Are you still buying CDs?
This spring, I picked up some CDs at yard sales for $1. With singles selling for 99 cents or more on iTunes, all it takes is a couple of good songs per album to make CD resale a deal for buyers. And after uploading the music to my computer, I can even resell the CD at my next garage sale. (Editor’s note: OK, don’t actually do this last part, or the police and the blog commenters will hunt you down.)
But it goes beyond resale. Some people have other motives for buying music — new music — in CD form. Peter Kafka from All Things Digital shares his thoughts on why that might be:
My hunch is that, increasingly, the people who are buying music in physical form are divided into two groups. There are the people buying it as an afterthought along with gum and other impulse buys stacked near the cash register. And there are the people buying it because they really like stuff — physical, tactile stuff — which might be as important as the music itself.
He also notes that half of Lady Gaga’s sales — during the same month her album was promoted for 99 cents on Amazon.com – were from hard copies.
Do you still buy media in physical form? Have you transferred that DVD collection to your hard drive, or are you displaying it in your living room?
– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter
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58 comments Add your comment
Leigh
June 24th, 2011
7:50 am
I like physical CD’s. I like the case. I like the inserts. I read the liner notes as I am listening. Guess I am old. LOL!
Shh…I also buy cassettes at yard sales sometimes. My car still has a cassette player.
My new phone has a Zune built in, but I am not using it. I just listen to Iheartradio.
mystery poster
June 24th, 2011
8:04 am
Agree with Leigh. I love the tactile experience of opening a CD, looking at the liner notes, looking at the cases, etc.
By the way, buying a CD, uploading the contents, then selling it is a violation of copyright laws.
Bullhusker
June 24th, 2011
8:24 am
Thanks mystery poster.
Being in the copyright business, it totally floors me that people choose to ignore copyright. It is stealing, taking away someone’s property to upload or share copyrighted materials. You can upload to your iPhone or iPod for personal use and keep the CD but selling it is wrong.
If it were legal, one CD could be bought, all tracks placed on the Internet for free, and that would be it. The laws are logical and difficult to enforce. You have to rely on the honesty of people which, unfortunately, is increasingly in shorter supply.
Greg
June 24th, 2011
8:30 am
I buy it all.. CD’s, Cassettes and Vinyl! Cassettes and Vynil can be converted to Mp3’s with software and the use of course or a cassette player and turntable. As a Dj, I love to have and keep vinyl records. Its that original sound I guess.
I am very selective with current CD’s because most are garbage and not worth the money, but what I do buy I keep.
Lose a hard drive…lose your music..hard copies can always replace the lost music.
AceUnderwood
June 24th, 2011
8:40 am
I still love the experience of buying CDs, going through the liner notes, reading and learning the lyrics. It’s part of the music for me. I tend to develop more of a connection with the artists whose music I buy in physical form. I save most of my iTunes/Amazon mp3 purchases for the “disposable” music. Greg said it best, I’ve had a couple of instances where my HDs and backups have been lost…and I’ve had to start all over again.
Greg
June 24th, 2011
8:41 am
I agree..when I read…the writer buys CD’s, uploads to her computer and sells…that got me scratching my head faster than my hand on a Technics 1200.
You are not supposed to do that!!
markie mark
June 24th, 2011
8:49 am
I too want the experience of owning the physical copy of the music. And as a hardware tech on one of the worlds largest tech support desks here in Atlanta…..you dont want to know how many failed hard drives (even in RAID 5 configuration for those techs out there) that I deal with that failed every day.
Pee Wee
June 24th, 2011
8:54 am
Please re read the article.I don’t believe Lauren is advocating any illegal activity. Keep up the good work Lauren. You’re doing a fine job!
redhousecat
June 24th, 2011
8:55 am
I haven’t bought a new cd in quite a while. I do buy used cd’s at thrift stores or yard sales though. Guess I am contributing to the copyright infringement. Unfortunately, I still have those CD’s packed in a box somewhere after I digitized them.
in regards to copyright infringement comments; I’m going to assume about 99% of the population has shared a song in one form or another. Probably as much as someone exceeding the speed limit. Just because it is “illegal” doesn’t mean folks will stop doing it. Just remember, prentention, is just as ugly as copyright infringement.
Lauren Davidson
June 24th, 2011
9:17 am
Morning, y’all! Thanks for the thoughtful discussion this morning. On copyright: in that case, I just won’t resell. The point is that I don’t mind buying the physical items when I can streamline everything onto one hard drive. =D
iplawyer
June 24th, 2011
9:17 am
copyright is also a criminal offense, so this young lady just admitted that she is a criminal. wow.
joe
June 24th, 2011
9:23 am
Still have my cd’s but I have copied them over to my laptop…guess I should sell them and buy a couple gallons of gas this summer…
joe
June 24th, 2011
9:25 am
@ Greg, you are not supposed to speed either, but I’ll bet you do that just like everyone else…
timthebrave
June 24th, 2011
9:32 am
I buy the cd’s if I really like the artist…..I then put it on my ipod
Greg
June 24th, 2011
9:35 am
@Joe…actually no I do not speed at all. My wife tells me I drive like an old man..!!…LOL
Mike
June 24th, 2011
9:39 am
Still buy used CD’s and vinyl. I find myself buying more vinyl now. I enjoy going to used record stores and browsing. You never know what you might find. I burn my albums to CD to listen to at work or in the car. I don’t download to my computer.
Curious
June 24th, 2011
9:39 am
Was it illegal when I used to record/tape songs off the radio on my cassette player? Just curious where the boundry was on my mix tapes.
iplawyer
June 24th, 2011
9:41 am
lauren, 17 USC 506 states that copyright infringement can be a criminal offense. what you are doing, even if it can be termed criminal, will almost certainly not be prosecuted by the feds. please just respect the artists and the people that made that CD.
Fredrico Hobbs
June 24th, 2011
9:45 am
iTunes only. It really stinks when your computer crashes and you haven’t backed-up your purchases (happened to me last year, it still hurts). However, the thought of buying a physical CD for $17.99 and all it has is two good songs is a worse option. With iTunes, you can preview and only purchase the songs you like.
iplawyer
June 24th, 2011
9:46 am
@curious: as long as it is for your own personal use, that is fine, but you cant play it in a public performance (i.e. play it at a party or something) or upload it to your facebook page or something, which would constitute copyright infringment.
Mo Schreibman
June 24th, 2011
9:50 am
When 78 needles are available no longer then I will move to the 33 1/3 long play record albums otherwise until then justifying the expense can not be done and besides anyway by then the scientists will have something new like those little tapes I read about in the Popular Mechanics magazine at my foot doctors office last week or maybe last year I think it was.
Slick Rick
June 24th, 2011
9:55 am
Please don’t tell anyone, but I tore the tag off my mattress…
Lauren Davidson
June 24th, 2011
9:56 am
Appreciate the folks who are moving the conversation forward productively. (To those who are concerned about my criminal status, I haven’t done anything. You’re just assuming I have.)
JEM
June 24th, 2011
9:57 am
I love having the physical copy of a CD or album. Especially from artists who put a lot of thought and energy into the packaging, artwork, etc.
And folks, lay off the whole “your breaking the law” junk.
RxDawg
June 24th, 2011
10:03 am
I actually always buy CD’s and rip them on my PC. Never have downloaded music only from ITUNES or Napster. I really don’t like the restrictions that come from apple in regards to ITUNES. I’d rather own the physical media and use it as I please.
RxDawg
June 24th, 2011
10:07 am
“@curious: as long as it is for your own personal use, that is fine, but you cant play it in a public performance (i.e. play it at a party or something) or upload it to your facebook page or something, which would constitute copyright infringment.”
And I think that’s a total crock.
JJ
June 24th, 2011
10:29 am
Everything’s on my iPhone now. I sold all CD’s at a garage sale last weekend.
scooby-doo
June 24th, 2011
11:32 am
Has anyone downloaded music for free from Amazon.com? There are hundreds of independent artists that have great music (and some well known musicians also) that allow you to download their music free of charge off Amazon’s website. I download the majority of my music onto a hard drive and always back up everything just in case. Once in a while I will purchase a physical cd if the price is right and usually it’s a greatest hits albumn so most of the songs are popular. I’m also thinking of buying an iPod to store my music and make it more portable.
Nativeson71
June 24th, 2011
12:13 pm
I agree with and understand the copyright laws.
But how do you explain the legality of Used CD stores or any music for sale at Thrift Stores. Is the law gonna crack down on Goodwill in their vinyl section?
Samantha
June 24th, 2011
12:25 pm
I prever C.D.’s and DVD’s over downloads anyday! Think about it…your computer or any device can break down or get a viurs..where as your c.d. and dvd’s can’t. I still like albums over c.d.’s. Why? Because you can hear absolutely every instrument that is played and it al together sounds better!
Samantha
June 24th, 2011
12:26 pm
Oops…typo…I meant to say ‘I prefer’ and NOT prever…sorry
Cloud
June 24th, 2011
12:53 pm
To those that are concerned with storing their music (or anything else) on their computer due to the potential of a crash, why don’t you move your files to the cloud? Google, Amazon, and I am sure many others, have this service available for a very minimal cost (I think Amazon’s is free). That way you can access your files from any capable device and if your computer dies/gets stolen/burns up in a fire you will still have everything that you own. Easy. Plus, this saves a ton of energy by not having to have someone make/ship/print the media.
Mike
June 24th, 2011
12:58 pm
I’m one of those older guys. I LOVE music. Used to buy albums all the time. Now it’s CDs. I own an ipod and love it, but use it only when I run. I’ve never downloaded anything from itunes. Most likely never will. I rip my own CDs to itunes. ALL CDs sound better than anything you get from itunes. I hate the sound of compressed music. Reminds me of an old transistor radio (remember those?). One tip: if you rip your own music to itunes, change the default rip rate to at least 320 mps. This will dramatically improve the sound. ALL ipods come preset at a much lower rate. You need to change this yourself to get the improvement. Second thing is toss the headphones that come with any ipod. They are JUNK. Any other headphone sounds better. I purchase around 75-100 cds a year. Amazon even sends me a Christmas Card, they know me so well.
mystery poster
June 24th, 2011
1:09 pm
@ Nativeson71
It is my understanding that it is fine to sell and buy used CDs. You are not doing anything legally or morally wrong if you do that.
What is NOT legal is for you to buy a CD, copy it or rip it to your computer, then sell it.
If you buy a used CD you have no way of knowing if the previous owner did that, you just need to hope for the best and have faith that they did the right thing.
Sweetpunkin
June 24th, 2011
1:11 pm
I enjoy looking through CDs and have an actual copy. I love looking at the pictures, reading what the artists had to say, and learning the lyrics. I am the same way with DVDs in that I have so many. It took me days but I put all my music on my computer as well and have my computer back up so I would not have to go through the hassle of putting on my music back on.
MJ
June 24th, 2011
1:16 pm
I am not big on downloading, so I still like to buy CD’s if they are cheap and if I have the money. I also still use a cassette player and I still listen to my cassette tapes. I am old school.
Logistical
June 24th, 2011
1:44 pm
This reminds me that I need to go used CD shopping.
G
June 24th, 2011
1:44 pm
So do the Goodwill, and other outlets that resale used music pay artist royalties?
Joanna
June 24th, 2011
2:33 pm
It’s a toss-up. I try as much as possible to buy physical CDs of albums. It’s appealing to me to have a hard copy. It’s nice to hold the disc and I enjoy the inserts. Also, because it’s tangible, I’m more likely to remember what discs I have, rather than having to guess and endlessly browse through my computer music library.
However, it’s so nice to download CDs to my computer without having to deal with traffic to get to the nearest record store. Sadly, it’s getting harder to find certain discs. The big box stores are reducing what CDs they carry to the ones that sell–the hits. The one independent record store in my area just stopped selling new CDs because they can’t compete with the prices of the big box stores. Now they just sell used discs.
I looked several places recently to find The Smithereens’ new album. I had to order it from Amazon. Because it’s taking forever for delivery, I now wish I had downloaded it.
BeachBum
June 24th, 2011
2:57 pm
It really depends no the artist for me. If it is an artist whose music I normally enjoy, I am buying the CD. That way, I don’t have to be concerned about someone breaking into the car and stealing my iTouch. They can have the CD, because it is already loaded into iTunes if I need it. If it is a song from an artist I am not familiar with, or only enjoy limited selections of their music, then it is off to purchase the digital copy.
And, to be quite honest, I don’t like being indebted to buy Apple products to listen to my entire music catalog.
Pee Wee
June 24th, 2011
3:26 pm
I’m looking for 45 rpm’s of The Monkees.
Dave
June 24th, 2011
3:40 pm
I still ike CDs. It just seems so much better to have the physical copy with liner notes, etc.
fes
June 24th, 2011
3:55 pm
after downloading the cd to give it a test drive, i’ll buy it if it’s any good. i will not buy digital only because there’s no recourse if your drive dies and the cd liners are still part of the music experience for me. if artists would bother to put out quality discs from start to finish, i wouldn’t pirate at all though. ;P copyright smoppyright. what about rights for the consumers? oh right, you don’t care about us do you iplawyer? piracy will never go away as long as the majority of released music stinks.
KA
June 24th, 2011
4:01 pm
I buy the CD’s because I like the artwork and inserts, and I don’t use an I-pod. I still cherish my old vinyl albums, too.
V. Maurice Wilson
June 24th, 2011
4:02 pm
I prefer “hard” dvd’s because of the picture (or art) on the cover and the little pamphlet that sometimes comes with it. I don’t take dvd’s with me so I don’t need electronic format as much as….
for music, I’m electronic all the way. I still keep some of my old cd’s because I gave half to my local library. I keep four copies of each song (mp3 player, hard drive, 2 flash drives). I just don’t see the point of cd’s because I generally buy music by the song.
Elliot Garcia
June 24th, 2011
4:13 pm
bloggers can be so cruel Lauren….
dime store lawyers
June 24th, 2011
5:25 pm
I don’t believe there is anything in the law that prohibits you from copying your CD to your computer and then selling the CD. You are allowed to make the copies for your personal use and you are allowed to sell the CD under the first sale doctrine. Agree with the activity or not, it is not illegal.
Winnie
June 24th, 2011
8:32 pm
I buy almost exclusively iTunes. I used to hate when I heard a song I really liked, bought the CD, and the rest of the songs were nothing like the one I liked. I do miss the liner notes though. I used to read every last word – even the “thank yous”. It was fun to read.
E-Lane
June 24th, 2011
9:33 pm
I prefer CD’s. The sound
quality of downloaded music isn’t nearly as good as that of a CD. Besides…as someone previously said, if you lose your phone or your iPod….or if someone hacks the cloud, you’ve still got your compact discs to listen to!
markscottmusic.com
June 25th, 2011
9:24 am
I agree with some of the folks above – I like having the original CD because I can play it on any device at any time. I have a PC computer and an iPhone and a few times with downloaded songs, you get these pop-ups when you try to play it about “renew your license” or “you need to do XYZ to listen to this song…” Never seems to be a rhyme or reason about which songs it happens on when, it’s just really annying. You know what, if I bought it, I should be able to listen to it whenever I want and not jump through five minutes of online hoops to listen to a 3 minute song.