New Wave Outpost Forum

Are cd's still selling in other parts of the world such as Europe, Asia, Australia, etc.? In the US, asides from me, my collector friends and quite a few of us in the NWOutpost, I really don't know anyone who buys cd's anymore. Is this the same worldwide?

It's just really a bummer. People keep on asking me why I buy cd's but in all honestly, I still find so much enjoyment when I received one.

[quote]Originally posted by Sean
[br]Are cd's still selling in other parts of the world such as Europe, Asia, Australia, etc.? In the US, asides from me, my collector friends and quite a few of us in the NWOutpost, I really don't know anyone who buys cd's anymore. Is this the same worldwide?

It's just really a bummer. People keep on asking me why I buy cd's but in all honestly, I still find so much enjoyment when I received one.
[/quote]

They'll be gone by the end of the decade. With most record chain stores out of business, even the multi-stores like Best Buy and Target have really cut back on their stock. It's depressing if you like physical product. Nowadays you've got a whole generation of young adults that never owned any physical product so they could care less.

The radio side of things is just as bad. Labels are sending more mp3's than CD's to stations these days. It's cheaper for them to just mail out attachments rather than spending the $$$ to manufacture discs. The downside to that, for us, is that they're tending to just mail out the mp3 of the single they want you to play and don't follow through with the whole album later on.

I didn't know they still made them.

Also, release dates mean absolutely nothing to me. My three favorite CD's right now are The Hold Steady, Gaslight Anthem and Against Me! None have been released.

Ghosty -

I so agree with your observations. The idea that these kids and radio stations today are merely getting mp3s devoid of the album experience is startling. As in, holy crap ! Great point.

<p align="justify">I buy cds and dvds all the time. I'm ocd about owning the physical product. I don't pay for mp3s, nor do I include mp3s and burned cds as part of my music/cd collection[}:)]


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As a devoted vinyl album collector it may sound strange to hear me say this, but it really doesn't worry me that kids miss out on the album experience.

My mom's collection of 50's rock records was all 45's -- her generation didn't bother with albums. It's not a new notion that kids only search out one song per artist, then are off to the next big thing. (My guess is that albums - albeit mp3 albums - - will at some point see a resurgance; but it will take a major band with the talent and mass appeal of say the beatles or u2 to accomplish this).

But to answer the original question, every day I expect to see the CD section at the local Best Buy or Walmart to be gutted.

To me, what is truly lost is the beauty of the package. The whole visual aesthetic of music is vanishing. I get excited just LOOKING at the sleeves of a 4AD, Stiff, or Factory release. A classic album or 45 cover sleeve can hold as much magic as the music itself --- and these damn kids nowzadays are totally missing out on that !!!

<p align="justify">The few pros about cds are their size (for storage), portability (for cars), and that the players can last for years without a hitch. Records seemed to get warped and scratched more easily (or maybe I just didn't take care of that stuff when I was little) and the equipment was more finicky[}:)]


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Vinyl rules. Cd's good to have physical ownership. How many times has my daughter lost evrything due to a PC crash? Too many times..yet never learns...

Kids are stupid fucking idiots, which is why I have zero desire to have any. How do I know this? Because I was stupid when I was a kid. And today's kids are even stupider than I was. How do I know that? Because if today's kids were smart, they'd know you can't ever recoup your iTunes "investment." You can always sell a CD if you fall on hard times and possibly even hit the jackpot if it goes out of print and demand trumps supply. I think it's safe to say the anti-physical media crowd aren't going to be lucking into a thousand dollars for that prized mp3 of a Short Wave Mystery track.

For the record (pun intended), I don't feel CDs will ever completely go the way of the dodo (unless you're also expecting books to go away too), but I'm pretty sure in the future, you're going to see a lot more digital-only releases. Particularly on crap music that has no appeal to anyone over the age of 18.

Now, get off my lawn.

Great points from a lot of people on here.

Like vinyl, I am banking on the resurgence of CD's 10-15 years from now, (when the kids start having kids and they want to hear the music that dad once stole before internet regulations came in but it got lost because the "hard drive crashed years ago"). I like the hard copy too, the magical mp3 is simply boring as hell and sounds compressed most of the time. The mp3 is devoid of any personality, it just resides on my hard drive or Ipod and shows up only when my computer shuffles it to play.

I looooove when they package the LP with a CD these days, like the new Flaming Lips, Black Keys, or Liars albums...

That is what keeps me interested in checking out new stuff at the physical stores. Music companies should pay attention to the consumer and the fans these days and try more stuff like that. As far as the CD is concerned I think they will become an "audiophile only" type of product, like the MFSL releases. People will keep buying them as long as the industry makes them. Hell, even cassettes are starting to show up again (as bonus material) in some of the ultra trendy Mexican Summer LP releases by Kurt Vile and Real Estate. Go figure.

[quote][i]Originally posted by SomebodySomewhere[/i]
<br>Kids are stupid fucking idiots, which is why I have zero desire to have any. How do I know this? Because I was stupid when I was a kid. And today's kids are even stupider than I was. How do I know that? Because if today's kids were smart, they'd know you can't ever recoup your iTunes "investment." You can always sell a CD if you fall on hard times and possibly even hit the jackpot if it goes out of print and demand trumps supply. I think it's safe to say the anti-physical media crowd aren't going to be lucking into a thousand dollars for that prized mp3 of a Short Wave Mystery track.

For the record (pun intended), I don't feel CDs will ever completely go the way of the dodo (unless you're also expecting books to go away too), but I'm pretty sure in the future, you're going to see a lot more digital-only releases. Particularly on crap music that has no appeal to anyone over the age of 18.

Now, get off my lawn.
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[:D]

I fully believe that we are about 10 years away from getting rid of all physical media (movies, books, CDs) and everything that makes life worth living will exist as '1's' and '0's' inside a small shiny box the size of a packet of matches which will then sit inside our walls and disgorge its contents through recessed speakers and screens.

Personally I fear it and find that world alienating but the 'artless masses' swarming up behind me won't know of anything else and therefore, understandably won't care.