Poll: Is the CD format dead?

[Shpongled]

CD's are dead, as well as the fact that not many people buy their music anymore. They just download it.

In that case music is also dead and all the music being released is actually 10 years old. It's not dead, but when piracy rates hit a certain level (a while from now) and the labels stop making money, music will die as a consequence.

Music won't die, big name labels perhaps, and the world will be a better place because of it. Unfortunately it's unlikely to happen because there's always someone ready to profit from somebody else's talent. And I'd hope most musicians start in music because they enjoy it, not because it will make them rich.

Piracy itself won't have a particularly profound effect on the industry.

As an aside, how many of those who specifically buy CD's listen to the music directly from the CD most of the time, rather than simply ripping the music onto your ipod/pc and not looking at the CD again?

 

[StBishop]

I answered yes in the poll because the poll question was, is digital dist. taking over. Yeah it is starting to take over.

In answer to the title of the thread, no. CD's aren't dead. I think they're preferrable too.

I also think Rob Zombie has a pretty huge fanbase, not like Beiber maybe, but Beiber's fans will move on in 3 years.

I don't think CD's are obsolete at all, I think that as long as people buy them, they'll stick around (Duh). I think that DD will take over Music before games, even with Steam, PSN and XLBA.
This is due to gamers actually caring, almost everyone listens to music, and almost everyone pirates it. Games however, are played by less of the population and most, non browser/iPhone/Facebook gamers actually care about the medium (well that's the impression I get) so are more likely to buy a physical copy on principal, many are also likely to buy on Steam on principal. Admittedly many will side with the better deal. I bought KoTOR on steam because it was $1.99 and I can't find a physical copy anywhere, even though I prefer physical copies.

I don't look forward to cloud computing or DD, I like physical copies and don't like depending on services or ISP's to keep my purchases available indefinately. I can always play my PS1 games as long as the console works, The same doesn't apply to my WoW characters, they're stored on the server. (Not that I could care less, it's just the only example of my purchase not stored in my house/on my console/pc.)

 

[DJDarque]

CD usually contain music of a higher bit rate than what you can download.

(MP3 usually caps out at about 320bits/sec, an uncompressed rip from a CD, such as FLAC or whatever can be 900bits/sec and upwards.)

However, most people can't really notice this, nor have hardware capable of producing a difference, thus don't hear any loss.

It's cheaper for whatever site is uploading the music to upload smaller files, and the downloader usually doesn't want to spend a while downloading a 50MB song.

I prefer CDs, and, I'm sure for a while, audiophiles will keep the format alive, however, it'll certainly drop out of the mainstream at some stage.

Finally! Someone else who realizes this. It may not always be noticable, but CDs are superior.

OP: If you couldn't tell, I prefer CDs

 

[Kevonovitch]

to be technical: CD's? psh aw hell yeah, they died a few years ago. but disk's in general, lol, no? i doubt they will for several years to come either that or HUGE terrabyte drives become readily available on all forms of system (ie, pc, laptop, console) and for cheap.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

It's a dead format that has been made widely obsolete due to better technology being available like DVD's or Bluray's. Bluray's will EVENTUALLY overtake DVD's due their superiority and, if broadbands allow, digital distribution will overtake all forms of physical media.

I honestly don't understand why publishers even bother publishing music in physical form. Most of the times I DON'T want an entire album since I don't like all the songs. But this isn't even the gist of it. You have to actually go to a store, browse through loads of section until you actually find the album as opposed to simply doing a search online and finding it in less than a second. Then you have to maintain the CD and we all know how annoying it is when discs don't work. All in all, digital distribution is the way to go. Going physical just inquires more costs.

Incidentally, shouldn't everything be cheaper once you go digital? You know, no production costs and all that...

 

[PureChaos]

they seem to be, yes. everybody downloads now. i don't have an ipod or MP3 player, i still have a CD player. though CDs are dying out, i'm happy sticking with them for now

 

[Daipire]

I prefer the reliability of CDs over their virtual counterparts.

SUPREMELY so when it comes to music.
Don't trust itunes.

 

[StBishop]

CD's are dead, as well as the fact that not many people buy their music anymore. They just download it.

In that case music is also dead and all the music being released is actually 10 years old. It's not dead, but when piracy rates hit a certain level (a while from now) and the labels stop making money, music will die as a consequence.

Music won't die, big name labels perhaps, and the world will be a better place because of it. Unfortunately it's unlikely to happen because there's always someone ready to profit from somebody else's talent. And I'd hope most musicians start in music because they enjoy it, not because it will make them rich.

Piracy itself won't have a particularly profound effect on the industry.

As an aside, how many of those who specifically buy CD's listen to the music directly from the CD most of the time, rather than simply ripping the music onto your ipod/pc and not looking at the CD again?

I listen to CDs. I listen to them in the car. I don't listen to music any other time.

I use to listen to music while gaming when I gamed on PC, but now I don't. Only other time I listen to music is when I go out, then I have no say in what's playing anyway.

 

[thegermanguy]

its the same for music as for games: it just feels better to have something physical like a box or something like that. just owning something digitally is just not the same.
also, it is much less effort to put a cd into a cdplayer than to use the computer. if your computer isn't running 24/7 of course ^^

 

[brunothepig]

That interview is rather old. It's nowhere near dead, though it isn't as big as it once was. I see no reason dvd or blu-ray will overtake it, since there's no need. Albums can easily fit on a normal cd. What would you do with the extra 3.5 GB's on a dvd? Plus, most people would use cd's in their cars. My friend can use his USB, but not everyone has an awesome sound system in their car.

Incidentally, shouldn't everything be cheaper once you go digital? You know, no production costs and all that...

It should, but it's usually not right now.

 

[Alphavillain]

I have a good CD player and I think I'll be using it for years to come (provided it doesn't break down or get stolen).

The key thing about CDs is that they give you freedom to listen to music on a whim: "I know, I'll listen to x today" rather than having to connect to the internet, choose something to download, etc. Discmans are the same: although they're much bigger than MP3 players, you can just quickly pick something out of the racks you haven't listened to for years rather than going through the rigmarole of transfering something onto your iPod that you have on your PC and therefore have heard many time before.

I love CDs, and their quality and durability are the main reason why the music industry has to switch to downloading music in order to "innovate" (yeah, riiight).

CDs are SPONTANEOUS.

 

[ultimateownage]

I prefer disks by far. Also, the music industry is full of evil bastards trying to make money of bands.

 

[Triangulon]

Bah. CDs? Its all about vinyl!

I dont't think they'll really die out as people will still want something tangible.

I don't download any music. I listen to vinyl at home, cds in the car and only digital stuff if its cds ripped onto my iPod (or PC if I don't have it on vinyl).

 

[warprincenataku]

The only reason I would use a cd is for my car audio, other than that I cut a DVD or just through it on a handy drive or external hd.

 

[liveslowdiefast]

I like my music on CD's but not Games, is this werid?

 

[mikecoulter]

If consumers had more of a say in the future of computer hardware, I would say that it isn't. But Apple seem more and more dependent on digital downloads. So much so that they've announced the new (Optical Drive-less) Macbook Air as the future of their notebooks.

It's kind of a shame really, I dislike not having the option for different mediums. I'll be sticking with cd's for a good while yet.

 

[Danny Ocean]

No it's obviously not dead, because there are still CDs being sold, and it is still the most common form of distribution in poorer countries.

I want another poll option: "No, and I don't really care either way."

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

CDs aren't quite dead yet, but they will die soon enough I think. I personally like having a hard copy myself.

 

[ParkourMcGhee]

I shall continue to purchase CDs until the day I (or they) die! If I'm going to spend the money, I want a hard copy that I can actually see and touch (and re-rip to my computer when I accidentally delete the files. The drawbacks to having over 500 gigs of music...).

Plus, I've got a bitchin' cd rack that is ever expanding, and I don't want it to stop.

Ditto, but my theory also applies to games, and VHS tapes ... I still keep getting those at the charity shops

 

[blxtnsq]

Not yet, but that doesn't mean it won't.
I hope it doesn't. I like having an actual copy of the CD. And I like supporting my bands. I know it sounds cheesey, but seeing as the bands I like are all very small-time, I don't mind spending the money.