CDs or Digital Downloads?

Another forum I frequent has started a recent debate about CDs versus Digital Download purchases.

Most of the folks there, like myself, are in bands and do their own recordings.

Personally, I don't see any problems with releasing our music via digital downloads as a purchase option.
I buy stuff of the ITMS quite often, I know that others would.

However, the general consensus of the other forum is that digital download is bad. CDs should be the only way to go for them.

What are your thoughts about what is better/more convenient... Digital purchases or CDs?

I download songs here and there from iTunes on occasion but I still buy most of my music on CDs.

I don't have a problem with digital purchases and do it occasionally but I love CDs and the artwork that comes with them.

Well. I think that downloads will win out ultimately, but not until the issue of quality is resolved. After all a download is never Lossless, so CD's have the edge there, even though most people will rip them to MP3 or whatever anyway.
I buy more downloads now though.
BTW. I hope this isn't another "Ice Cream" thread

Kevriano said:

BTW. I hope this isn't another "Ice Cream" thread

Click to expand...

It's not.

I do both downloads and CDs and don't really have a major preference for either. They both deliver the music to the listener.
One comes instantly via the internet, the other on a plastic platter.

Some of the comments from the other forum seemed ridiculous to me, though.
Some examples:

i couldn't concieve paying for a file because i can't quite see it as having any value.

Click to expand...

files are vulnerable, endlessly adaptable and manipulatable things that don't seem to posses value. they are ammassed in one place, just homogenous data.

Click to expand...

for me digital files have no inherent value

Click to expand...

What will happen to your itunes music when the format becomes obsolete and is no longer supported?

Click to expand...

mp3s have always been worthless to me for the most part

Click to expand...

people paying for something that is not even a product

Click to expand...

i'm a collector of music and digital files just aren't very collectable to me

Click to expand...

In short, these people are saying that a digital download is completely worthless. They're treating it like some random "file" that holds no merit.

The point is... it is still music. It's still a song or album released by talented artists... and seeing that the forum is a music-based discussion board, made up of bands and musicians... well, they just seem like they're forgetting something.

Very odd opinions indeed, especially from people who are musicians. I have spoken to a pro musician who said he won't release a physical CD in the future, but make his albums available as direct download from his web page (this was Pat Travers in case you wondered). Ok, he doesn't have a massive fan base that will buy millions of CD's, but I reckon he will get more interest with downloads.
Any chance of a link to the music site btw - I'm a drummer.

Years ago when I was a somewhat serious collector, I had somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 LPs. My last real collection was unloaded only about a year or 2 after CD's came out. Now, all music is purchased online, primarily from Magnatune and Amazon with a few sparse purchases from iTunes and others.

I am not nearly the audophile snob I was back then, and I do understand that side for a major reason of wanting the physical media. But, most people either don't have/can't afford the equipment required or just are not able to hear the difference.

Now am more into collecting movies and have maybe 1,000 DVD cases.

With the space the disks take up, whether CD or DVD cases, I just don't see the point of relegating that much room to them any longer.

Have just now started backing up all my movies to hard disk space in order to store all the DVD's someplace other than in the Living Room/Fam Rm next to the entertainment center. I think as soon as I can download in 1080P and TruHD I'll move to online purchase instead of disks for this media also.

My preference had always been "hard copy." that being said, I can always make my own high-quality digital copies once I have it on disk.

Furthermore, from an artist perspective, I'd use both. Digital downloads open can open your fan base more and get your music/art more easily accessible (and cheaper) to people who are not local to you.

But like I said, I'd rather purchase a cd/DVD than purchase it online, evens if it is cheaper to buy, from say the ITMS.

I prefer CDs. Why? Because I enjoy having them on a physically handleable medium. I can then put them on my iPod, and listen to them anyway. I do download songs from iTunes when I don't want to get the whole album. If I do want to get all the songs, I'll buy the whole album. Usually iTunes lacks some songs from the whole album, so I get the normal album.

It's always nice to have both. I like having the CD because if the HDD fails for what ever reason bye bye all digital data.

I buy a CD and make a digital copy and but the CD in my archival box. I also like CDs some of them actually have very beautiful artwork or packaging. That's something you won't get with a digital download.

I used to buy a lot of CD's, but once MP3s and iPods took a hold of my collection, I converted the entire thing to digital. Now I rarely buy any CD's, just digital downloads. Also, with the possibility of just buying the songs from a CD that I like and listen to, it's even better.

In my vast collection of CD's, there are only a handful of CD's where I like every song and will listen from beginning to end. In most cases, I only like 2-5 songs from any given CD, so I ended up making mix-CD's or just grabbing those specific songs onto the iPod anyway..

I can see where releasing music only through a physical media might mean you have more control (but you don't) due to people converting it and perhaps sharing it.

I much prefer the current scheme of paying $0.99 per song and if I like the entire CD, whatever the full CD price is.

Regards

I only buy music through downloads.

If I were given something on a CD, I would immediately rip it to my computer, and then discard the disc. The disc is just the packaging that the music comes on.

The format argument is not relevant to me. If I need the audio in a new format, I'll be able to transcode it. The CD is the obsolete format from my perspective; I immediately transcode them to a usable format.

The album vs. song issue is also not relevant anymore. Groups that produce albums will have no problem selling the full albums on iTunes. Groups that produce "hits" and then pad out discs with filler will not be able to sell the filler. This is as it should be. Song bundling is not a viable practice.

D3v1L80Y said:

It's not.

I do both downloads and CDs and don't really have a major preference for either. They both deliver the music to the listener.
One comes instantly via the internet, the other on a plastic platter.

Some of the comments from the other forum seemed ridiculous to me, though.
Some examples:
In short, these people are saying that a digital download is completely worthless. They're treating it like some random "file" that holds no merit.

The point is... it is still music. It's still a song or album released by talented artists... and seeing that the forum is a music-based discussion board, made up of bands and musicians... well, they just seem like they're forgetting something.

Click to expand...

I take it these people don't have checking accounts or direct deposit? Heh, other than when I have to actually pay for something with cash, I never see my money.

It would still suck if you had a download, lost it, and the company you purchased it for was out of business.

I believe there's more money to be made off of downloads as you can provide the product cheaper without having to package it and pay for the physical medium it's on. Plus distribution is opened up to every single person that has an internet connection. Problem I see, is how easy is it for a band to setup a place to charge for their downloads? Plus, unless you're established, it could be pointless to put up a website and start charging.

I guess it's the same as distributing physical media, but I see the general public as more reluctant to pay for and download music from an unknown rather than purchasing a CD at a show or something similar.

I was even thinking of taking the 100's of CD's that are taking up space to the pawn shop for $1-$2 a pop. I haven't touched them in years and there's only a handful of special ones that I would keep.

technologist said:

I only buy music through downloads.

If I were given something on a CD, I would immediately rip it to my computer, and then discard the disc. The disc is just the packaging that the music comes on.

Click to expand...

Other than he Neverender box set by Coheed and something like the Tool DVD/CD box set I got from an ex back in about '00-'01, I feel the same.

I definitely prefer digital downloads. The thing for me is that even if I were to buy a CD, I would rip it right away and still listen to it in digital form and not in CD form. The only time I would probably listen to the CD were if I was really excited to hear the music and I popped the disc into the car. But that would be the only time because as soon as I got home it would be on my iPod and then I would use that to listen to music in my car.

Personally, I like downloads. I used to buy CDs and just rip what I wanted from my mp3 player of the moment (I had cycled through several before I got my ipod touch).

For me the reasons are simple:

1) There are no close, good selection, reasonably priced music stores near by.
2) There is a far greater selection of songs, including older songs on harder to find CDs through portals like iTunes rather then paying an arm and a leg for something on ebay.
3) CDs take a significantly greater amount of space then multiple backup hard drives. My music fits in about 15ish gigs of space (my wifes fits in about 40ish gigs) - I can get several backup harddrives to store our music, us 20 dvds to store an optical backup and still have more room in my house then the equivilant amount of space taken by the CDs
4) I'm not concerned about format changes - if the format changes, I'll either transcode the song to the new accepted format or I'm sure that the players will remain backward compatible and continue to support the current audio formats (AAC, M4A, MP3s) that are most popular with portable devices.
5) I like the ability to purchase a single song at a reasonable price rather then get an entire CD with 8-14 other songs I don't like or want on it.
6) The capture format for most of these songs are of a high enough bit rate and quality that someone like myself - with untrained ears - would find the quality wonderful. Granted, because it's not in a lossless format, it's not a perfect copy, but it's good enough.
7) It is easier for an indie group, or lesser known band to get their work out via digital download as the investment to get a pressed CD made is so much greater then having a master audio file.

Are there risks for going digital? Sure - but if you take care of your digital audio (or video if you download tv shows or movies via itunes or other proper sources) it should be able to last the rest of your life. You do run a risk of losing it - but at the same token you run a risk of a CD getting scratched, stepped on and broken, lost in a move, damaged in a car, etc. I'm not saying the digital download medium is the best and only format in the world - I'm just saying for me I think it's a better solution.

CrimsonRequiem said:

I buy a CD and make a digital copy and but the CD in my archival box. I also like CDs some of them actually have very beautiful artwork or packaging. That's something you won't get with a digital download.

Click to expand...

That's something I forgot to mention. Sure you get the image of the album from iTunes, but really, it's nice to have the album art. Being a fan of bands like Rush and Led Zeppelin (both are bands who use/used incredible artwork), I like to be able to flash them in my CD shelf.



And this:

You do run a risk of losing it - but at the same token you run a risk of a CD getting scratched, stepped on and broken, lost in a move, damaged in a car, etc.

Click to expand...

I think most dedicated music fans would not allow their CD's to be put in risk like that.

I like both, however the vast majority of music I buy is downloads. I like having CD's, and although I will rip them straight into iTunes to go on my iPod I know that I still have a backup.

I end up buying most off iTunes because it is so convenient and I get it straight away. Even though it is usually cheaper to buy a CD off amazon and get it delivered in the post than buying off iTunes.

Movies and TV shows is something I wont buy off iTunes! They are VERY expensive and only really good for playing on iPod. They are encrypted by DRM even if you buy rather than renting. Too restricted for me.

I don't buy much music, but in general I lean toward CD's. However, I have been given some iTunes gift cards so I do some downloads occasionally.

Yea I always buy and download digitally directly through iTunes, it's so much easier and I get get it right when I want. I then will burn it to a CD if I ever need to.