price this know that certain musicians are in constant rotation of being "rediscovered" by a younger audience. Metallica, Beatles, Led Zep, Johnny Cash, etc. so they can charge full hilt pricing for these items.
Look at the videogame industry for a model pricing scheme. The Atari 2600 was about $200+ way back when, games were $50. The Gamecube/PS2/Xbox about $200 in their most comfortable pricing zone, games $50. Now the technology it required to make to strips of yellow pixels hit a square ball back and forth with each other compared to the complex AI in Resident Evil 4 is ridiculous to compare. The technology and recording complexity for music, aside from digitizing this or that, is about the same, yet you're paying twice what you did 10 - 15 years ago. - smackjack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I haven’t bought a CD in a couple months. But I buy all my CD’s with my own money. I’m proud to own every Metallica, Pink Floyd, and Megadeth album. I haven’t downloaded a song since I was 14 (I am now 18.) If cds are costing you $20 then you're shopping at the wrong store. I only pay 10 to 14 dollars.
Consider someone is a huge GNR fan, he downloads all of their songs on p2p. He doesn’t support the record label or artists at all, and burns the songs to CD.
Someone else actually goes out and buys the CDs and has a collection that you can see on the shelf.
So, who’s the real fan?
Even the P2P that do support the artist, I still buy CDs because they have the best possible sound quality and something you own. - psyonide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I prefer buying CDs to digital tracks off the internet for a few reasons.
Quality Control: Being able to rip the music and encode it into any format I want without being at the mercy of whatever format the online distributor chooses for me. If, down the line, I want to switch formats it's a simple matter to just rip the CD again and re-encode.
Insurance: Hard drives die, and ***** happens. If, somehow, my songs were to get wiped I will still have my "master copies" in storage as a backup. So having my entire collection of songs deleted from my computer will be no big loss, and I won't have to start buying songs all over again from an online music store.
Quality Control Part 2: I like having the FULL QUALITY of the music at my disposal. If you have some good equipment (this excludes the crappy ear buds that come with your iPod) you can tell the difference between lossy mp3 files and lossless ones. I like being able to hear the music as the artist intended, not what's left over of their work after data has been thrown out to make the file size smaller. For this reason I don't feel like I actually "own" the music I buy off iTunes, just what's left over atfer bits and pieces of that music have been chopped off.
I think it would be a wonderful business model if music stores started allowing you to choose your own format, whether ACC or even Lossless. You could buy your music in any encode you wished. Also, they could allow you to buy a "master copy" (which would be the CD itself) for a small additional fee. Somewhere in the $3 - 6 range if you're already buying the album in digital format, and roughly $12 if you're buying the disc by itself.
P.S: I'm aware of russian sites like allofpm3.com allowing you to choose your format, but I'd prefer this option from an online music dealer that is a little less spotty in terms of its legality in the states. - evileddie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My new Toyota Sienna has an Aux Miniplug outlet.....I plug my IPOD in and it works great.
I haven't bought a CD in over 10 years now.. - brickballs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I just bought a CD about 3 days ago, actually. But it was from an independent artist - http://pronobozo.com/
I had already downloaded all the songs (Creative Commons), and decoded that the music was good enough to warrant the $11 he was asking. - bubbagump, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I like Bootz... a lot. My only problem with him is the station he is on in my area has almost 0 coverage.
Michael Savage while your at it...I got hozed, buying XM about a week before he had a tyrade about how awful XM was and how glad he was he wasn't on it. Next thing I knew, I was listening to Michael Reagan instead :( - titanass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4We just need to get rid of the record companies all together. With the internet and digital music the cost to produce an album is not alot these days. Record companies want us to believe they are shelling out tons of cash to produce albums but its all lies. For one every cent spent on and album is charged back to the artist and taken out of there half fractioned 0.blahblah cents royalty off each cd sold. Basically they(label) gets 99% of the profit which even on a low selling/unpopular album is in the millions and in the end have zero expense. The only person getting hurt in the whole equation is the actual artist who gets screwed out of money if you pirate there music or not. I haven't purchased music in almost 10 years I don't plan to till the system as a whole gets changed.
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