CDs no more after 2012!

[Mike Osadciw]

Ok, so it appears that CDs will start disappearing after 2012...! What's everyone's plan of attack going to be?

Will you download?
Will you insist on never purchasing a compressed and peaked data-reduced MP3?
Will you resort to vinyl?
Will you hold out for a next generation format? (e.g. BD-Audio, or USB-like device?)

What's your feelings?

http://www.side-line.com/news_commen...=46980_0_2_0_C

You read it well. The major labels plan to abandon the CD-format by the end of 2012 (or even earlier) and replace it with download/stream only releases via iTunes and related music services. The only CD-formats that will be left over will be the limited edition ones, which will of course not be available for every artist. The distribution model for these remaining CD releases would be primarily Amazon which is already the biggest CD retailer worldwide anyhow.

3 weeks ago we heard it for the first time and since then we have tried getting some feedback from EMI, Universal and Sony. All declined to comment.

The news doesn't come as a surprise to those who have been working in the business. In a piece that was published in a q&a with the Alfa Matrix people back in June 2011 in the 1st issue of "Matrix Revelations", our chief editor Bernard Van Isacker said the following when asked if a CD would still exist in 5 years: "Yes, but in a different format. Normal CDs will no longer be available because they don't offer enough value, limited editions on the other hand will remain available and in demand for quite a few more years. I for one buy only limited editions because of the added value they offer: a nice design, extra bonus gadgets, etc. The album as we know it now however will be dead within 5 years, if it isn't even sooner. I predict that downloads will have replaced the CD album within the next 2 years. I don't see that as something negative, it just has run its course, let's leave the space to limited editions (including vinyl runs for bigger acts) and downloads instead."

It's a move that makes completely sense. CD's cost money, even when they don't sell because there is stock storage to be paid; a label also pays money to distributors when CDs get returned to the labels when not sold and so on. In short, abandoning the CD-format will make it possible to just focus on the release and the marketing of it and no longer focus on the distribution (since aggregators will do the work as far as dispatching the releases to services worldwide) and - expensive - stock maintenance. In the long run it will most surely mean the end for many music shops worldwide that only stock and sell CD releases. In the UK for instance HMV has problems paying the labels already and more will follow. It makes the distribution of CDs no longer worth it.

Also Amazon will benefit from this as it will surely become the one and only player when it comes to distribution of the remaining CD productions from labels. Packaged next to regular album downloads via its own Amazon MP3 service it will offer a complimentary service.

The next monument to fall? That will be printed magazines as people will want to consume their information online where they also read most of the news.

[pharsyde]

Anything but compressed audio files for my listening setup (and my ears). Same goes for my ipod listening at the gym, although I am less stringent in this regard. I appreciate better quality music more than I ever did through my system, sounds nice. BD-Audio, such as my music concerts, are great too.

I think this migration from CD to downloaded format will give consumers consistent, better quality options. Mainstream CD quality , seems to me, hit or miss. With downloading, customers can expect better product description and have more options for high resolution audio. Downloading, of course, is super convenient too.

great topic mike

[Donnie]

I mainly listen to vinyl anyway. I would listen to Bluray audio if it takes off. I suppose (hope) high quality downloads will be more prevalent (available on itunes, for example) if the cd dies.

[John72953]

This is a sensationalist article IMO, which has been making the rounds on every audio and music forum around. My answer to the statement: HOGWASH! The Compact Disc, although dying a death much faster than we'd like, is still quite alive and represents a source of revenue that is in the billions, and far more than those generated by digital downloads. It would be suicide for record companies to cut off those revenues within 2 years.

[AlienTech]

18% of Americans have no internet, only 68% have broadband and the numbers are similar for Canada (using real broadband speeds not the governments fake numbers they use to make themselves look good) That's a lot of potential customers to cut off. How many of those are actual digital/downloaded music users?? Not everyone today or by the end of 2012 has an ipod or similar device and not everyone has a PC hooked up to their stereo/home theater. So what are they going to listen to this downloaded music with?

I can't imagine downloading a full CD without broadband.

This article does seem off base, especially with the timing. I can see the CD going away in 10 years though.

Keep in mind Sony was still making the Walkman in 2010 studios are so greedy they won't risk leaving a nickle on the table LOL!

[Suave]

Great topic indeed Mike!

There is no question that the CD format will eventually disappear. Will it happen as soon as the end of 2012? I personally don't think so either but the transition from CD to digital will surely continue at a brisk pace.

As AlienTech points out, first and foremost it has to make financial sense to music labels. Until nearly all consumers have high-speed internet and an iPod, this won't make sense.

Surely as more digital downloads become available in high resolution, they will eventually be accepted by most music listeners. What will also make digital music more attractive is the seamless integration of the iPod/iPhone/iPad into music systems - features like AirPlay will have a very important role in this. But until these products trickle down into more affordable devices they will be out of reach for most consumers.

I think that we all have to accept the fact that the CD is going away and adapt to the ever evolving world of music, as listeners. I will personally continue to purchase CDs as long as they are available but at the same time I find myself purchasing digital music more frequently than ever before. I'm also contemplating upgrading my 2-channel system to integrate my iPhone and iPad with the addition of a streaming component like the ones offered by Naim and Micromega.

[AlienTech]

personally I will never buy an Apple product (and I'm not alone in that mindset) so I'm not sure how

the seamless integration of the iPod/iPhone/iPad into music systems

solves the problem.

Until there is a universal format, like the CD that I can play on the device of MY choice, I'm not sure this digital revolution is going to happen as quickly as the pundits are proclaiming.

Consumer choice is the fundamental principle of the capitalistic environment we live in. Take away that choice and someone will lose market share.

[Suave]

I just realized that I forgot to respond to this statement from the original post:

The next monument to fall? That will be printed magazines as people will want to consume their information online where they also read most of the news.

It's undeniable that more and more people read their news online and rely heavily on the Internet for product information and reviews. The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of our time - it has literally changed our world. Will magazines, newspapers and books completely disappear one day? I think that it is possible, although unlikely to happen as quickly as some might think.

I own both an iPad and a Kindle book reader - and I enjoy them both very much but they haven't replaced my print magazines and books. Several months ago we also released our own iPad/tablet version of CANADA HiFi. This digital version is designed to expand our readership rather than replace our print readers' copies - it is mostly designed for reading by the younger generation that might prefer their information in the digital format and for those who don't live in an area where the printed CANADA HiFi mag is currently distributed.

As the digital editions of magazines/newspapers and books continue to evolve this will change however and more reader might be inclined to pick up their tablet. I guess time will tell

[Suave]

personally I will never buy an Apple product (and I'm not alone in that mindset) so I'm not sure how the seamless integration of the iPod/iPhone/iPad into music systems solves the problem.

Fair enough AlienTech - you're certainly not alone. I myself didn't have much interest in Apple products until I purchased the iPhone 4 and realized just how wonderful these devices are. The lack of a universal format will no doubt stand in the way of the digital format replacing the CD, although how this will play out is anyone's guess. I can't see Apple ever sharing the same docking/connection interface with other manufacturers - its products are simply too popular for this to ever happen. Other manufacturers already have a universal connection interface (USB) although the lack a common docking interface. Perhaps if the manufacturers of other portable music devices got together to develop a new docking interface, we would see docking systems that accept both Apple and other devices at the same time. Will this ever happen though?

Consumer choice is the fundamental principle of the capitalistic environment we live in.

I couldn't agree with you more on this - I certainly love having lots of choice