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April 4, 2006
Why I Buy CDs
I buy CDs. That's the only way I purchase music. And here are the reasons why:
1) It's a durable format that will last a long time on my shelf. In the case, I don't doubt that my CDs will last at least a few decades (I've had some since 1987 and they still play perfectly).
2) It's guaranteed to be accessible for a long, long time because CD-playing hardware is so ubiquitous and upcoming technologies (e.g. Blu-Ray and HD DVD) still include CDDA as a supported format. At a minimum, I can rip them into other formats that can then evolve as needed.
3) It's DRM free. I don't buy DRMed CDs because I want to make sure that advantage #2 isn't obviated through software restrictions.
4) It's reasonably portable. 10 CD jewel cases takes up a fair bit of space, but 10 CDs doesn't and 10 hours of music is quite a bit for one trip. Granted, for longer trips, I take ripped tracks, but to just toss a couple of albums in the car, CDs are still reasonably handy.
5) I like albums. Even though I may initially buy a 12-song album for just a couple of songs, I often end up really liking a few other tracks as well that I probably wouldn't have bought individually. This allows/helps me to appreciate the artist more completely.
6) CD jackets often contain entertaining and/or useful information, such as song lyrics and photos. Given that it's becoming increasingly hard to legally obtain song lyrics online, getting them "for free" in a jacket is an added benefit.
So, to date, I have not purchased a single music track online. And given that legal downloads still don't seem to provide the same value that CDs do, I doubt that will change in the near future.
Posted by Craig in Music & Audio
Comments
Why I don't buy CDs.
It's impossible to find something for my taste at local music shop. Ordering from Amazon takes way, way too much time (3-4 weeks to get it over here).
Sometimes I buy from www.musicshoponline.com. Mostly I buy mp3s from the net.
Plus, the only place where I listen to music is in my car. And there I�m too lazy to change audio CDs, I just use MP3 CDs.
But you don't really care anyway :)
Posted by: Jealousy at April 5, 2006 4:36 AM
I agree with everything Craig said. I love CDs! I've been buying them since 1985. Currently I buy most of my stuff from YourMusic.com where all single CDs are only $5.99 with free shipping.
Posted by: Galley at April 5, 2006 7:34 AM
Although I still purchase CD's, many of my older albums still have not come out on CD... I keep waiting. And for those that I have CD's, LP's, or 45's for, I have no problem downloading those tracks, since I have a copy of the song in my CD library. And yes, I do rip what I have (I like having my music in a higher bit rate than most of the downloadable tracks are in... 128 just doesn't do it for classical, guys!) to my LifeDrive, or to a combo CD that I use in my Jeep.
iTunes? Nah... No need!
Posted by: Renee at April 5, 2006 10:28 AM
Don't get me wrong, Jealousy, I burn CDs of MP3s and even have an in-car MP3 20GB jukebox (see http://www.gearbits.com/archives/2005/03/installing_the.html), so I do strongly believe in digital music and non-CD use. My only point was that when I *purchase* music, the only method I'm currently willing to consider is on CDs. What I do with the CDs after I get home then strongly resembles what folks who buy from online stores do...it's just that I have a DRM-free physical archive/original to fall back on should my MP3 file become lost or corrupted.
Posted by: Craig at April 6, 2006 8:09 AM
Jealousy: One other thing...your blog looks really interesting! There's a little bit of everything there, at least judging by the pictures...I just wish I could read it. :-)
Posted by: Craig at April 6, 2006 8:25 AM
Oh, I see. You just like CDs coz they're... CDs :) There�s a point. You have "hard backup" of everything.
Thanks! I try to keep my site interesting :) Little bit of everything.
I have a dream to start a "mirror blog" in English. I just have to learn proper English first :)
Posted by: Jealousy at April 6, 2006 11:20 AM
Aha, but what about CDs festering with DRM nowadays? It's scary, but with some of the evil DRM rootkit issues at play with CDs, it's almost SAFER to buy DRM'd WMA files, burn them to CD, and re-rip. That seems insane, I know, but more and more CDs I'm buying have all sorts of evil DRM on them. :-(
Posted by: Jason Dunn at April 15, 2006 11:55 AM
Jason, you're right: Some CDs do have DRM on them. As I stated in the original post (I think I did...yep, there it is), I don't buy DRMed CDs. I check the many sources of lists on the web that document when new CDs come out with protection on them and avoid those albums -- the companies/bands that put (or allow) DRM on their CDs will not get my money.
Posted by: Craig at April 15, 2006 9:35 PM