Don't forget the dinosaurs!

[vinteuil]

I just prefer the Qobuz ‘interface’ / ‘user experience’ or whatever the phrase is.

... useful terms =

user experience design UXD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience_design

user interface design UID

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_interface_design

All part of Human-Computer Interaction HCI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human%E2%80%93computer_interaction

.

[Serial_Apologist]

You did and they are. I wish I hadn't sold off almost all of mine when I left the UK in 1993. If I'd held on to them they'd be worth a fortune now.

That's good to know. Not that you sold off all yours in 1993, I hasten to add, but that I've kept most of mine.

[Bryn]

That's good to know. Not that you sold off all yours in 1993, I hasten to add, but that I've kept most of mine.

I think it's the LPs with music generally absent from Radio 3 which tend to have returned to popularity. With 'classical' music the LPs tend to be the new heavyweight vinyl ones that arouse some interest (though not from me, I hasten to add).

[LMcD]

The Happy Dinosaur's Guide To Enjoying Music
1. Select CD
2. Check playing surface for smears of strawberry jam, thumbprints etc. and deal with same.
3. Place CD in CD player (right side down, or up)
4. Listen to CD
As the music plays, one can also read the liner notes, admire the results of one's handiwork in the garden, knock off The Times crossword (the cryptic one, naturally) or watch the TV with the sound off.
Simples!

[teamsaint]

Can anybody find decent stats for how many albums are released on CD ( or vinyl) each year, and how many on download/ streaming only ? I guess we are talking about the bigger labels.
Looking at the sales numbers for CDs, which are very small compared to their peak, I suspect that the Nielsen industry stats substantially underestimate the quantity sold. Many outlets don’t record their sales with Nielsen. In the book industry, rule of thumb ( the one we use anyway) would be that about 50% of sales aren’t recorded.

At any rate, a remarkable number of recordings still get a physical release. Kudos still exists around physical media. Try getting a book reviewer to review an ebook . I wonder if any of the board professionals review non physical releases ?

[Bryn]

Can anybody find decent stats for how many albums are released on CD ( or vinyl) each year, and how many on download/ streaming only ? I guess we are talking about the bigger labels.
Looking at the sales numbers for CDs, which are very small compared to their peak, I suspect that the Nielsen industry stats substantially underestimate the quantity sold. Many outlets don’t record their sales with Nielsen. In the book industry, rule of thumb ( the one we use anyway) would be that about 50% of sales aren’t recorded.

At any rate, a remarkable number of recordings still get a physical release. Kudos still exists around physical media. Try getting a book reviewer to review an ebook . I wonder if any of the board professionals review non physical releases ?

This is more than 2 years old but I do not think the trend has stalled in the interim. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46735093

[teamsaint]

This is more than 2 years old but I do not think the trend has stalled in the interim. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46735093

Thanks Bryn, but I can’t see the stats for number of releases on CD, or alternatively on download only.
Just checked the listings in Dec 2020 Gramophone , and very few classical albums get a download only release

[cloughie]

Thanks Bryn, but I can’t see the stats for number of releases on CD, or alternatively on download only.
Just checked the listings in Dec 2020 Gramophone , and very few classical albums get a download only release

Interesting that some releases are now available on download prior to the CD release, though this may be pragmatism because of delays in getting the physical product on the shelves.

[Edgy 2]

The Happy Dinosaur's Guide To Enjoying Music
1. Select CD
2. Check playing surface for smears of strawberry jam, thumbprints etc. and deal with same.
3. Place CD in CD player (right side down, or up)
4. Listen to CD
As the music plays, one can also read the liner notes, admire the results of one's handiwork in the garden, knock off The Times crossword (the cryptic one, naturally) or watch the TV with the sound off.
Simples!

Step 2.5 make sure the CD selected is the one that belongs in the selected CD case

[Ein Heldenleben]

I have over 2,000 CDs. If I had none, I would have the option of subscribing to a streaming service. But if, for technical or economic reasons, I could no longer access this facility, I would have no music to listen to. As things stand, I have one wall in on one room in my house with CDs that attract interest from friends who visit (though not under lockdown). I have many ways to play these, and am not reliant on internet reliability or subscriptions. This was an issue for several months in 2019.
Anyway, the term “dinosaur” is no longer a good one. These creatures lived on the planet for 150,000,000 years. The human race has been around for a tiny fraction of that and is carelessly and systematically destroying itself.

Dragonflies have been around 250 million years. Homo Sapiens maybe 300,000 years and given the narrowness of our eco niche maybe we’ll be doing well to get another 3,000. The average life of a species is about a million years . I would give CD’s about another 10 years max...

[Ein Heldenleben]

Can anybody find decent stats for how many albums are released on CD ( or vinyl) each year, and how many on download/ streaming only ? I guess we are talking about the bigger labels.
Looking at the sales numbers for CDs, which are very small compared to their peak, I suspect that the Nielsen industry stats substantially underestimate the quantity sold. Many outlets don’t record their sales with Nielsen. In the book industry, rule of thumb ( the one we use anyway) would be that about 50% of sales aren’t recorded.

At any rate, a remarkable number of recordings still get a physical release. Kudos still exists around physical media. Try getting a book reviewer to review an ebook . I wonder if any of the board professionals review non physical releases ?

This is from statista. CD’s look like they are headed the way of the dinosaurs.l

https://www.statista.com/statistics/186772/album-shipments-in-the-us-music-industry-since-1999/

[Anastasius]

I think you miss the point Anastasius, Quobus is streaming or downloads which for anything like decent sound quality requires linking computer to a hifi system.

https://youtu.be/NR7_TbMIVnA

But once you've done it....sit back and enjoy.

[Anastasius]

Although I have been fully retired for a year, I'm pretty sure that I do a lot less seriously attentive listening than some others on this forum and that therefore it wouldn't be worth my while to subscribe to a streaming service. If I spent a lot more time listening, I'm pretty sure that I would become much more interested in the latest recordings. I do use downloads wherever possible: my ageing ears are quite satisfied with 320k mp3. My CD shelves are overfull and I can count at least eight sizeable boxsets bought in the last few years which I'm still working my way through.

We moved here four years ago. My CDs are still in the GB Liners box. Mind you, so is a lot of other 'stuff'. I stream all the time using my mobile and either a decent set of speakers in my workshop or, if I'm outside doing things like log chopping or strimming then I have a pair of excellent Stihl noise-cancelling headphones that Bluetooth back to my mobile. Mobile uses wi-fi to the router.

And I don't pay £12.49 a month .

[Anastasius]

You did and they are. I wish I hadn't sold off almost all of mine when I left the UK in 1993. If I'd held on to them they'd be worth a fortune now.

Yup... I sold on eBay a signed copy of the only jazz LP that the Bird Curtis Quintet made to a Japanese buyer for over £800 !

[Anastasius]

..... I’m a little fearful that some update is going to end the compatibility with the Airport Express at a stroke. ...

Simple solution. Switch off any Auto-update. There is, for me, precious little in all the upgrades etc that I stay put.

We also have a Humax YouView and their recent 'downgrade' has been a right PITA. They disabled the ability to switch off Auto-update but some kind souls have furnished the half-dozen or so web addresses that YouView uses to get the update and so those are blocked on my router. Where there's a will...