Do you spend more on Starbucks than music?
The Boss' new CD costs about the same as two large Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccinos?
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)You could down a $5 Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccino in ten minutes, and it's gone forever. How many Cafe Mochas do you buy in a week? Tasty as these frothy concoctions can be, it's a fleeting satisfaction, isn't it? An album's worth of music is a repeatable pleasure, something you may enjoy dozens of times over the years. A CD is still a lot cheaper than a week's worth of Starbucks.
Sure, it's a matter of how you want to spend your disposable income, and whatever puts a smile on your face. But when I hear people going on about music being too expensive I'm mystified. Compared to what?
Oh, and by the way I noted that Springsteen's latest, Working on a Dream, goes for $9.99 for an Amazon MP3 download, but my local record store is selling the Springsteen CD for $7.99 (and the LP, which includes a free MP3 version for $14.99!). Hey, I'm still playing LPs I bought more than 40 years ago. Music is a repeatable pleasure--what you eat/drink turns to, well, you know...
So for the price of a couple of Frappuccinos you could own an actual CD, with cover art and liner notes. Oh, remember too that if you have any sort of decent hi-fi or headphones, the CD will sound better than the MP3.
Why pay more for music and get something that doesn't sound as good?
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
Stealing music is unacceptable, but the P2P revolution of the late 90?s did bring about one good thing: a serious price adjustment to the (then) absurd costs of music. They blame their current predicament all on P2P and while that is a portion of the problem they also need to point the finger at their own greed. How could the record industry justify 18.99 CD?s when DVD?s could be had in the next bin for just 19.95?
And now that DVD?s are only 12-15 dollars on the day of release there is no way you can convince me that records, which cost a fraction of what a movie costs to produce, are worth the 17-19 dollars they used to command in the late 90?s. Those days of ridiculously bloated profits are long gone and I say good riddance. Hell, even 12 and 13 dollar prices on digital recordings make me suspicious. If you charge more than 10 dollars for a complete album these days I will assume that you (or your record company) is just being greedy and I?ll simply choose not to buy.
Despite the fact that I have a closet full of CD?s and LP?s I am not interested in returning to those days either. I have no interest in nostalgia and I love the flexibility of a music server.
7.99 for Springsteen's latest CD is probably still overpriced....
Go ahead Springsteen Fans fire away.....
7.99 or less is what all CD's should be going for....
10.00 to 15.00 is not unusual in most music stores...
I usually buy from Amazon, if it's a newer release I really want.
Save on sales tax and use the free shipping option with Amazon.
Note to music buyers: Take advantage of used CD's and bargain bin stuff when you run across them.
If you live near a college campus, find out if there are any book or music stores near the campus that buy and sell used CD's and DVD's. College students are always in need of money and will sell off CDs/DVDs when money is tight.
I just did some quick calculations and I spend on average, around $500 a year on music
recordings. None of that being on downloads!! Download an inferior copy and still need to make your own backup...? Ugh... I think not....
We're thinking about music incorrectly. The very ability to download mp3 files quickly, store them / move them around easily is what creates most of the problem. Most people switched from VHS to DVD because of the Quality of the product. mp3's are Anti-quality and until the music industry can mount a campaign to prove that fact and sell that idea the have no chance anyone placing value on the music they purport to sell.
Also - they'd do good to reevaluate their particular importance / expenditures.
However, to "bite the hand that feeds" in the case of iTunes would be considered a business mistake. (I don't buy there because the expense/quality ratio is absurd). The should pair with iTunes to offer high quality downloads. HDtracks (website above) is offering better than CD quality downloads - quality you actually CAN'T buy.
And don't get me started on DRM.
MUSIC INDUSTRY - Figure it out!
Convenience: Its "If I can't get it now, why do I want it at all?" Let's face it. The average American has less attention span than a goldfish has memory retention. Most other industrialized cultures, especially the youngest generations, are not far behind in that statistic. Who wants to drive to a store to buy music when you can just download it? If I drive to my closest Wally World, look for the CD, then check out and drive back home, I spent at least a half hour. I can usually get what I want online in less than 5 minutes.
Substance: Leaving aside the physical experience of handling the media and liner notes, I very rarely come across a CD where I not only like every song, but want to listen to them all with the same frequency / amount of listens. In fact, most times there are only a couple songs that I really like and want to have in my library. I can't buy ala carte from the store, but I can online. Why would I want to spend even $8 - $10 on a CD if I only want 1 -3 of the songs on it. Not a good price exchange.
As for audio quality, most listeners don't have the equipment to really perceive the difference between even a 256kb (mp3) encoded file and anything higher quality. However, most online music stores offer the files at at least that quality, and often higher. Since that is "CD quality" why would I need the CD?
And really, saying that about quality is like saying that I get a better listening experience if I go see the performance live. I do, but it is also a very different experience, and intentionally so.
I used to buy at least 10 CDs a month, but it is rare that I buy a CD anymore unless it is a special item I can only get at the concert I attended or something along those lines. It isn't really the price that is the issue. It all comes down to the 2 issues I started the conversation with.
I doubt the record companies can deliver at, a cost effective rate, that same ala carte experience and still do it with physical media. So really, what are we left with?
- by boopiejones February 11, 2009 10:51 AM PST
- the reason why is because most of the music coming out lately is horrible. when i go to starbucks, i only spend $2.10 for a black unsweetened iced tea. it consistently tastes good and is a lot more satisfying than a $15 CD with one so-so song and 14 crappy ones.
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