Buying CDs. Why?

[neiltingley]

I am curious as to why people are buying CDs when can have a Qobuz or Spotify subscription? The only label I can't get and that I want is Testament but they are stuck in the dark ages anyway! Apologies if I sound like a marketing guy for Qobuz but I use it every day and get all the music I could ever want from it. Even for hires downloads, I don't hear a big enough difference to me to want to shell out for a new remastering. Though I may eat my words and concede that the remastered Solti Ring does sound superb and appears to me to be a step up from the CD incarnation.

If new LPs were sensible priced I have to admit that I'd be very tempted. But it's virtually impossible to get my hands on recordings I want without paying a fortune for a used LP or having the luck the find a new pressing at a mere 30 quid or so.

[pastoralguy]

Hmm. Well, I've just been in my back bedroom where I store my collection of over 10,000 discs! They do take up a lot of space and I can appreciate your point. In fact, rather than over-load my collection of DVDs I've started downloading stuff into a 'cloud' which seems to work well, especially for tv series that I'll probably only watch once.

However, with regard to CDs, I think there is a certain mindset from people of my generation that we want something tangible to hold in our hot, sticky hands. I've been buying records since I was at primary school, (Pinky & Perky, Disney albums etc) and MY feeling is that I want something in exchange for my £'s.

A cd is extremely portable. I remember starting to listen to Fournier's Bach 'cello suites at home, then in the car going to work and completing the experience on the tiny CD player during a night shift at work. I feel that would be difficult to do with a cable connection (except with a degree of forethought which doesn't always chime with the spontaneous nature of music listening).

You can't really give someone a download as a present. (My wife asked Mitsuko Uchida to sign her cd of Mozart piano concertos nos 20 & 21 - the first cd I ever bought her. Not really possible with a download!)

I have listened to CDs on a portable system at the top of Ben Nevis - again, not really practicable with something needing an internet connection.

The CD is MINE! Suppose the company goes bust or someone who provides a part of the signal decides to change their terms and conditions or stop the service all together, what then? The cd is MY contact with the music. What if there's a nuclear holocaust? I could play my discs with battery operated equipment (which I have a store of of in case the worst should happen!) I could at least hear the Pastoral symphony one more time before my skin melted off!

I suppose the point I'm making is that there is no relationship with a download whereas I want a physical relationship with my music carriers. I still have the first two CDs I ever bought and I love playing them and seeing that they haven't changed whereas I have.

One other thing. I recently read a fascinating book about the history of the cinema. I was raving about it to a friend with similar interests and said 'I must loan you it'. I spent half an hour looking for it until I remembered I had downloaded it onto my kindle! So I ended up buying a paper copy in the end!

[Stunsworth]

A cd is extremely portable. I remember starting to listen to Fournier's Bach 'cello suites at home, then in the car going to work and completing the experience on the tiny CD player during a night shift at work. I feel that would be difficult to do with a cable connection (except with a degree of forethought which doesn't always chime with the spontaneous nature of music listening).

I have listened to CDs on a portable system at the top of Ben Nevis - again, not really practicable with something needing an internet connection

Small point, but both Qobuz and Spotify allow you to download music to a portable device so that you can listen while offline.

[gurnemanz]

Just read pastoral's post. My points are similar.

I have many CDs already (a wall full) and like adding to them (+ a load of my daughter's CDs which she transferred onto her iTunes device before leaving home.)

I quite like being able to see, to pick up and handle what I own.

I sometimes buy them as presents for people, possibly wrapped in pretty paper and a ribbon tied in bow.

I have got used to the concept of an album (LP/CD) as an entity of approximately one hour's music (with a picture on the front).

I have downloaded quite a few things but mostly only if
a) they are a much cheaper than CD
b) they are not available as CD
c) I want specific tracks, not the whole album
… but I have found that the tagging and labelling in terms of artist, composer, orchestra, soloists, genre, file name, track title etc are inconsistently, confusingly and annoyingly presented. This applies especially to classical music.

I have not come to terms with dividing stuff into files and folders.

I don't have to constantly worry about backing up.

I will admit that if I was just starting to collect I might well move over to download. I assume that CDs will eventually be phased out.

[pastoralguy]

Small point, but both Qobuz and Spotify allow you to download music to a portable device so that you can listen while offline.

Yes, I used to transfer music onto a top of the range mini-disc player and take it to work until some bugger stole it whilst I was dealing with an emergency situation! My works CD/radio player cost £16 so it's not expensive to replace!

[pastoralguy]

I will admit that if I was just starting to collect I might well move over to download. I assume that CDs will eventually be phased out.

Yes, I agree I would do the same but, having hit 50, I really can't be bothered to start again like I did with CDs whilst I was in my 20's. Once CDs stop being pressed I probably just live with the CDs I have already. I'm not sure I need many more CDs anyway.

[teamsaint]

Yes, I agree I would do the same but, having hit 50, I really can't be bothered to start again like I did with CDs whilst I was in my 20's. Once CDs stop being pressed I probably just live with the CDs I have already. I'm not sure I need many more CDs anyway.

at 3 a day, that would give you 10 years worth of listening, PG.....but I bet you still have something on your wish list.!!

Remote storage like Cloud will gradually, (I suspect) take over, but in general downloads still leave one dependent on the reliability of hard drives etc.

CD's DO have advantages, even now. Personally, I prefer not to be reliant on , for instance the whims of amazon on how they operate cloud, the whims of government on how they allow the internet to operate , and so on.
Mind you, the OP presumably has an excellent point for those who want to test or hear relatively expensive new releases.

Oh, and like PG and most of the rest of us, a lifetime habit like this is hard to break, and I don't want to break it anyway.

[Ferretfancy]

Somebody, somewhere, will always be able to build a CD player, even if by then the discs themselves may be obsolete. After all, we are still able to play 78s and even phonograph cylinders. Will this be true of material on the internet ? I'm not convinced. The plain fact is that the companies concerned will happily allow the various systems we have now to disappear as soon as new ones become available with little respect for the consumer.

I still have a very large collection of CDs and LPs catalogued and cross referenced on an old Appleworks 6 database. It's very useful to me, but if I ever buy a new iMac I will not have access as the latest word processing software does not support it, and this after only a dozen years of use. In the event I will just have to remember where all the items in my collection are, or spend months doing data entry on a new system.

Better a bird in the hand than two in the cloud.

[umslopogaas]

Ah, pastoralguy, I've had that conversation with an old friend: "You dont need any more records!" (LPs, not CDs). No, I know that, dear, but you dont understand. Collectors dont need their collections, they just like to collect. I buy CDs too, usually when Gramophone says it is a good disc and it is music I dont know: I'm getting old and have enough recordings of Beethoven symphonies, I dont want any more however good they are. Since there is no Mrs Umslopogaas to complain about the clutter, every wall in the house that can bear the weight is covered in LPs, seven thousand really do take up a lot of space. I only (!) have about a thousand CDs and they dont take up nearly so much space, though give me time, every month there are a few more.

My nephew gets the LPs when I shuffle off. He said he wanted them, but I need to get him down here to discuss, I'm not sure he quite knows what he is letting himself in for.

I've no interest in downloads, I like to own a real object. I know I could burn a download onto a CD and make my own copy, but I cant be bothered. And concerning the eventual disappearance of CDs, I think this is inevitable, but, like LPs, there will be vast quantities of second-hand ones around for ages. And unlike LPs, they will most be undamaged and in good condition.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have downloaded quite a few things but mostly only if
a) they are a much cheaper than CD
b) they are not available as CD
c) I want specific tracks, not the whole album

"c" is interesting because it could mean that the recording companies are losing out on a bigger sale by selling every track separately.

I will admit that if I was just starting to collect I might well move over to download. I assume that CDs will eventually be phased out.

Some of my young students say they buy CDs for full albums and downloads for singles.

[Dave2002]

One reason for buying CDs is to give away as gifts. Some CDs (maybe they were available once) are now only a available as downloads.

Somehow it seems a bit rough and ready to do a download and then burn a CD to give away, though some younger people may be quite happy to have a copy on a USB stick, or even sent via some electronic transfer method - cloud/dropbox etc.

[Stunsworth]

One reason for buying CDs is to give away as gifts

Indeed, and I'm giving some friends a box this Christmas.

Rather like electonic v paper books, there's room for both IMHO. It's often portrayed as being one or the other, but that's not the current reality. One possible adantage of downloads that hasn't been mentioned is that there's no longer any need for a record company to delete titles as the cost of storing them on a server is minimal compared to the cost of producing and distributing CDs.

[VodkaDilc]

However, with regard to CDs, I think there is a certain mindset from people of my generation that we want something tangible to hold in our hot, sticky hands. I've been buying records since I was at primary school, (Pinky & Perky, Disney albums etc) and MY feeling is that I want something in exchange for my £'s.

This sums it up for me. I think the format will outlive me - and I've no desire to download much, apart from the occasional train timetable.

[Anna]

One reason for buying CDs is to give away as gifts.

I can supply name and address... always open for your dscards ........

[MrGongGong]

I am curious as to why people are buying CDs when can have a Qobuz or Spotify subscription? .

I'm curious why people still listen to violins when the synthesiser has been around for many years !