All Boarded up - Will CDs Survive

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TomD

TomD

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A feared omen of things to come.

It finally happened. My favorite store closed today; Record & Tape Traders now closed all of its stores, except for one that is far away.

This is seriously disappointing. It was the only place that stocked those hard to get titles, and sold new and used so the inventory was always dynamic. They even had the best prices and would run weekly specials. Routinely they sold a card for six bucks that allowed one dollar off for each disk, up to fifteen dollars off total. I actually got Dream Theater’s Score for five dollars because it has three disks and the original cost was only $8, and that was new.

I will really miss that place. It was by far my biggest supplier of CDs and music DVDs.

Am i to join the ranks of Wal-Mart consumers searching for the biggest hits!!!! AAHHGG

The person there told me that CDs are on the way out. I never accepted that but now, i don’t know. This is an eye opener. Are CDs a losing proposition doomed to the faith of the 8-track?

I may have to look into that new contraption, what was it . . . a squishbox . . or something.
 
Happy frolicing for Brittany Spears and Rhianna. HAHA. Oh, and Jay Zee and the latest "Idol" artist.

If you like classical then you're sh1t out of luck. But if you like Jazz then you might fare a bit better. You might find some Miles Davis (we all need sixth copy of "Kind of Blue", don't we), and if you're in a big place you may even see some reprints of Louis Armstrong stuff!! Yee-haa, hold on to your hat!

And if your musical taste is slightly more refined and mature than the latest Beyoncé single, I might see you on other parts of the internet!

Don't forget your local artists either! And yes, the Squeezebox is awesome.
 
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TomD said:
... Are CDs a losing proposition doomed to the faith of the 8-track?

I may have to look into that new contraption, what was it . . . a squishbox . . or something.
Click to expand...


Yep, the arc of the CD is now beginning to wane, but it will be many a year before they go extinct.

Since, in their infinite wisdom, record companies killed any hope of a viable high-rez medium (thanks to SACD / DVD-A wars), the good 'ol CD will be the most viable physical medium for many more years. BluRay will start delivering high-rez multi-channel audio, but at low volumes.

Downloads will continue to increase in popularity, and as long as people adopt reasonable off-site backup strategies, it should be a happy conversion.

The secondary market for CD's is huge (look at Amazon seller offerings, incredible deals). And there are plenty of reputable places to obtain CD's from online, and you can even hear previews and read end-user reviews of the discs. I've found more new and interesting bands and discs this way than I ever would in a store.

Matter of fact, the last CD I bought in a brick&mortar store was over a decade ago. UPS delivers baby !

Of course, the first thing that happens to a CD when it enters my home is to get ripped to the music server and promptly shelved.

So yes, load up on squishboxes and streamium stuff and don't look back. :cool:
 
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I don't think it is an omen so much of the demise of CD's as it is an omen of the demise of the retail chain store as a distribution mechanism. You can still get any CD that isn't out of print from a number of online retailers. Personally, I like Music Direct, CD Universe, CD Baby, Acoustic Sounds, and Elusive Disc.

By the way, I fully expect the same thing is going to happen with books over the next few years. So better enjoy browsing in a bricks and mortar bookstore while you can.
 
You know Rich, sad as it is, you make a good point...........but I will say as I travel about the best place for 'brick and mortar' music stores is in most of the 'College towns' in our country. I remember a few jems in Lawrence a couple of years back.

As for me, I've got the 'Mad Platter' in West Chester and when back home in Western NY there's 'Record Archive' and 'The Bop Shop' in Rochester, two excellent venues.
 
TomD said:
A feared omen of things to come.

It finally happened. My favorite store closed today; Record & Tape Traders now closed all of its stores, except for one that is far away.

Am i to join the ranks of Wal-Mart consumers searching for the biggest hits!!!! AAHHGG
Click to expand...

Ahhh....consider youself lucky. My favorite local music store closed down over five years ago. Unfortunately that left Target and Best Buy the only stores close to me :sad: :duh:. Amazon has been my goto place since. At least it gives me an option to get a 30 sec sound bite of each song.
 
aside from worst buy and tragert and wallyworld I have no idea where to buy a cd locally
 
twich54 said:
You know Rich, sad as it is, you make a good point...........but I will say as I travel about the best place for 'brick and mortar' music stores is in most of the 'College towns' in our country. I remember a few jems in Lawrence a couple of years back.

As for me, I've got the 'Mad Platter' in West Chester and when back home in Western NY there's 'Record Archive' and 'The Bop Shop' in Rochester, two excellent venues.
Click to expand...

Dave,

It is interesting that you say that. My go-to place for CDs is CDepot in College Park, just 5 minutes north of Univ. of MD. Great place to find hidden gems. I think once downloading and storage options become easier and more widely available, the CD will become a niche product just like SACDs are now. The future is upon us. Invest in a good DAC...
 
twich54 said:
You know Rich, sad as it is, you make a good point...........but I will say as I travel about the best place for 'brick and mortar' music stores ......
Click to expand...
Dave, the next time you are in Montreal you should visit Archambault on Berri Street (downtown). Their collection of CD's is amazing. They have good jazz and classical sections, as well as a huge Latin section. I have no idea what their rock section is like as I don't listen to the stuff.
 
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One of my local haunts (Barts in Boulder) recently closed too. I didn't buy a lot of CD's from them, but they also had a fine vinyl section upstairs that I used to love browsing and I spent a lot of money there over the years. :(

Fortunately I still have other independant places I can go (Black and Read, Wax Trax and Twist & Shout), but I was disappointed when first Tower Records went under followed by Virgin here in Denver last year. The local Barnes and Nobels and Borders used to have pretty good music sections, but they are pretty much gone too. I do give the local guys some business everytime I go in. Long live local independent record stores I say!!!
 
If you are in search of classical music, try Arkiv music.

Outstanding selection.

I agree with Rich that "retail" stores can no longer compete with the e market.

Not much of a surprise since this has happened with many other "product" categories.

GG
 
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