Is this the future?

What do you think we get in the future?
Will bands only put there music on places you can download MP3's from?
Or are the bands still selling their music on a CD?

What do you prefer to order the CDs or to download the MP3's online?
Separated is a band who doesn't have CDs, you can download their music on iTunes.
Are there more bands who only have their music available on the online MP3 sites?

Do you think the online vendors are going through rough time because you can download online MP3's?
Blastbeats pulled the plug after Cornerstone.
Years ago it have been the "online pirates" like Napster, Audio Galaxy, Zpoc and more who have been a disaster for the sales of CDs in stores.

Well some bands are still doing vinyl records (LPs) as kind of a nostalgia thing.

I am willing to bet that most bands will still sell cds and mp3's both for the next 5 to 10 years (at least).
Then we will probably see the death of the cd, and some bands will only offer them as nostalgia items.

I'm kinda surprised the memory stick idea hasn't taken off. They are smaller than cds, and still just as portable. Once they start selling all cars with built-in mp3 players in the stereos, I expect we will see less and less of cds.

The memory stick isn't catching on because you can't really play them in your car. Plus, they are so small that they are easy to lose.

Two years ago my school's music department when to see the musical "We Will Rock You" based on Queen's music, of course and it was interesting because they set the time frame up to be futuristic where we went from music being a really social thing in that people would go out and buy and really work hard to get the vinyl's etc that they wanted because they were so passionate about their favorite bands to the more modernized cassettes and Cds to the point where the industry was so diverse and technological that it essentially overloaded and was all created by computers - instruments were no longer neede and so they were banned and no longer existed....how's that for a scary thought?

Obviously that's a huge extreme and likely not ever going to happen, but what I'm trying to say is I love CDs and Cassettes and Vinyls! I like to know that I have a solid copy of what I'm listening to even if in the end I load it onto my MP3 player for ease of transporting it. This August was the first time I ever even used a memory stick and I'm supposed to be the generation of technology lol. I think if we ever do lose the CD we'll be taking away a tiny part of the beauty of producing music (although obviously nothing beats playing live, not recorded for the love of it)

CD's for me. Downloads and stuff are fine, but I want artwork, I want something tangible, I want a hard copy not a bit of computer memory.

Maybe I'm old school. Maybe I'm just the new vinyl man, but there's nothing quite like holding the album in your hand and reading the inlay whilst listening to the music.

Get rid of cd's and I'll beat those people over the head with a baseball bat! grrrr

Fundy

My son would represent the future as he is 15. ALL he plays is his iPod. If he gets a new CD, it gets Mp3'd and I will find the cd (I shudder to even post this) MUSIC SIDE DOWN on his cement floor under a bunch of junk - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!
He doesn't care about the cd itself at all, just the tunes.
I have converted over to all mp3's myself, but I still treat cds with care when they come my way.

Certain things are easy to recognize their weakness. When 8-tracks came out, I remember LOTS of people refusing to get one and sticking with records. That was a good thing cuzs 8tracks died completely and records continued... with cassettes emerging. Had it not been for the demise of records, cassettes wouldn't have been completely accepted (other than people recording their records to listen to in their cars)

As far as the future goes... I think the Mp3 is here to stay for a long time. They are the most versatile (electronics companies recognize this with what they manufacture), their sound is unchallengably close to the original (thus the mass acceptance in the buyers market), and the price, much to the chagrin of the industry, is right for the people (prior to Mp3s, a new CD was pushing 18 dollars if you can remember!).

Long live the Mp3 !

Quote :

the price, much to the chagrin of the industry,
is right for the people (prior to Mp3s, a new CD was pushing 18 dollars
if you can remember!).

I bought a couple of CDs for that price, but have seen a major downturn of CD prices with MP3s going up. It costs the buyer the same nowadays for either the full download or the CD. There are many MP3 sites preparing to jump the price from $.99 to $1.25 or more. That will push the cost of those little electronic files to a price HIGHER than the CD.

I still don't see the CD dying off yet. Too many people still like having a real product in their hand. Younger generations might be buying MP3s, but there is still more than enough business with CD sales to keep Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Amazon selling those. When your "big 3" companies see sales wain enough to pull the discs from the shelves, then you'll see CDs die. And, it will be a sad, sad day.

Quote :

Maybe I'm old school. Maybe I'm just the new
vinyl man, but there's nothing quite like holding the album in your
hand and reading the inlay whilst listening to the music.

That's what I love so much.
To know there's a package on the way with cool music is fun too.
Maybe downloading MP3's is cheaper, but I prefer to buy CDs.

alldatndensum wrote:

When your "big 3" companies see sales wain enough to pull the discs from the shelves, then you'll see CDs die. And, it will be a sad, sad day.

I'm afraid it's probably closer then you think.

This is happening now. The local Best Buy just reorganized thier music section, and they have greatly reduced the amount of shelves that have cds. It seems like they only carry the greatest hits by bands unless they are what is hot at this moment.

This is going to be a sad day love cds