CDs Are Dying Three Times as Fast as Vinyl Is Growing

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by pseudopod, Sep 20, 2018.

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  1. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    There is a huge amount of music that is not available through the regular streaming services - much of it material by classic artists.

    Frank Sinatra: approximately 60 tracks from his period on Reprise (1960-1986) is not available to stream - including many single sides.

    Bobby Darin: The Shadow of Your Smile, In a Broadway Bag, If I Were a Carpenter, Inside Out, Dr Dolittle, Born Walden Robert Cassotto, Commitment albums are not available on Spotify. Only a "best of" are available on Amazon music. This means that hits such as Mame and If I Were a Carpenter are not available on the biggest of all streaming services.

    Neil Sedaka: Virtually all albums he made for major labels after leaving RCA are not available on Spotify. This includes Sedaka's Back and The Hungry Years. About a dozen albums - for major labels alone.

    Chet Baker: None of the five superb (not to mention key) Prestige albums from the mid-1960s are available to stream on Spotify or Amazon. Neither are any of "The Legacy" series, which contains much of his best work from the 1980s. And that's just the tip of the iceberg with regards to Baker because he most often recorded for small labels.

    Sammy Davis Jr: Only three of his album for Decca during the 1950s are available. He released about fifteen.

    Ray Charles: Only a handful of his albums for ABC in the 1960s are available to stream. The same is true of the albums from the next four decades for various labels

    And if you head into the area of classical music, the amount not available is staggering.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2019
  2. Todd68

    Todd68 I'm Listening

    Slightly off topic, but when I started to transition from vinyl to CDs in the late 80s, I no longer seemed to know the song titles (on new material) the way I did when I bought records (Vinyl to the new arrivals). I used to refer to the songs only by track title. With records, I new it all, song names, running order, production details, dates and so much more. I assume I am not alone here.
     
  3. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Because it's unrealistic, and there's limitations to everything. It is the height of entitlement. While we're at it, I'd like a unicorn that poops gold.
     
    melstapler likes this.
  4. dbeamer407

    dbeamer407 Forum Resident

    So keeping my CD's, records and cassettes and the hardware to play them on is the height of entitlement?
     
    ChazFromCali likes this.
  5. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    European Prog. Bands from the 1970's are not found on streaming sites. I will be SOL if YouTube stops allowing the uploading of these bands. YouTube is where I audition and discover these bands before going over to Discogs to buy.
     
  6. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    So it is unrealistic to expect for the thing we're all told is the great new way of the world to be as good as the thing we are getting rid of?
     
  7. Rodz42

    Rodz42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    that's pretty telling...…..
     
  8. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    But most consumers aren't going to do this.
     
  9. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Those who want an optical drive for their laptop (like me) can and will do this easily. Hardly a killing blow, just a reasonable modularization.

    With the advance of touch screens many modern portable devices like tablets lack an integrated keyboard; do you also consider it a devastating blow to that piece of hardware?
     
    Pop_Zeus likes this.
  10. Chooke

    Chooke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    Fair enough. I was in my late teens and don't recall CDs ever being thought of as 'uncool'. An uncool format would not within 7 years have obliterated sales of LPs and then cassette tape 5 years after that. Back then there was a buzz at audio shows, mags and the media. Nearly everyone into music wanted to get a CD player but, in the early days, they were expensive and CD titles were scarce.

    The decline in CD sales in the 21st century was always inevitable once digital files were no longer tied to a physical format, due to convenience and piracy - remember how this all started with Napster?
     
  11. vinyl diehard

    vinyl diehard Two-Channel Forever

    Maybe you’re just too lazy to get out of your chair and move the stylus over.;)
     
    Minnox likes this.
  12. Jimmy Agates

    Jimmy Agates CRAZY DOCTOR

    A quick question...when did this so called demise of the cd first get called out....10 years ago now? More?? Yet still I can get every title I want with ease....
     
    Bonddm, RSteven, Norco74 and 2 others like this.
  13. Chooke

    Chooke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    More like 20 years ago, when Napster and other file sharing sites were cannibalising music sales.

    Although every new title is available on CD, many back catalogues are not. It is not a problem for listeners though, as most can be purchased cheaply on the used market.
     
    Jimmy Agates likes this.
  14. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Not exactly the best analogy - a keyboard is a device used for the primary purpose of computer use. It's not like you'd be using a keyboard on your audio receiver. Consumers simply aren't going to buy external drives because they won't want to be bothered any more than they'd want to carry portable CD players in their car.

    The reason why the loss of optical drives on laptops (and car stereos) is important is that, like it or not, having mass consumer adoption means that those consumers pay the way for products that may not necessarily have the funding to otherwise exist. Once the mass consumer market is gone, that means pressing plants start to close and even though I am sure new CD's won't disappear completely, that market will change drastically. It will likely be more like SACD's are today.
     
  15. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

    Same here!

    And that « mon ami » is because you are listening to music that is made to last, not top 40 and one hit wonder!!!
     
    Marty T and Jimmy Agates like this.
  16. ChazFromCali

    ChazFromCali INTJ

    Location:
    Baja
    At least with Windows OS's, lol. Which is why I use Mint Linux.
     
  17. Jackson

    Jackson Senior Member

    Location:
    MA, USA
    I'm not sure when, or that it even matters, but i think the so called CD demise myth was started, and continues to be pushed by people who want to see the CD's demise, we know who they are.:shh:
     
  18. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I heard 8 track and cassette sales increased 1000% last year. You can prove anything with statistics (wrong or just made up) from revival to collapse. :D
     
    andrewskyDE, Norco74 and Man at C&A like this.
  19. Another Steve

    Another Steve Senior Member

    A couple weeks ago, right before New Year's, I walked into a thrift store that had been bombarded with CDs, DVDs, and video cassettes by people cleaning out their "clutter" and looking for their tax deduction. The store was, in turn, trying to make space and selling all their donated CDs, DVDs, and video cassettes at six for a $1! They had all their CDs stacked horizontally at eye level and well lit, so very easy to read. Why not? I went though several hundred CDs in about twenty minutes, looking for myself as well as looking for trade bait. Bought fourteen CDs for $2.16 total "after" the sales clerk threw in the extra two for free (Really?). I kept three CDs and immediately drove over to my favorite "used" record store and traded the remaining eleven CDs for $27 in store credit that I used to buy three more perfectly good CDs. The net was that $2.16 for six CDs that went into the collection. No guilt there. I'm perfectly happy to continue to buy or barter for CDs like that. Keep them coming.
     
  20. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Lots of 70's stuff on Tidal, and sounding better than ever.
     
    dkurtis likes this.
  21. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Well, we all agree that optical discs are on their way to become a specialized niche market, but the disappearance of optical drive from default laptop set-ups does not necessarily mean they are about to become extinct. Optical discs are still a massively used formats for music, video and diverse data storage/distribution and they're not going away in any foreseeable future. And even if you cannot find them or their related hardware in the nearest store they'll be still easily available through Internet channels.

    I do not think that the recession of optical discs from omnipresence to specialized markets will suddenly make all hardware/disc manufacturing plants go bust. They'll just scale down and as it looks that the current scale-down (propelled by streaming hype and incorrect prognostics) went a bit too far, because music CD manufacture often struggles now with the demand causing delays in product delivery. And if there's an unsatisfied demand there will follow the adjustments.

    And on the anecdotal side I visited yesterday a few general consumer electronics stores to look for a budget bookshelf CD player/radio unit for my wife and I was astounded by the sheer amount and variety of the products on display, from "no-name" real cheapos to brand semi-audiophile set-ups. My own observations and practices only confirm that a CD revival on the specialized music market has already kicked off and it's only obscured by the quickly waning mass/blockbuster sales in corporate mega/chain-stores.

    I am looking forward to the Discogs summary of the last year to see whether their CD sales surge in 2017 retained the momentum:

    https://blog.discogs.com/en/state-of-discogs-2017/
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2019
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  22. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

    To your point, 1000% of nothing is still nohing... :D
     
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  23. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    In my area (again anecdotal) the lack of CD's and even CD hardware in the retail space has been in place for some time now. I recall that when LP's went into niche status in the late 1980's, the US went this route first before some European countries. Might be a similar situation going on now + I believe Japan still has a healthy CD market.

    So I personally do not see any revival yet. Of course I'm enjoying the fire-sale here as prices are sometimes too cheap to pass up. Yard sales in particular...people are selling off CD's and DVD's en masse and the few times I've struck up conversations with these people, it's usually the same thing - streaming has replaced CD's and iTunes downloads and Netflix / Roku etc have replaced DVD's for them.
     
    The MEZ likes this.
  24. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    I have been recently to Japan and can only confirm it.

    As for the US I think you may be following your own specific (socio-economic) path that is no longer as attractive/pervasive as it used to be. You are still in the lead at innovations, but the outside world may have become more picky/slow/reluctant about what to ditch or adopt from your backyard.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2019
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  25. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Would be interesting if there ended up being a future CD market for stuff like K-pop - where CD's only existed overseas and then needed to be imported in when the teens of today get hit with nostalgia in twenty years time.
     
    Pop_Zeus likes this.
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