Comments on: Do you still buy CDs?

Sales of music downloads won't surpass silver discs for a while--a report projects the year 2012. So fess up: a lot of you are still buying discs, and I want to know who you are.

[brettak81]

i don't buy CDs. i don't pay for downloads. that'd be ludicrous.

we have the fortunate advantage of living in a time when we have full access to all the free music we could ever need in the form of free downloading on p2p programs.

[ledhed2222]

Steve, I want to know if you can actually hear the difference between lossless and lossy audio files. I've done a blind test and there's no audible difference. None. In fact, this could be the subject of your next article: "Why should I care about lossless?"

In light of this, please tell me why I should deal with the hassle of purchasing CD only to have to rip them.

[dctech08]

Steve, i couldn't agree more buddy...

[dkl1234]

I belong to BMG Music Service and buy all CDs from them. As stated earlier, it's the best deal out there. You're really getting CDs for about $4-6 most of the time. I might use iTunes for a single song, but if I want the full CD that's the best way to go. I immediately rip it to my computer and put it on the iPod. Having had one computer stolen and one computer crash I'd rather have the real CD if there's every a problem.

[pcfish]

Your data is from 2006. The (music) market has chanced a lot since then (e.g. iTunes become 1st US music retailer). I will be surprise if it is still the case now.

[McCormick97]

I buy 10-15 CDs per month, from a variety of sources. Mainly half.com, amazon (including amazon UK), CD-WoW and Best Buy if there's a good deal. I probably spend an average of $8 per CD, maybe a little more, and I always take advantage of free shipping. I've archived all my CDs in polyproylene sleeves. All of my CDs have been ripped and I also have a ton of tapes and vinyl which I've been converting to mp3 (a lot of my music is now unavailable). I buy vinyl sometimes, if the album was only released on vinyl. The only music I've downloaded are 3 albums the artists release for free, though eventually I will buy those on CD too. I go to see live bands at least once a month.

I like having the artwork, and a hard copy of the original CD. I don't download music because I've found that a lot of my favourite music took a while to grow on me. With the instant gratification of just getting the few tracks off an album that grab you instantly, I think people miss out on a lot of great music. I've bought CDs, listened to them once or twice and not really liked them, only to listen to them constantly a few months later.

I'm not that bothered about lossless etc..128 kbps quality sounds fine to me, and I Ican always play the CD on decent equipment if I want high quality sound.

[tcr071]

How do CD's generate more profit than downloads? Oh is it because you are forced to buy a $14.99 album so you can own that ONE SONG that is good on the album and the 13 other trash songs?

[mmntech]

I really don't buy much music. Since I listen mostly to jazz and classic rock, I simply just borrow my Dad's old albums and digitize them. Everything else is just casual listening on XM or terrestrial radio. If I do buy music though, I always buy it on CD. I live in Canada, which doesn't have any DRM-free online music options other than iTunes, so the CD is the only realistic way to purchase unshackled music. I am excited though because my local record store has begun stocking LPs in small quantities. Most of it is hip hop but I'm going to ask them if they can start bringing in some jazz albums

[cyberDJ-2038765336053745013836]

CDs are still king in my house. No DRMs, no digital compression, no format-to-player incompatibilities.
I rip my CDs as .wav files and put the disc on the shelf.

My Sandisk player will play .wavs. and my car head unit will play .wavs directly from a jump drive.
I don't have to stoop to Apple's level of perfection.

[ark_v2]

I still buy CDs. I live in Mexico were the only legal online music store offers most of it's catalog with Play for sure DRM; I have a Zune 80 and an ipod touch, so both players are not able to play those files and ripping them from a CD will lower the quality to unbearable levels (and I use a linux desktop to store them so DRM is completely out of the question). I just buy from that store for albums I have no way of obtaining in stores (if they are DRM free of course). I have to mention that I don't live in Mexico City, Monterrey or Guadalajara, or any of the most important cities of the country, so finding discs considering my kinda weird music tastes is actually pretty hard, and there are not a lot of music stores since almost everyone here downloads from p2p sites illegally, and it is so normal that even my mom has done it.

Another option is buying from the Zune marketplace through microsoft points (until now they offered a huge part of their catalog in mp3, more than others, so I never considered the itunes store) but still I have to take some weird approaches with the registration stuff (forcing my way in so I don't steal is ironic, isn't it?). And finally, the main reason I still buy CDs is because of the sound quality. I can rip them just as I need them to sound; since I just got an iPod touch for all the stuff it does and not because of the ipod part and since the sound it produces sounds a bit too processed to my ears I just rip them to a mid-quality AAC bitrate for casual listening, while I can rip a full 320 kpbs mp3 or even lossless formats to store in my Zune, where I have most of my music library (the re-sync process isn't intrusive like the ipods so I can't switch the main pc without erasing content and being able to copy to my PC with no problem at all so it's perfect to store high quality backups).

Another reason is the price. While the prices of Beon, the store I mentioned at the beginning, are comparable to itunes' or the like they are still way overpriced, specially considering the kbps; it's ok when you only like one song of a certain album, but for the entire album I can buy for almost the same price (and sometimes for less) the physical album; and having the disc and case still feels nice :)

[funyun2]

I still like CDs because I just like the feeling of having a hard copy. It's nice to know that if something goes wrong I can have a CD there. Also, it's also nice to have for cars with only CD players.
Also, I like the option of Apple Lossless.

[thepoetrydude]

Yes, I still buy my music in the cd format. The reason simple, DRM. I like to buy my music and use it on all my computers in the house (the ones I personally own) as well as my three mp3 players. Music industry is just now moving to drm free formats, and when that becomes more mainstream and the quality of online music gets better. Then I think I might be looking at buying some online, but still the cd is a better value. Now if only the movie industry would get away from drm.

www.thepoetrydude.com

[Brian]

I have no plans on purchasing COMPRESSED music from a download !!

I enjoy purchasing my music on CD and will continue to enjoy the superior quality, the nice glossy booklet insert and the freedom to make as many copies as I desire.

Besides, I edit my music after transferring to my Mac by cropping out the silence at the beginning/end and maximizing the volume to save battery life for my iPod.

I also buy my DVD titles too.

About the only thing I may do in the future is download rentals, but since I have yet to do that, it is just wishful thinking right now.

[research1st]

CD Collection at 2,000+ Stopped counting awhile back. Been buying since the mid 80's. Still buyng. Probably average 3 or 4 a month. Definitely slowed down from the early days. I buy mostly new, some used. I've thought new CD's were overpriced since around 1990. New CD's should be going for 7 or 8 bucks. $13 - $18 is rediculous, but I do pay it, if it's a new release I really want.

I don't like digital downloads. And it's not that I am some "troglodite". I'm actually a computer programmer, have been for 22 years.... I don't like the generally inferior sound quality, and the fact that all your getting is an "electronic" file., no physical media. Plus you better have redundant backups for those downloads. Harddrives do fail, iPods do break, get stolen, lost, etc....

The only fear I have of losing my CD collection is by fire or natural disaster.

I'm sticking with CD's or equivalent Optical Media until something better comes along.....

PS. I do have a small vinyl collection that gets dusted off and played on occaision. I've thought abour "resurrecting" that side of the collection, but almost anything I would want is available on CD.

[CTS2]

I love comments like this: "No. I dont pay for music period."

How cutting edge. Do you steal books and magazines, too -- and tell yourself it's okay because you like open-source software?

As for the CD question, yes, I buy them, for reasons of sound quality. I do buy some rock music online, but I don't think mp3 cuts it for classical. (At least as a sole copy: I do load the CD contents onto my computer if I want more mobility options, ipod, etc.)

[fatbutch]

I buy cds. Not only is the quality better but you have the whole cd the day it comes out for only $10. Plus like some have already said you have the physical backup

[ragingplatypi]

I buy a CD every couple of months to contribute to my local CD/record store. I pay more than I would on iTunes. I'm going to miss being able to browse through a store on foot and I see my purchase more as donation to local culture. Every time I go to the music store I feel like a little kid again.

[minimalist]

One thing nobody ever talks about with the supposed ?backup? advantage of CD?s is the painful, time consuming process of re-ripping all those songs! With hundreds of CD?s in a collection you?d be at it for months to get everything back to where you were at. Ugh. I think I?d rather poke myself in the eye.

When my hard drive crashes I replace it, reinstall the system, connect my backup drive, press a button and come back 4 or 5 hours later with all 400 GB's of music, photos and apps exactly where I left them.

Back it up people! Even if you buy CD?s rip them and stick them in a box, don?t throw all your time an effort away with a hard drive crash. Get some external hard drives and keep one off those puppies off-site.

[Brian]

Yes, I keep a backup of my iTunes library on my external drive in addition to having the physical CD.

I don't keep the case because I have an organizer case for my CD collection.

[zutroyn]

Yes, I have and will continue to buy cds for as long as they sell them. Since I was in middle/high school, going to the cd shop and walking out with a wonderful disc full of great new music has been quite an addiction for me. Hurrying to the car, getting through that annoying plastic wrap to put the cd in the player and hearing my new music is a quite the rush...and will never be the same by getting music with a few clicks on the internets. I have never thought of downloading as a first choice, it just isn't the same. I know all the kids like it these days, but I'll take my music collection sitting on shelves where I can peruse and look through the album liner pictures/notes any day. Maybe I'm getting to be "old school" (I'm 27) but I love it.

[moviegeek65]

I still buy CD's if I like the album but I mostly buy MP3's online.I listen to CD's at home and take the MP3's on the road.