The End of Yet Another Era (only slightly OT)

[JohnM]

Been a lot of changes between 1912 and 2012.

http://www.side-line.com/news_comments. ... 80_0_2_0_C

[barnettrp21122]

I can't say I'm surprised about the CD decline. Just as so many audiophiles howled when CDs took over vinyl with their digitized sound, I suppose you could say that it's obvious most popular music buyers are willing to accept the typical compressed downloads that they're getting now.
I tried playing a home-burned cd I made just less than five years ago, and none of my players or computer drives could read it. So much for permanence!
Heck, the Blue Amberol cylinder format had a longer run, and most can still be played almost 100 years later!
Bob

[Nat]

I wonder if this applies to classical music as well? I have read recently that classical sales are solid, ditto SACD from several very established smaller labels- and I can see classical buyers settling for compressed downloads.

Still, my pre-dog Victors are still working fine.... Maybe we should agitate for the re-introduction of shellac?

[Valecnik]

Time and time again the highest quality format looses out to compactness and convenience...

[David Spanovich]

Of more concern to me, than the demise of yet another recorded format, are the tens of thousands of jobs lost--worldwide--involved with the manufacture, production, distribution and sales of CDs.

Still, I wouldn't expect CDs to disappear completely, any time soon. When they took hold and became the preferred recorded format, 15 years ago or more, few predicted that the LP would ever make a comeback--and it has, though to a limited extent, as dozens of news stories have indicated -- http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 61656.html

Certainly, the CD will be the preferred format for classical music, Opera, etc., unless the techies find a way to replicate their audio quality with whatever format eventually supplants MP3s.

In the meantime, I'll stick with 78s.

DS

(formerly, O.F. ...
...before that it was JDS ...
...and before that DJS ...
...But first it was DS ...
...talk about coming full circle...)

[Wolfe]

I wonder if this applies to classical music as well? I have read recently that classical sales are solid, ditto SACD from several very established smaller labels- and I can see classical buyers settling for compressed downloads.

Worldwide, I think classical sales are healthy. In the United States classical sales have dropped so low that Nielsen or whoever it is doesn't even bother to count anymore. Last check it was like .5 % of music sales, in the U.S.

[Brad]

If you think about it, the industry is just coming full circle: First there was single sided discs and single cylinders, then discs went to two sides, then the album, now we are getting back to single title releases, albeit in electronic format.

I would predict that within 5 years or so, artists/distributors will start bundling multiple titles for sale. And so it continues.

[Henry]

In the meantime, I'll stick with 78s.

DS

(formerly, O.F. ...
...before that it was JDS ...
...and before that DJS ...
...But first it was DS ...
...talk about coming full circle...)

Welcome to the board, David. I remember you posting on the previous board(s), and I always enjoyed reading your enlightened comments. I'm looking forward to more of the same!

As to the miniscule audience for classical music, last I heard the market share was ~5%. If it's now at .5%, then we classical musicians are indeed doomed. When the Philadelphia Orchestra declared bankruptcy earlier this year, I knew the tide had turned. So what's to become of our treasured resources---the great orchestras, opera companies, and schools of music (turning out ever more accomplished graduates to compete for ever-shrinking numbers of openings)? I shudder to think. Well, I suppose it's like everything else in our greedy consumer culture: if you're fed cr*p long enough, you start to believe that it's good, and good for you. This is a great pity.

End of rant. In sorrow,

Henry

[recordo]

I've gone the other way - now I prefer to have the physical copy of a CD, LP or 78. (I had been downloading for a couple of years)

I have stopped buying digital music on iTunes due to a couple of reasons :

1. I bought a copy of the Elgar Violin Concerto with Menuhin playing to save some wear on my 78s. There was a problem with the first movement - a massive chunk of the music was missing and replaced with digital clicks and some type of interruptions. iTunes was good about it and refunded my money.

2. The final straw - I bought a copy of "The Broadcasts of Richard Crooks" on itunes. Firstly, no broadcasts were on the album, they were just Crooks' 78s (all of which I have). The disks that were used as the source were obviously filthy and you could hear the needle jumping out of the grooves all over the place. The whole album was affected and I made a complaint to iTunes - they refunded the cost of ONE track, not the whole album. They didn't read my complaint, and just sent me some cookie cutter response.

My other problem with downloads is that you really get no information (matrices, etc) and no programme notes.

So the upshot of this is that I rely on specialist music shops, like DiskPlus when I visit Hong Kong, or ArkivMusic (online) from the US.

My 78 and LP collection seems to multiply itself at night when I'm not looking and I have no complaints there, but I seriously do think CDs will be available (just as new LPs still are) for a while, even if only from specialist or small labels like my own for my own piano and singing.

Here's a reason I think the sales are really in decline : a few years ago I was talking with some major labels about releasing my recordings. The answer I kept being given was that "Liberace-style" piano playing like my own is not really popular anymore because people aren't buying those recordings. My response was that if you (the label) do not stock it on the shelves, how do you expect people to buy it? Not everyone will go online (back in 1997) to purchase CDs and wait 2 weeks for them to arrive from America like I will..It's a self fulfilling prophecy...

I really feel better getting that off my chest!

Regards, Glenn.

[WDC]

That Crooks transfer is really one of the worst I have ever heard so far.
In general, I do not mind not to have physical CD anymore, just unlike any analog media which I do appreciate to have. But as long as the vast majority of download stores do only sell the songs in a lossy compressed format I am not going to substitute that.

Furthermore, especially iTunes is something I have been trying to avoid as best as possible because of their idea to use their own obscure format. And transcoding makes a mediocre quality even worse.

Another deal they labels get from their new policy: You usually cannot sell one of your downloads as used item, so they always get first customer pick.

The only store I know where I can buy some albums in true CD quality is Maple Music. I bought several albums in flac format, which allows me to be converted back into a true quality CD at no loss.

Yet another problem that comes especially with re-issues is the missing booklet. Most download shops do charge almost the same for a low-quality download and do not even supply a digital booklet.

Looks like I am going to have more vinyl in the future beside my old goodies...