Re: The CD Format and the Possibly Dark Future of the Music Industry

[Malinda Kopec <malinda_kopec@xxxxxxxxx>]

Agreed...damn shame. I use an iPod for traveling, it is not the main music 
system in my house. And when I'm in the mood to listen to an artist it is a 
compilation of their songs I want to hear. Part of being the 'artist' is 
putting together the song list....

It's great that you can make your own but a lot of the artistry will be lost if 
the industry goes down this path.


--- On Thu, 12/4/08, Nathan Hevensone <nhevensone@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Nathan Hevensone <nhevensone@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: The CD Format and the Possibly Dark Future of the Music Industry
> To: malinda_kopec@xxxxxxxxx
> Cc: blisstrent@xxxxxxxxx, "FBO" <zeppelin@xxxxxxxx>
> Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 1:13 PM
> On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 6:48 PM, Malinda Kopec
> <malinda_kopec@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > How can CD's/Albums become obsolete? Artists
> won't record a collection of songs anymore? They >
> will just release singles? That would be a real loss to the
> music industry, the fans, to everyone in
> > my opinion...
> 
> Like Trent noted, the CD format is close to starting the
> journey of
> becoming obsolete.  In fact, I know some underground
> artists who are
> debating whether or not to even bother releasing albums,
> and instead
> just release singles for iTunes and such that can be
> downloaded for a
> buck a song.  In fact, I heard a rumor through the
> grapevine that
> Apple is discussing the idea of completely removing albums
> and just
> creating Artist Stores where all tracks are just listed
> separately in,
> I guess, alphabetical order (which means concept albums
> will be
> destroyed on them) and people can download them that way. 
> Of course,
> I don't know how true that is because, after all, it
> did come down
> through the grapevine and that doesn't always have the
> best record...
> 
> Personally, once I do release my first album, it will be as
> CD, and,
> if I can afford it, I might even get some vinyl pressings
> done as I
> personally love vinyl.  But the CD format is or will soon
> be starting
> to go out of style, and, in fact, so is (or will) the
> entire idea of
> releasing an album.  Singles are becoming the big thing
> now.  I have
> friends who actually don't own CDs because they
> don't buy 'em anymore
> and after importing the ones they did own onto their MP3
> players, they
> got rid of 'em.  I also know people who don't own
> any entire albums,
> but have only downloaded single tracks that they like.
> 
> The CD format and the entire idea of releasing an album (in
> any way,
> shape, or form) is on the journey to becoming obsolete...
> at least, in
> the mainstream.  I'm sure we'll see it in the
> underground for years to
> come, and maybe if the underground finally does take its
> rebellion
> against Top 40 mainstream (something I hope to do,
> honestly) and win,
> we may see the CD and Album format come back big time.  And
> of course,
> like vinyl records, old CDs will always exist for sale. 
> But for right
> now, the mainstream is investing in singles, all thanks to
> the MP3,
> because that's where the big money is.
> 
> And also thanks to the MP3, you could see uncompressed
> music go out,
> as well, with MP3 being the official release format.  So
> audiophiles
> should be defending their uncompressed or
> lossless-compressed music
> with their life, because one day, those may truly beome
> hard-to-find
> treasures.
> 
> Even worse then that, you might see the entire idea of a
> human being
> writing a song go out of style in the next 20 or so years,
> since more
> and more music companies/record labels are investing in
> getting
> computer programs created that can write entire songs that
> are
> guaranteed to be money-makers.  In fact, you can hear the
> alpha-testing-phase of that in current mainstream rap and
> hip-hop (The
> Roots excluded) and even some mainstream modern Rock (or
> post-grunge,
> as some people like to call it).
> 
> So I guess it's time to start saying your goodbyes to
> the CD, CDDA,
> human-written music, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> Obviously, I'm not saying this is the case.  I could
> very well be
> wrong.  But with the current mainstream trends in music and
> music
> releases, it looks like that above is the path music is
> taking...
> 
> Don't get me wrong... I disagree with it wholeheartedly
> and I think
> it's a damn shame.  I love the album format (especially
> as a huge fan
> of concept albums), and especially vinyl records (but CDs,
> too), and
> if I ever find myself with the power (doubtful, but hey...
> I can
> dream), I'll gladly be part of a fight to keep it from
> dying out.
> 
> But there you go...
> 
> 
> 
>