"CD-format to be abandoned by major labels by the end of 2012..."

http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=46980_0_2_0_C

 

Ya think Vegas is taking odds on this.....I would....not gonna happen....

 

And in other news, the aliens have landed! I knew it would happen eventually.

 

I don't think this article is accurate. We'll see.

 

Beyond the poor wording and that they've sourced this information as little more than something they "heard three weeks ago", industry-wide decisions of this nature do tend to begin trickling out in this fashion months in advance of any formal announcement.

I'm not worried yet but would be beyond annoyed if the decision to halt CD production were made.

 

Starting with the fact that this comes from a totally obscure site, don't synchronize all watches just yet. The only source for the article is their own editor, while reps from 3 major labels declined to comment. So, there you have it.

 

Doesn't seem that long ago I was reading about the woes of digital download sales being so very tiny compared to current CD sales, as far as they've fallen. What will we read next.

 

So does this mean my cd collection will worth a fortune like Cabbage Patch Kids and Beanie Babies?

 

.. thereby becoming unable to sell to around 70% of their customers. Right. Smooth move.

I think we know CD sales are on the slide, and digital distribution on the increase. But I don't think the intersection point is in view yet.

The trend will reverse or at least slow as the uptake (or use) of smart phones slows or even reverses. I've had to go with a friend to AT&T to negotiate a downgrade in service because they can no longer afford the data plan.

Or maybe the opinionists think that the industry can survive just supplying online music to the 30% who can still afford it?

(my ratios are a guess, based on people who I know who have digital music interest among my acquantances who have music interest)

 

So the one named source in this article is the chief editor of the magazine reporting the story. Yeah, great journalism there. Color me unimpressed.

That isn't to say it won't happen. They make a good case for it. CDs will ultimately become a non mainstream item (like vinyl), valued by collectors but not the general public. And I can't see CDs becoming collectable among certain types to the extent vinyl is (except for those special editions the article mentions).

2012 might still be too soon (didn't we hear this CDs are dying by the end of the year a decade ago?). As another poster mentioned the intersection point hasn't come yet.

But saying its going to happen and using your own editor as a source? Anybody can publish something like that. That's not journalism, that's guessing.

If this is to say artists won't release a set of songs (like they do with albums) that I believe is nonsense. Many music listeners enjoy their music by listening to concerts and albums and artists still create that way. Its been that way since the 1500s where Baroque artists were creating symphonies (if not sooner). The only time this has wavored is when technology was limited (the 78 RPM for example, even they had bulky "albums"). That won't change, only the distribution of "albums" will. The album concept hasn't moved, many artists are still releasing concept or interconnected albums.

 

Just read this in the paper today...

 

Please... Killing the CD by the end of 2012 would mean killing a considerable source of their sales.

Not everyone has a computer. Not everyone can download music. Not everyone wants to bother with downloading music. There will always be a demographic to sell physical media to.

 

Note to major labels: It wasn't the CD's fault.

 

From Rolling Stone Magazine 1990 Australia...

 

I saw this article a few days ago...it is nothing but speculation.

That being said, I think it is probably accurate.

 

True but will that demographic be large enough to warrant being served and if so how much? Even the article says deluxe editions will still be available. Question is will Walmart have CDs in two years? Will Best Buy have all the major releases? I don't think the CD will disappear soon like the 8 Track but will it be a niche product like vinyl or still a major source of recorded music? Or somewhere in between?

 

Or my Star Wars action figures.

 

I'd bet more people have a computer than a CD player or a record player.

I'd bet more people would rather download music than bother with driving to the store to buy a CD or a record.

I'm sure there is still a demographic to sell buggywhips to as well.

 

Most absurd thing I've read in a while. Sure, downloads are eventually going to be the way we consume entertainment, but physical media will be with us for a while yet. I know CD sales are in decline, and that trend appears to be uncorrectable, but to disenfranchise what, 50%, 70%, of your customer base? Come on! Perhaps the article meant 2022!

 

I know people who don't even have computers.
Does this mean they are SOL for music when CDs are abandoned?

Darryl

 

I know people who don't even have CD players. Does this mean they are SOL for music when eight-track tapes are abandoned?

 

Well of course. We've all seen how dysfunctional humans are these days.

 

How about making good sounding /Good mastered cd's ......

If they went all Downloads , i would not be buying much at all anymore ....

 

Maybe, but that's still not everyone. Kill the CD early, and say adios to a big chunk of your sales when plenty of people decide not to bother with downloading and abandon your company's product altogether.

If there's no physical media for me to buy; I'm not going to spend that money on downloading. It's just not for me. And I'm very much not alone in making that decision. Record companies must give me a physical media option if they want any of my money.

 

I wouldn't put it past the music industry to do something stupid like this so soon. Not everyone IS buying music by download all the time. The music biz has done plenty of stupid stuff so this wouldn't be the first time they've shot themselves in the foot.

Now I could see doing this with catalog titles that are no longer moving major units but that's another story.

Perhaps we'll see those catalog titles going more towards CD-R's as amazon has been doing.

Wait, it's idle speculation so it's "probably accurate"? Hum...sure.

From CNN's article last year:
Despite the CD's decline, Grein believes the format will be around for the foreseeable future.

"I think it's becoming less of a mass-market item and kind of a niche product that caters to a small but loyal following," he said. "But there are enough cases where we are seeing albums that are selling in big numbers that I think they will be around for a while." Younger-skewing artists, such as singer-rapper Ke$ha, enjoy a larger slice of the digital pie than older-skewing artists such as James Taylor, he says.

Indeed, the format isn't the point, he said. In 100 years, recorded music has gone from cylinders to shellac 78s to vinyl LPs to cassettes, CDs and now digital downloads. Through it all, listeners still crave tunes.

"Music is definitely still in fashion," he said. "It's all around us."

Yeah, eventually this'll probably happen but in a year? I don't think so.