Give Me a Reason to Buy a CD Over a Download
- 2
- Add a Comment
Well of course we know part of the answer to why people don’t buy CDs anymore would be because they have been downloading music. Sure, that is part of it, but haven’t you ever heard somebody buying a CD say “I just wanted to have the actual CD.” There certainly is something different about owning the actual copy of the CD, complete with jewel case and booklet. At least that’s the way I used to feel whenever I bought an album.
Back in the day of actual records, you would buy an album and get so much. Not only did you get the beautiful vinyl disc, but you usually also got a nice booklet complete with pictures, lyrics and sometimes a poster. The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers even came with a cool zipper on the front of the album. When CDs came along, a little of that was lost. Books were still included with the discs, but they weren’t as large and nice as the ones included with records. Today, you’re lucky to even get lyrics with your CD. The last CD I bought included a cover that unfolded into only 2 pages of senseless art.
Sometimes they get it right. Recently I’ve seen a few CDs include a DVD that usually includes videos and other items. When I bought the Ben Folds Live CD, included was a nice DVD of a concert performance. I’d be perfectly willing to spend my money on a CD when stuff like that is included. However, the recording industry seems content continuing to sell us a jewel case and 10 cent disc for $14.
2 Comments
Gary Skelton
January 8th, 2008
at 4:26am
I fully agree with the point that CDs just aren’t the same any more compared to the halcyon days of vinyl.
However, I would like to say something about downloaded tracks/albums:
Generally, the quality of downloaded music is simply not of the same quality as the music burnt to a cd. The nearest mp3 quality to CD Quality is 320Kbs. Downloaded music is generally 128Kbs - sometimes 192Kbs. If you go to some specialist sites you may be able to get 320Kbs.
In addition, the higher bitrates usually come at a premium.
The upshot of all this is that you get what you pay for. If quality is important to you, then you’re better off buying the CD and ripping the tracks. By doing this, the choice of quality is completely up to you, with the extra option of ripping as WAV files - giving the exact quality as is on the CD.
Gary.
bayoujim
January 11th, 2008
at 8:11am
There is not a good reason to buy a CD anymore, because a natural evolution in the way things are done has occurred. I am old and have spent huge amounts of money on many types of media starting with 8 track tapes.
Most people are missing the point about the changes because they are young and do not know. The evolution/revolution has occurred because we are tired of buying and playing their media change game.
If it cannot be played in Ubuntu Linux I refuse to give my attention to it anymore.
2 days ago Microsuck notified me that my legally owned Windows XP pro disk could not be activated because I have activated it too many times. I have owned the XP pro disk since 2001 and over the years because of Windows crashes and hardware failures have reinstalled many times.
I completely changed over to Ubuntu linux 2 days ago.
I will never use a Microsoft product again. Microsoft should not and will not tell me anymore that I cannot use a product that I bought and paid for
and is in my own home.