August 29, 2005
Is the CD dead?

As I read this article about the decline and eventual fall of the CD as a format for delivering recorded music, I take a moment to ponder all of the ways in which I'm becoming demographically obsolete. I like baseball. I drink beer. I read newspapers. And all my music is on CDs.

Gads. I didn't need to have a kid to realize the extent of my dinosaur-like nature. The evidence is all around me.

Sigh. Thanks (I think) to John for the pointer.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 29, 2005 to Music | TrackBack
Comments

If you really want to feel old, the article also talks about how vinyl is coming back. :-)

Posted by: William Hughes on August 29, 2005 12:54 PM

At the risk of being a slight naysayer, less-than-famous musicians still like CDs a lot, especially ones they can sell at concerts.

They're not comfortable with selling digital content online, especially when big companies like itunes and amazon prevent them from doing so.

My solution has always been artist tipjars, and slowly this solution has been gaining in popularity.

As a user/listener, I find CDs to be an awful pain in the neck. And I refuse to buy them as a matter of principle (although in the last year alone I've given online tips totalling $100 or so to musicians).

However, at live performances I sometimes break down, especially when I know that a group has paid for them to be printed up.

Unfortunately, many bands from previous eras can be heard legally only through CDs. And classical music (and probably jazz) is still the province of only CDs.

Posted by: Robert Nagle on August 29, 2005 1:04 PM

As my pal Daintry pointed out last night, if you really wanna feel old, all you have to do is watch the MTV video music awards. Who were all those people?

Posted by: Ellen on August 29, 2005 6:04 PM

Great, CD's will be obsoltete. Story of my life. Marketing geniuses, I'm telling you. Btw, am I the only one that still has some music on LP's? I'm not THAT old. Whatever. I still have a working AKAI turntable with a kick-ass needle. So if vinyl does come back, you'll all be over at my house begging for music. Sweet!

Posted by: Don't Mess w/ Pink on August 29, 2005 9:23 PM