CD's Gone By 2020?

We are talking about major vs niche as you well know.

 

For smaller acts, CDs are already fading out. More are concentrating on vinyl, Spotify, cassette, etc. But for the major labels, it's going to fade a bit slower.

 

In the tone controls.

 

Even then, hi-res digital can't match the detail and black backgrounds provided by vinyl. And hi-res digital can be great sometimes too.

 

Not sure why this is the standard comment (or a variation of the same) whenever this type of discussion comes up.

Of course your current CD collection is still intact. So is mine. OP is talking about new releases on CD.

 

No worries. You won’t even be able to buy digital downloads in not-so-distant future. You’ll only be able to rent music you don’t already own.

As for new music on CD being gone by next year...I don’t buy that. Within 5 years though? I’d say it’s highly likely.

 

How about cassettes then?

 

At least there was never a CD release for the original version of "The Life Of Pablo." The June 14 revised version is MUCH better and is one of the greatest albums of all time while the original is a messier work-in-progress piece.

 

IYO, of course. I don't consider surface noise to be a black background

 

Also, also just saying the 33 1/3 RPM record (aka LP) is 74 years old in 2022. Just putting that out there.

 

CDs should have been gone years ago. We have Blu-ray audio, SACDs and high-res digital downloads now. Standard redbook is just a waste of material at this point.

 

exactly...don't you wish ppl would except that there are others who love digital...I was heavy into vinyl at one time, but never enjoyed it as much as I enjoy the digital world! so much convenience and that now moment anywhere I choose...

 

IYO of course...IMO; yea I feel that way about new vinyl at least $25.00 a pop...; ) a waste of hard earned money...give me superior digital at a more reasonable cost...

 

CD is here to stay!

 

This whole thread is an "IYO" realistically, but I get it. Honestly, it's starting to make me wonder if major labels aren't seeing as high of a profit margin as they'd like to when it comes to pressing/selling redbook CDs today (either standalone or as part of box set reissues), and that could be why it's smarter for them in the long run to stop selling music this way.

It also doesn't help that the planet's essentially on fire because of climate change, so we should've gone 100% digital years ago anyway.

 

Your predictions may well turn out to be right, but I wonder if it would be in the music industry's interest to give up the substantial income they currently receive from downloading.

Looking at current trends, CD and downloads sales appear to be persisting albeit at a fairly low level. They have not died out as quickly as 8 track, vinyl and cassettes did in the 80s and 90s.

Given that a large proportion of sales have moved online since that era, it seems likely that vinyl, CDs and downloads will have a long tail. They may continue to be available for longer than we think.

 

I dunno, but the great new Hilary Hahn album of partitas written for her by Anton Gabriel Abril was released by Decca last week as download/streaming and vinyl only. No CD. I actually bought it on LP. Maybe the first new music I've bought on LP in more than 20 years. And that's hardly an album in a pop field where streaming already dominates and many albums already have been released in digital/streaming only (and interestingly, there is a physical release, but its only LP).

 

Plenty of newer artists haven't released to cd at all.

 

they sure know how to price new vinyl...LOL.

 

what media are they releasing?

 

And Not in Your Car either, as in, if you plan to buy A New Car(or bought one in recent years), you will not have a CD Player Option. This is why CDs most likely will not be made for future New Releases, as people will not be able to buy New CD Players(with exceptions of course, but limited). Oppo already abandoned the Multi Disc Player Market and you have to wonder how much longer other Manufactures will keep making even CD Players, much less SACD or Multi-Disc Players.

I have an Older Car(Honda Accord) from 2009 with a CD Player that came with it, but plan to still drive it for a few more years as only around 112,000 Miles on it, but from my understanding with all the New Technology in New Cars, there is not even a space to install a CD Player from the Secondary Market. The market has spoken and I do not anticipate that there will ever be a future option for Space in a New Car to add a CD Player, and I just hope that there will be a High Res Streaming Service in the Near Future.

Computers no longer come with Optical Drives in Most Cases, although guess one can still buy an External Optical Drive.

It does pain me to say this though(the lack of Optical Drive Players will kill off CDs at least for New Releases), since after joining this Forum, I have been buying(along with a few AF, DCC and MoFi CDs) more Older CDs to get the Better Mastering and DR of the Early Japan and WG(and in some cases UK CDs). Glad I got a Used NM Condition Oppo 105D last year off of Ebay, but no idea if it will ever have problems or will last 30-50 years, as I have somehow built up a small collection of SACDs, BluRay Audio CDs and DVD-A Titles).

I have cut back on New Releases on CDs anyways due to the Flimsy Digipaks(although a few Nice Ones are used for some Titles). With most CDs the past 25 years being Brickwalled, the SQ of Streaming is not a good reason to say that CDs are a better option when buying New Albums on CD.

I skipped over commenting on Downloads since Streaming has quickly made Downloads as obsolete as CDs, as the model of consuming Music by anyone under 30-35(and for Several Older People now, who just want to Declutter their Life Possessions) is almost entirely renting your Music for a Low Monthly Fee.

I can envision a future where a microchip is implanted in our Body's to hear all of our Music.

In the Meantime, I have a Pre-Order on Amazon-UK for the upcoming Tangerine Dream 'In Search of Hades' Box Set, as I will always be a Collector at Heart, as Music is my Passion in Life. I get a Rush/High just receiving a Box Set or other Music Purchase in Physical Format(CD/SACD/BluRay/Vinyl) in the mail or when shopping at a Record/CD Store(I miss the days of spending around 3 hours at night about once a month at a Towers Music Store just browsing the CD Section).

I have to admit that I buy more Music than I have time to listen to often, so guess that means I have an Addiction, but I love the Variety in my Collection and discovering New Music Artists every Year(or discovering Older Music Artists from the 1970s and 1980s).

Of course, I could die of Blood Loss from being bitten by a Great White Shark in the next few years, or die in a Car Accident and none of this will matter.

 

no CD player in the car? just rip the CD to a flash drive...plug it into the USB port...prob solved.

 

Downloading is cratering. It was 11 percent of US music revenue in 2018 according to the RIAA -- smaller than the 12% that came from physical media. Streaming accounted for 75%. Individual track sales downloads were down 28%; downloads of albums were down 25%. It was the sixth straight year of declines. Total download revenue was still big -- $1 billion. But no one invests heavily in something that's 11% of the market and shrinking at a rate of 25% a year.

 

No optical drive on many new computers either.

 

Not to worry. Most Bluray players can still play CDs.

Although, I'm starting to wonder how long Bluray players will continue to be produced......