CDBaby.com dropping FLAC, going MP3-320 max

Bought an album download from CDBABY today ("What More Can You Take?" by ESG), and while CDBaby (TTBOMK) never offered hi-res, they often offered FLAC (usually of unknown provenance, sure). Anyway, there was a banner pushed as part of the purchase process tonight notifying that in the coming months, CDBABY downloads were going to be maxed out at MP3-320kbps.

Furthermore, if one has already-purchased FLACs in their CDBABY locker/purchase history that they haven't gotten around to downloading, now might be the time, because even the already-purchased FLACs will be going away once this transition is complete, and you'll have to make do with the MP3-320s.

 

Any idea why they are doing this?

 

No reason or definitive deadline were offered. But the notice went up some time between July (my last visit) and tonight. I was able to download tonight's new purchase (ESG's final album - they're packing it in) in FLAC.

 

Shame. I have purchased from them a couple of times that FLAC hasn’t been available elsewhere. They should really be doing it the other way around.

 

Depressing.

 

Now that CD Baby has dropped the Flac format, I wonder if they will start selling 8-Tracks?