In defense of the CD-from a cultural view.

"DVD was expensive at 1st.
[$20US & up]"

Even after dvd came out most new VHS releases were OVER $100 while the dvd was less than $30 BECAUSE MOST NEW RELEASES WERE MAINLY SOLD TO RENTAL STORES.

"by the time DVD was introduced, the new format was having trouble gaining traction in retail because VHS retail prices were generally lower."no it took awhile because the player's were expensive and everybody already had a vhs player. dvd took of when they were put in to gaming machines and you could buy stand alones sub $100

 

That's when people started devaluing music.

 

As far as physical media, CDs are pretty much without flaw (unless they get scratched). Perfect sound quality, they are not bulky (like albums).

In keeping with "cultural" stuff though -

While it is true that you need a player or CD ROM to enjoy CDs, along with the physical Cd itself but at least you get digital quality WITHOUT -
having to download programs
having to deal with social media.
No viruses to worry about (if you D/L illegally)

Plus though not as large as an LP but you still get the cover art and hopefully a nice inlay card/booklet
Even if you do not own a CD/DVD player, a working one can be had at thrift for around $10 or less.
Plus since CDs are not very sought after like LPs, you can find pretty much any title for cheap, $5 or less if you hunt around a bit. There is not the question of "Well shoot, how much is it gonna set me back? For example, you can easily find a Cd of Pink Floyd "The Wall" for little more than you probably spend on the snack machines at work. If you wanted it on vinyl, be prepared to open your wallet for a decent copy.

Honestly, the only reason i do not care much for CDs is to me, they are a mark of the 1990's which was not my favorite decade but that is just a personal thing.
For those who love the CD, they are lucky since their preferred format will not become a costly hobby (unless you hoard them).

Though this is up for debate, it might be safe to say that by the end of the 20's or early 30's there will be a CD revival. Of course by then, good luck finding your favorite 90's bands on CD for cheap.
Maybe it is time now to stock up on Nirvana's "nevermind" CDs. That and a few others could end up being the "Pink Floyd - The Wall" of the future.

 

I remember my first CD. The Cult - Sonic Temple. So back in 90/91 some time. I bought a Sony Discman player. Started playing it - it was awesome.

Didn't take more than a minute until I found out though why companies were quick to start implementing Anti-Skip technology. I was used to Sony Cassette Walkman - you could swing it around, bump it - no problem. CD was not having any of that!

Didn't stop me from putting CD player in my car, or into my stereo system... Probably caused my OCD about fingerprints though!

 

Except that SONY rootkit.

 

Starting in the early 80s, I bought many reissued albums from mainly the 70s, but the CD allowed me to finally and easily collect all that great music I missed out on the first time around, and for a lot less money.

It was in the late 80s and early 90s that companies learned to dig deep to ensure historical accuracy when they realized that the CD just might be the very last time a lot of vintage music would ever be released again. And, they were right! There are some things that haven't been reissued again in digital form since the 80s. For those who want to collect history, like me, it's better that I started in the 80s rather than someone who is just now trying to play catch-up. If you think everything released on CD will show up as a stream, think again. Commerce has a way of sifting music through the media. Legal issues that pop up now didn't exist, or weren't discovered in the 80s and early 90s. And, there are other factors that may be in play that I will not get into here.

Oh, BTW, A lot of you will say how the CD isn't dead. I think a lot of that will come from those in other countries. The CD is alive and well in many other places, but, for the U.S., where I live, the CD is in early extinction mode.

To this day, despite the imminent demise of the CD (in the U.S.), it remains as the most economical and practical way to obtain our musical heritage.

I know the OP didn't want to focus on sound issues, but, it has to be said that the CD format allowed, or encouraged the labels to pay attention to it. With the vinyl and tape era, you could pull a third generation tape, master it, and no one would be the wiser or care. You couldn't get away with that on CD, at least not after labels like Rhino, DCC, and certain others, started releasing high quality comps.

Vinyl and tape may last decades, but will the quality of it last? Just like digital, there are tapes that will never play again due to tape-shed syndrome, and vinyl is always prone to destruction. That said, I rip every CD I get. In fact, I rip and tag any CD I buy before I even listen to it. The CD gets boxed up, and I play the files, of which I make three backups of two formats each.

I am just so damn happy I bought up scads of various artist comps in the late 80s and the 90s. There's stuff on those CDs you just can't buy again even if you looked on the used market.

We collectors have a lot to offer society. We cannot count on the labels to preserve the music. Anything can happen, and often does. Fires, theft, legal matters all happen to the industry. But, we individual hobbyists and collectors will become more valuable because of what we have personally amassed.

 

I must admit that when the compact disc appeared, I was not attracted by the format and I was reluctant to buy them. It was precisely the fact of seeing as it appeared material that was not available in vinyl that I began to buy them.

I remember the collections of singles made in Europe and Japan that initially attracted me more. The collection of the old U2 singles were from my first acquisitions, especially by all the B sides not available on vinyl and hard to find. The same happened with other bands that I like a lot like The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Genesis, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Genesis ... I slowly get hooked with the format. Nowadays I have a respectable collection of very interesting CDs, many of them very difficult to find.

In fact the cd opened the doors to a lot of collectors (like me) to an entire musical universe which was very difficult to access.

I do not think the format is obsolete, there are simply other ways of acquiring music today ... it all depends on how you relate to music.
Both, vinyl and CDs are part of my music collection, I still buy cds and I dont see why not.

If the format will have a resurgence I don't really know. There is even a public who buys them and as long as that happens, the format will remain alive.

It is clear that the cd had an important cultural impact. The interesting thing is to see what will happen in the next years. Perhaps the physical formats in general end up being obsolete for the generations that now grow with streaming and digital music services

I am grateful for the fact that I have been able to enjoy all the physical formats that the music industry has given us

 

Great review, interesting your vision and thanks for sharing it here. You have opened a very nice thread

 

Great post, odly I'm in the process of ripping my CD box sets to MP3 (already did to FLAC)
The purpose is to put onto a Flash card to play in the car. Having these boxes on CD is special to me and now I can play the music again through another media (yes it's not great sound) but at least I can play the music and select what track I want as I drive.
I love reading the books as much as listening to the music.

 

Let's not forget that we can own the entire output of a record label! And, the Motown and Stax/Volt singles collections? That's just not possible on vinyl or tape.

 

Cannot agree more and those who diss the disc miss the historical angle COMPLETELY....

 

Which makes no sense! If your local library is anything like mine, just about all of the CDs will be of and 50s and 60 easy listening, or country, with a few "safe" recent pop titles thrown in. I once tried to donate some old Chicago, Santana, and Brick CDs to my local library, but they turned around and offered them for sale in the adjacent book store.

 

You might get a t-shirt instead. WE had a thread a couple of weeks ago about how Amoeba in Hollywood has reduced the CDs and replaced the space with t-shirts.

 

Personally I don't mind CD.. if looking for convenience like using in the car etc... but I do think that vinyl does sound better (my opinion) and use it for home use and I like the artwork etc.

I agree... I think the consensus is that a lot of people don't mind both formats.

 

Superb thread. I love CDs.

 

I pretty much agree with you, but if CD hadn't come along when it did, a great deal of music might have been lost forever. With no revenue stream, labels would have destroyed even more master tapes than they did.

 

I loved bonus tracks and still do. The entire original album, plus a number of 12 inch mixes to justify the higher price. And now the price has even come down.

 

That's the cool thing about hardware, things come full circle, like records, I loved em but don't leave em in the back of your 71 chevy nova on a hot summer day or it will warp like the enterprise! LOL! Casettes and 8 tracks will jam up and birds nest, so I really don't see an end to a cd, its more durable and longer lasting than previous hardware.....

 

Yes CD's are durable... as long as someone is careful putting in the disc and taking the disc out... one thing I noticed is the cases seem to not be durable.. (maybe it's just me) Ofcourse I use them in the car and maybe they get bumped around etc.

 

I would say they are extremely durable. Among the CDs i own, maybe 75 of them i have had for at least 30 years, and they were bought when i was around 20 and very flippant with how i handled music. No, i never have deliberately mishandled them, but i never have treated them gently either. They have not only been handled but packed and repacked numerous times as i've moved through space and time from my 20s to my 50s.

To my knowledge, every single one of them plays 100% identical to how it played 11,000 days ago. That's very durable in my book.

 

Absotutely! Cd's truly rock!

 

It goes without saying that Generation Xers will be the last generation to "own" substantial music collections. The writing is on the wall that Millennials and younger kids will stream all their music for their entire adult lives, aside from the few that dabble in vinyl.

I suspect there will be ramifications in how music is appreciated across society we haven't anticipated from this drastic change.

 

Until they find out that some of their favourite music has disappeared from the net. Music collecting may take on a different form though, such as harddrives full of files. It has happened already really.

 

That was my point of an earlier post, if anyone read it.

 

This is not just another "like" vote for this post. I'm on my feet in a standing ovation. Absolutely one of the best posts EVER.