I've thanked many obsessives for their efforts in my time; my life would be much reduced had they not been obsessives. I would think that ANYONE here would get that. Has there EVER been "a small, indie record company" that WASN'T run by an obsessive, to give just one example?
Reminds me of many early books on American popular music, and the generations who copied earlier errors instead of doing actual research.
It's easy to buy used CDs around here (central MI), it's been hard to buy new ones for numerous years, with the only real choice a B&N and an outlet for a regional chain, neither of whom carry even 30-40% maybe of what they once did. I actually prefer buying in b&m stores, but if there aren't any, or they stock very little, that obviously is not an option. I'm much more willing to 'chance' something I can have in my hand and evaluate.
I rarely play actual manufactured cds unless it's very new and I just have to listen. I usually keep a spindle of things I'm into lately and just add burns. If they get junked or quit playing correctly, I can make another one when I'm in the mood for whatever was on it. Sometimes I'll give them away if someone doesn't mind used burns (and more obscure 60's music usually).
It's mind boggling thinking about how many obsessives this world must have when you consider platforms like Wikipedia and Discogs (just to name two common ones) that are user based.
And then there are the older, pre-Internet ones like Rust's Jazz Records, Godrich, Dixon & Rye's Blues & Gospel Records, Leadbitter-Slaven and the generations of updates, and that's just a tiny smattering.
I consider cassettes tapes "long-lived and reliable" by comparison to any that has anything to do with a computer; I associate computers with endless migrations and on-going equipment costs; I'm doing good if I get 2-4 years out of one. I didn't always think that way; I was OPTIMISTIC about what I thought that I might be able to do back when I got the first one with music and photo capabilities, c. 2005 or so.
It's definitely frustrating that a few independent artists haven't released their albums on CD recently. It does feel however that collecting a physical media is something there's a market among younger music fans for, which is something nobody predicted. CDs may be less cool than vinyl or cassettes, but they're selling still. The package and the collectable element of it appeals across generations. Totally anecdotally, I was in a branch of HMV recently and the vinyl section was abandoned while 5 separate people browsed the CDs, of all different ages, presumed Gen Z to boomer. Something that's been overlooked is that 15 years ago, you had a maturing generation of music fans who were nostalgic for the records of their youth, where people couldn't see that happening with CDs. But as the next generation takes over, there's nostalgia for CDs, and they have a vintage tech cool with younger people that perhaps those that saw CDs as an inferior format to records couldn't envision. The biggest problem with CDs in terms of them really taking off again though is that the packages feel so minimal, flimsy, or cheaply done. They don't get any of the cool extras of records. Even cassettes have a limited edition cool that CDs often don't get. Occasionally a new album will come out in a jewel case and it feels like a luxury package as a result. On the same HMV trip, I picked up two albums out of a few I had in mind and it was the two that came in them. The industry should take note of how many CD fans still vastly prefer jewel cases. If CDs stopped feeling like an afterthought I think they'd be even more popular again. I'm hoping the pop artists who are even releasing CD singles now is the sign of a positive trend. I just want them to not be digisleeves where they feel worthless.
Well, if you're only buying bricks and mortar. But that's you choice. You could go buy the CDs on Amazon like millions of other people do. Retailers stopped stocking CD widely a few years ago because sales were so low that they no longer found it profitable to devote floor spaxe to them. And yet record companies are still making and selling CDs. What are you evaluating with a shrinkwrapped CD in your hands? Its a commodity. One copy of a CD edition isn't different from another physically or musically.
I'm still using an old Mac tower that's probably from 2011. I can't do everything I want to on it but I also know buying a new computer will not last nearly as long as this one has. Every single time my boss buys a new PC, I'm like 'why?... just find something older for what we're doing and it'll be just as good and last longer and be cheaper.' Then it shows up and dumb small things don't work like the USB inputs or a disc reader. Then it wants to update all the time and ruin programs. Anyways, back to the topic of conversation which I'm clearly not adding to...
Not sure where your head is with that, We don't know where the download sales are with the new Tortured Swifties Department. I suspect the overall percentage of downloads will be higher due to the fact Tay Tay has released a further 15 songs as digital only. That means streaming and download. That's not to say those won't be released physically at some point in the future.
I do buy on-line, as otherwise, too many things are unobtainable; I would buy many more than I do (and as I once did) were they were available to buy that way. I find the comparison between looking at one in my hands and seeing the front of one on-line to be inaccurate though; many on-line have little info, forcing one to go to multiple sites just to get an idea of what is contained. And for that matter, I can browse many more titles per minute in person than I can on-line. And around here, when there were such things, numerous clerks around town were often good sources of info on new releases; even when tastes differ, that can be useful info - 'he doesn't like it, I probably would.' And as to: " One copy of a CD edition isn't different from another physically or musically." I look for info like who the musicians other than the leader are, who the producer was, when and where it was recorded, what the record company is; generally, with one in my hands, I can get all that info in less time than it would take to type in the name to the computer.
Were I someone who ENJOYS 'tinkering with machines,' it would be much different; I'm into USING them, not playing with them to get them to work.
I gotta say, not everyone things jewel cases are better. For me, the best thing that ever happened to CD was the demise of the jewel case. I probably have 4K CDs, and no exaggerations, I wouldn't be surprised if the marjority of them have broken jewel cases -- the spines that hold the disk in place broken, or a door hinge snapped off, or a cover crack. If I were given a choice between buying a CD in a jewel case or onw of these modern cardboard sleeves, I'd pick the cardboard one 100% of the time. Basically anything but a jewel case.
I find the cardboard cases get damaged too. The corners can be nicked end up with wear not unlike that on the spine of a vinyl record, where it just goes white. And some cardboard cases, especially the thinner flimsy ones that have sadly taken over in some cases, will bend in a collection so they no longer align. And all of this isn't fixable with a new case (I'm not a fan of replaced jewel cases, though, because often they're clearly not the original case in the instance of older albums, the cases aren't heavy enough). And it's hard to find a clean second-hand digipak release which I suppose isn't a downside to the music industry but is to the consumer. I'm not sure obviously how you handle your CD cases, but I suspect if you put digipaks through the wear and tear required to have cracked most of your jewel cases, they wouldn't hold up in pristine condition either. At the bare minimum the corners and hinges are going to go white and get scuffed up. The cardboard cases often just feel cheap to me, too. Some aren't so bad, like the original digipaks. But Alvvays' last album for example came in a sleeve so low-effort that it felt like a promo CD-R. I did recently pick up an album by the band Girl Ray in a more traditional digipak case with a glossier sleeve and this seemed higher-quality and harder to damage. I'd be all for digipaks like that. But the thin, barely better than paper ones? I can't see how any collector would prefer those unless they don't care about the packaging at all, and are only in it for the disc. There does seem to be a majority in favour of jewel cases from discussions I've seen online.
It's not less time if you factor in the time of going to some store. Plus there's no guarantee an of that information is on the outer packaging of the CD visible through the shrink wrap -- other than the record company. Personally, I hate shopping and browsing for anything other than fresh food -- where telling what's ripe and fresh does require physical examination, and where what is available locally is seasonal. I'll still pop into a bricks and mortar hardware store or drug store for razor blades when I've suddenly run out or something, but pretty much everything else gets drop shipped to my house from an etailer and it takes me less time to research it and purchase it that it would take me to make one leg of the trip to a retail store (and I live in a dense suburb that directly abuts the 3rd largest city in the state, and is seven miles from the largest city in the nation, so, it's not like I have to drive hours to a store). But, like I said, that's personal preference -- I can save hours of life time, and for me time is live's most precious commodity, by not having to go shopping physically. And I tend never to look to buy something unless I've already decided that X is something that I want to buy before I go into a store. So browsing to me is just a waste of time. Even when I do go to something like a farmer's market which I am browsing and choosing based on a physical examination of the goods and assessing what's fresh and in season that week, my goal is still to get the hell out of there as quickly as I can.
Three reasons I'll always prefer a jewel case: None of these albums have been put through rigorous wear and tear. If they were in jewel cases they'd be absolutely fine.
Speaking of bad jewel cases, you may be someone who knows if there is an actual company that still makes durable jewel cases. Early CD jewel cases can take a fall and be fine much of the time. The only issue with used ones I find is they have lots of rubbing. But that boils down to them actually being able to take that kind of handling over the years without breaking so easily.
I haven't really had the experience of structural damage with the cardboard. Like with a jewel case, you drop it once, and it's likely never gonna be fully functional again because a hinge or two will have broken off and the door will be separate from the rest of the case, those center spines break and every time you pick up the CD the disc comes sliding out of the case and your trying to catch it before it falls. A little feathering on the cardboard is functionally meaningless. The case still works fine. I hadn't my CD cases like s***. I though the CDs in a duffle bag and bring 'em into my car. The CDs are stacked up in shelves and tables around the listening room. But these kinds of breaks happen with any kind of normal use -- I drop a case taking it off a shelf or taking a CD out of the case. I break a center spoke taking a CD out of a case. It arrives in the mail broken. Not to mention floating around in my care. The CDs themselves aren't that important to me. I only bought them to hear the music on them. But the cardboard cases hold up much better in my use case, and are lighter to carry and store too. And frankly are more protective --- I can't tell you how many jewel cases I have with broken door hinges or broken CD spine where which I just pick up the case and try to open the door the CDs themselves come sliding out and I have to try to catch them or the scrape against the jewel case. Good riddance to jewel cases. It may be that collector types really like the jewel boxes for some reason (I don't get it personally, in 30+ years of buying CDs I've only ever found them to be a problem), but I'm not sure every potential CD buyer is thinking, "I'd buy this on CD if only they'd bring back the jewel case."
Old jewel cases. new jewels cases. Doesn't make a different to me. The break in my use case minimum 50% of the time, probably more. I have a gazillion CDs going back 30 years with doors that have become wholly separated from the cases because the hinges are snapped off, or with CDs floating around in 'em because the center spines are broken, or at the very least have covers that are cracked. I also find getting the little booklets into and out of those little tabs in the back of the door hard -- I have a lot of CDs where the booklets and the discs are separated never to bee reunited, or where the booklets won't stay in the CDs anymore because too many of those door tabs are broken off. To me, 100% of jewel cases are "bad jewel cases." It's just a bad, fragile design.
Well, you haven't commented on the multiple cases brought up by @Scott Davies: Are CDs being phased out intentionally? Are CDs being phased out intentionally? Are CDs being phased out intentionally? These are the real-life examples, not just some theoretical or speculative musings. How would you explain them if, according to you, the actors are driven purely by profit and numbers?
