An Inconvenient Musical Truth

http://www.johntk.nl/archives/al%20gore.jpg

After reading an article in the Friday (Nov. 30, 2007) Weekend section of The Oklahoman newspaper, George Lang brought up the subject of declining CD sales to Rob Zombie, and as far as Rob's concerned, the CD format is dead, and he predicts the shiny disc will become obsolete in the next few years. He even predicts that his new live album may be his last musical recording ever because of this.

As an aspiring musician, this is scary. The album and the CD might be disco dead if we don't do something fast. Yes, the major factor in the decline is the decline in the music itself. But that doesn't mean you can't buy music from your favorite artists, new or old.

I've got a lot of CDs on my Christmas list this year, and every little bit helps:
* Britney Spears "Blackout" (2007)
* "Halloween" Original Motion Picture Sountrack (2007)
* Black Sabbath: Greatest Hits: 1970-1978 (2006)
* The Best of INXS (2002)
* Pat Boone "In a Metal Mood" (1997)  ;D
* Led Zeppelin "Physical Graffiti" (1975)

Now, there's some music worth listening, too, whether or not you savor the thought of Pat Boone crooning "Holy Diver" and "Crazy Train."  ;D Another thing they can do is, maybe, only making a short snippet of a song (30 seconds to a minute) available on iTunes, nothing more. Than if they want the full songs/album, they'll have no choice but to buy the CD and ONLY the CD. I usually preview tracks from Amazon and judge from that.

What else can be done about this situation? Feel free to discuss the matter here. If the music industry collapses for good, then it will have a huge impact on Amiright.

Don't Kill The Album

Sale more CDs?

I still buy CDs.  In fact, I've bought 5 new 2007 released CDs so far this year ...

Katharine McPhee (self-titled)
'Soundboy Rock' - Groove Armada
'Carnival Ride' - Carrie Underwood
'X' - Kylie Minogue
'Glorious: The Singles 97-07' - Natalie Imbruglia

Lower the prices.

Lower the prices.


Some stores have started doing that, but not by much.  Some single disc CDs can still cost anywhere from $19.99 to $24.99 which is still ridiculous. 

What can be done to help boost CD sales?

Kill The Internet.

Kill The Internet.


Then we wouldn't be here and that would be not a good thing

Lower the prices.

Seriously.
The prices need to come down, WAAAYYY down.

The best days of the album and cassette tape were when they were priced at $7.99-$8.99.
The music industry needs to realize in the day and age of $3.50/gal gasoline, we just can't freely plop down $45 for two CD's.

Back in the day (well not that long ago) I'd buy 3 or 4 new albums or tapes for about $25, now that will just get me one new CD with tax.
Its no wonder people download music, its just too damn expensive. :P

Oh, and it would help if we had some um, TALENTED artists applied to the CD's too...

Distribute the CD free with a newspaper.

I think the OP makes some excellent points. I'll expand on my thoughts later ('cause I'm a little too tired at the moment), but the idea of only samples being available might help. I actually like that and feel it might be the best of both worlds. When the internet first got popular around 1997/'98 and I looked up music, that was how I decided if it was something I liked or not.

I don't know if CDs will ever be DEAD per se, just because they're such a big format, but I think Rob Zombie is partially right - they're reduced to the point of just being a total standard, and not really something the public is hot about anymore. For instance, with the closure of lots of major record stores, lots of times the only place to buy a new CD is at a place like Target or Walmart, or at a shared place like Borders. Those places often don't have the big selection that the standalone shops did.

Seriously.
The prices need to come down, WAAAYYY down.

The best days of the album and cassette tape were when they were priced at $7.99-$8.99.
The music industry needs to realize in the day and age of $3.50/gal gasoline, we just can't freely plop down $45 for two CD's.

Back in the day (well not that long ago) I'd buy 3 or 4 new albums or tapes for about $25, now that will just get me one new CD with tax.
Its no wonder people download music, its just too damn expensive. :P

Oh, and it would help if we had some um, TALENTED artists applied to the CD's too...


http://www.cheap-cds.com

Distribute the CD free with a newspaper.

:D

Include a stick of bubblegum!


I think the OP makes some excellent points. I'll expand on my thoughts later ('cause I'm a little too tired at the moment), but the idea of only samples being available might help. I actually like that and feel it might be the best of both worlds. When the internet first got popular around 1997/'98 and I looked up music, that was how I decided if it was something I liked or not.

I don't know if CDs will ever be DEAD per se, just because they're such a big format, but I think Rob Zombie is partially right - they're reduced to the point of just being a total standard, and not really something the public is hot about anymore. For instance, with the closure of lots of major record stores, lots of times the only place to buy a new CD is at a place like Target or Walmart, or at a shared place like Borders. Those places often don't have the big selection that the standalone shops did.

The last record store with a respectable classical music section in my town closed last year.  There's only ONE record store left in the entire Valley that has anything approaching decent quantity of jazz, blues, folk, and ethnic music (including clerks who know music), and the guy who runs that store is facing grim prospects.  Wal-Mart's OK if you're a hick, and Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Starbucks are OK if you're totally mainstream/current.  There used to be record stores where you could walk in and ask the jazz guy, "I'm trying to find an album, Ornette Coleman live in Cologne 1966, can't remember the title."  The jazz guy could not only tell you the title but actually find it for you.  Nowadays the kid behind the counter at Barnes & Noble will look at you like you're speaking Martian!

Distribute the CD free with a newspaper.


I read where someone did that in the UK.  Ray Davies I think it was ?


:D

Include a stick of bubblegum!


But how old will the gum be? :D

I read where someone did that in the UK.  Ray Davies I think it was ?

But how old will the gum be? :D

Old enough to own a vinyl copy of Led Zeppelin IV and a turntable to play it on!
;)

I always love when people respond with the answer of "lower the price of CDs".

I know that I remember buying albums when they were still made on vinyl.  And in the mid 1980's, the average single LP cost around $15.  And now it is about 20 years later, and it is still around the same price for a brand new CD (with a lot better quality and more features).

If CDs had followed inflation, then they would cost around $28 each.

In reality, people bitch because they think they should get everything for free.  Even when you can get them legally for around $1 each, they think it is to much and prefer to steal them.  And because this continues, the record companies refuse to take chances.  So they keep making songs by Bittney Agulera, and yet another rap CD by MC Sellmorecrap.  Because even though they will sell only 1 CD for every 20 copies floating around on the net, at least they are guaranteed some return.

And more and more half-tallented performers write their own crappy material nowadays, because the percentage of royalties every year is shrinking more and more.  The day of the independent song writer is largely over, because artists and record companies simply can't afford to give up the shrinking royalty shares.

So quality goes down even more, and even more songs end up sounding exactly the same as the song before.

Lower the prices drastically, and above all make music that is worth buying.

I like having something from my favourite artists, so Mp3's don't really do the whole trick for me. I still download them though, because it just makes sense to only buy albums from the artists you really like.

And a part of me feels like music files should be free. Sell them if you want, it's a free market, but don't be surprised when people don't buy them. Paying even one brass buck for an Mp3 would make me feel like a real rube. I'll buy from the artists I think are worth it, knowing full well that the only way they're ever really going to make any real money from me is if I go and see them live.

Some plastic poppy group fresh out of Hollywood whose $#!++y song I will download simply to get it out of my head, will never see a dime from me. On the other hand, a Canadian artist whose album was probably made with a grant from the Ministry of Culture, and whom I like, I will gladly buy albums, T-shirts, and concert tickets from to support him/her. The Canadian music industry needs to be encouraged and supported (like the independent parallel industry in the States), the American one needs to be toned down, possibly destroyed.

I would rather be castrated with a dull instrument than know that any of my money went to support some trashy, overpaid, talentless trollop like Britney Spears.

As an aspiring musician, this is scary. The album and the CD might be disco dead if we don't do something fast.


It's none of my business how you run your business, but I'd urge you to consider doing what Radiohead did.  Put the music up for download, and ask the downloader what he or she is willing to pay.  Radiohead did it and wound up with more money than they would have gotten if they'd gone the conventional route of publishing through a RIAA label. 

Compared to the days when an album was two sides of 20 minutes each, the switch to the 74-minute CD format provided a perverse incentive; most consumers felt ripped off if artists didn't fill all 74 minutes of the CD. Combine that with RIAA's stranglehold on content -- you cut your album the way RIAA wants you to, or you don't get the contract -- and the aforementioned perverse incentive, and the result was predictable.  40 minutes of music with at least two good tracks (one on each side) slowly became one good track and more than an hour of filler.  (And another $10 if you wanted the three remixes on a "CD-single"!)

Let the CD die.  The sooner the CD dies, the sooner the single and the album can be reborn.  Are you in the business of selling plastic discs or are you in the business of selling music?

The only inconvenient truth is that Recording Industries Are Archaic.

Nothing, let CDs die.  The artists hardly get any money from it anyway.  All your money goes to the executives, producers, the labels, and the RIAA, which they can then use to cover their lawyer fees while suing people, including grandmas whose grandchildren downloaded songs and dead people's families, for downloading music illegally.  They don't deserve a penny from me and the RIAA's horrible tactics and the greed of the recording industy has turned tons of people to downloading illegally.  I've seen plenty of downloaders say that the RIAA's corruption justifies their illegal downloading because they aren't giving money to something like that.

Let the CD die, let the record labels and the RIAA lose their profits.  Then we can see actual musicians selling and profiting of their work, as Radiohead did recently.  They sold their album online for whatever price people would pay.  All the money made from the sales was pure profit straight to the artist.  However, 1/3 of people downloaded it for free...which sounds like a lot, but really isn't when you think about it.  The fact that 2/3 of the people paid for it when they could've gotten it for free speaks volumes.  This should be the future of the industry, not corrupt record labels.

I always love when people respond with the answer of "lower the price of CDs".

I know that I remember buying albums when they were still made on vinyl.  And in the mid 1980's, the average single LP cost around $15.  And now it is about 20 years later, and it is still around the same price for a brand new CD (with a lot better quality and more features).

If CDs had followed inflation, then they would cost around $28 each.
I too bought LPs in the mid-'80s and I rarely paid as much as $15.  I was buying alternative pop back then.  You could reliably find them on sale for $8 to $12.  I would not pay $15 for a domestic release on a major label.  I paid $15 to $25 for special issues and imports.  Of course, in 1987 the labels stoked up the campaign to kill vinyl.  The cassette offered two extra tracks, the CD offered three, and the quality of the records they pressed went waaaay down.  The damn things were warped when you got them out of the shrinkwrap!

By the early '90s CDs were cheaper to manufacture and distribute than LPs.  Evidence of this manifests in every garage band on every block putting out their own CD when they wouldn't have been able to crank out as much as a demo tape 30 years ago!

In reality, people bitch because they think they should get everything for free.
This is the same line the fascist pundits use when they rail against humane social policy. 

  Even when you can get them legally for around $1 each, they think it is to much and prefer to steal them.  And because this continues, the record companies refuse to take chances.  So they keep making songs by Bittney Agulera, and yet another rap CD by MC Sellmorecrap.  Because even though they will sell only 1 CD for every 20 copies floating around on the net, at least they are guaranteed some return.
You can get CD-Rs for $1 each, otherwise I don't know what you are referring to.  The phenomenon of the generic blandness of popular music comes from tastes systematically lowered by MTV and utter control of music by corporate executives who loathe creativity and want only the biggest buck for the least effort.  Radio content is now dictated by central command and there is no such thing as a disc jockey.  I am, but I'm the last of the Mohicans on university radio.  Radio itself will be dead within a decade.  When radio emerged as a viable popular medium in the 1930s, we were a more publically minded nation.  The airwaves were legislated as public property licensed to operators so long as they acted in the interest of the public.  The fascists in the boardrooms are determined never to let such an insult to their Ayn Rand wet dreams occur ever again.  Cyberspace will be ruled by the ruled by commercial interests and the homogeneity of popular music everybody claims to hate will intensify.  As for royalties, the suits figured out decades ago how to cheat the artist out of his fair nickel.  Anyway, the CDs I have, whether I bought them or burned them, are by artists who don't expect to earn a living from CD sales because the music I like never sells more than 10,000 copies.  10,000 units is like Thriller in the world of avant-garde chamber music!
::)

CD sales only had one year over a year gain in this decade and that was in 2004. Other than that CD sales have gone down each year from the previous year in this decade. I think the main reason why CD sales are way down majorly this year is because the artists who have had #1 singles this year are those gimmicky one hit rapper wonders and rap which accounts for alot of CD sales in the music industry now sells on the hot singles rather than having huge CD sales of an album.

I wish the music industry would come out with a product that catered to people who are ages 20+ I mean if your not High School nowdays your not going to be able to relate to todays music. The music industry has been lousy into grabbing onto trends after the first wave of glam raps popularity(2003-2005) died. I mean the last 2 years of music have been boring(2006) or just is mediocre(2007.) I remember reading something on billboard.com 1 or 2 years ago that the music industry caters too 18-34 years olds. Are you kidding what 34 year old could listen to todays music? I mean the only thing I can think of 34 year old listening of todays music is Alicia Keys or that "I Apologize" song. The suits at these labels should be fired. I mean the suits always say well CD sales are down because of downloading. CD sales are down because you guys are not putting out a quality product. I mean the one exception of the music industry not putting out a quality product with cd sales going up was the whole teen-pop thing of 1999-2000 but the great ecomomy then probably spurred the popularity of that music because everybody was so happy then. BTW, I am 28 years old.

IMO, CDs are doomed because of being able to d/l songs for 99 cents.

A new release CD here costs 15-19 dollars and usually has 10-15 songs on it. Most new albums have at best 4 songs that I want to hear more than once. 4$ vs 15+$... not a hard choice.

I do buy greatest hits CDs only because getting 30-40 of that artist's best songs for 25-40$ is a fair deal, and most GH compilations tend to include more than an afterthought insert.

I have enough of my own material recorded that I could put out an EP if I so chose. I've done a cost analysis of this and determined that the only way I could not wind up deep in the red (aside from becoming famous) is to sell singles.

Ant

IMO, CDs are doomed because of being able to d/l songs for 99 cents.


And I hate to say it, but on iTunes you can usually d/l the whole album for $7.99 or less.

i always support buying CDs instead of downloading them for free, but i buy most of my CDs used.... :-\\. so i'm kind of a hypocrite.

i don't understand how one disk albums are still being priced at $18.99. that's the highest i've seen for a one disk album that wasn't an import or rarity. they should be at most $15.

There's nothing that can be done to boost CD sales now. The music industry just needs to embrace the internet. CDs are out and digital music is in. Just like casettes took over vinyls and CDs took over casettes. Digital music is now taking over CDs and the industry needs to realise this. The sooner they fully embrace distributing music over the internet, the sooner the industry will pull itself out of the slump that it's in at the moment. Forget CDs, distribute music over the internet. And the music industry will be fine once more.

The only Music format that is truly dead is the 8-track.

The only Music format that is truly dead is the 8-track.
You do not see many waxed cylinders these days?

You do not see many waxed cylinders these days?
What do you mean?

Records are still being released, but only Emos listen to them, so I hear.

i always support buying CDs instead of downloading them for free, but i buy most of my CDs used.... :-\\. so i'm kind of a hypocrite.

i don't understand how one disk albums are still being priced at $18.99. that's the highest i've seen for a one disk album that wasn't an import or rarity. they should be at most $15.




I've been buying used since the late '90s (although those stores have a selection of new stuff too). That's really the best way to do it, especially since I like alot of old-school music that might not be so easy to find (if at all) in a typical music store. That's a really good way to build up a collection, and far more affordable. Although those wouldn't exist if it weren't for buying albums brand new...they all were new at one point!

I agree with all these three points.


There's nothing that can be done to boost CD sales now. The music industry just needs to embrace the internet. CDs are out and digital music is in. Just like casettes took over vinyls and CDs took over casettes. Digital music is now taking over CDs and the industry needs to realise this. The sooner they fully embrace distributing music over the internet, the sooner the industry will pull itself out of the slump that it's in at the moment. Forget CDs, distribute music over the internet. And the music industry will be fine once more.


I think CDs will always be around in a secondary sense (even tapes still are in a very small extent), but I think their glory days as the main format are over and clearly declining.

You're right that oftentimes the industry is reluctant to move on from something that's been proven to work. It's like how they were resistant to music videos and new wave at first, but it took MTV really exploding in 1983 for them to wake up and embrace it. The same thing might be true here too.


Nothing, let CDs die.  The artists hardly get any money from it anyway.  All your money goes to the executives, producers, the labels, and the RIAA, which they can then use to cover their lawyer fees while suing people, including grandmas whose grandchildren downloaded songs and dead people's families, for downloading music illegally.  They don't deserve a penny from me and the RIAA's horrible tactics and the greed of the recording industy has turned tons of people to downloading illegally.  I've seen plenty of downloaders say that the RIAA's corruption justifies their illegal downloading because they aren't giving money to something like that.

Let the CD die, let the record labels and the RIAA lose their profits.  Then we can see actual musicians selling and profiting of their work, as Radiohead did recently.  They sold their album online for whatever price people would pay.  All the money made from the sales was pure profit straight to the artist.  However, 1/3 of people downloaded it for free...which sounds like a lot, but really isn't when you think about it.  The fact that 2/3 of the people paid for it when they could've gotten it for free speaks volumes.  This should be the future of the industry, not corrupt record labels.

Excellent points. I used to feel guilty about downloading, but not anymore. The industry is far greedier and more restrictive now than ever before. As a result, less mainstream music feels as genuine either, since artists aren't really allowed to write their own songs.

Do you think this corporatization might also be one reason why there hasn't really been a huge mainstream music scene for the last 5 or 6 years? In terms of people being just blown away en masse by current music, and where you artists being as big as The Beatles, MTV music, or grunge artists. The last time this happened was with boy bands and other stuff around Y2K.


CD sales only had one year over a year gain in this decade and that was in 2004. Other than that CD sales have gone down each year from the previous year in this decade. I think the main reason why CD sales are way down majorly this year is because the artists who have had #1 singles this year are those gimmicky one hit rapper wonders and rap which accounts for alot of CD sales in the music industry now sells on the hot singles rather than having huge CD sales of an album.

I wish the music industry would come out with a product that catered to people who are ages 20+ I mean if your not High School nowdays your not going to be able to relate to todays music. The music industry has been lousy into grabbing onto trends after the first wave of glam raps popularity(2003-2005) died. I mean the last 2 years of music have been boring(2006) or just is mediocre(2007.) I remember reading something on billboard.com 1 or 2 years ago that the music industry caters too 18-34 years olds. Are you kidding what 34 year old could listen to todays music? I mean the only thing I can think of 34 year old listening of todays music is Alicia Keys or that "I Apologize" song. The suits at these labels should be fired. I mean the suits always say well CD sales are down because of downloading. CD sales are down because you guys are not putting out a quality product. I mean the one exception of the music industry not putting out a quality product with cd sales going up was the whole teen-pop thing of 1999-2000 but the great ecomomy then probably spurred the popularity of that music because everybody was so happy then. BTW, I am 28 years old.

Yeah, there's alot less "adult oriented" music like there was in the '80s and '90s. There's even alot of teens who aren't crazy about it either, which probably drives more people to be old school/retro now than ever before. I agree that people don't really seem to care about full albums anymore, as opposed to gimmick singles that are on the charts a couple months then die out.

What do you mean?

Records are still being released, but only Emos listen to them, so I hear.


These items is what I mean:

http://www.tunequest.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/wax-cylinder.jpg

http://www.skyemastering.com/EdisonPhonograph-r.jpg

Not to go off topic, but this will tie into this thread once you've read through:

I was flipping the dial on my 15 year old Magnavox CD player (I still can't give it up!), and happily came across an original airing of Casey Kasem's Top 40 countdown from Nov. 8th 1975. Oh my goodness, I came in at like #23 and every single song was just classic - and these were songs in the Top 40, not even #1's.

Firstly, our generation (teens & 20-somethings) is sorely lacking a show like Casey Kasem's, which educates the listener about the artist and makes a countdown exciting; Secondly, we're sorely lacking music of that calibur from the '50s, '60s,'70s, and '80s that could even make a Top 40 interesting enough to listen to. I doubt some of today's music could even last a Top 10, before you have to start listening to filler junk.

I think CD's will be on there way out, but I also think there is a chance for a reemergence, too. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but I think we may be on the verge of a total twist on the music scene. I am thinking that somebody who may be the next Paul McCartney (or picture another major selling artist), might make music worth listening to again. We need something fresh. Something to turn our heads and go "Wow, this person will change the world!"

Not to go off topic, but this will tie into this thread once you've read through:

I was flipping the dial on my 15 year old Magnavox CD player (I still can't give it up!), and happily came across an original airing of Casey Kasem's Top 40 countdown from Nov. 8th 1975. Oh my goodness, I came in at like #23 and every single song was just classic - and these were songs in the Top 40, not even #1's.

Firstly, our generation (teens & 20-somethings) is sorely lacking a show like Casey Kasem's, which educates the listener about the artist and makes a countdown exciting; Secondly, we're sorely lacking music of that calibur from the '50s, '60s,'70s, and '80s that could even make a Top 40 interesting enough to listen to. I doubt some of today's music could even last a Top 10, before you have to start listening to filler junk.

I think CD's will be on there way out, but I also think there is a chance for a reemergence, too. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but I think we may be on the verge of a total twist on the music scene. I am thinking that somebody who may be the next Paul McCartney (or picture another major selling artist), might make music worth listening to again. We need something fresh. Something to turn our heads and go "Wow, this person will change the world!"



I used to LOVE listening to Casey Kasem's countdown...it was something that I always looked forward to hearing. :)

I used to LOVE listening to Casey Kasem's countdown...it was something that I always looked forward to hearing. :)


I agree, and plus he had a TV show in the '80s/early '90s I believe... which was similar to his radio show! If you want me to record  some of these old broadcasts on audiotape, let me know. They are alot of fun! I'm going to make an effort to listen to them every Saturday night.

I agree, and plus he had a TV show in the '80s/early '90s I believe... which was similar to his radio show! If you want me to record  some of these old broadcasts on audiotape, let me know. They are alot of fun! I'm going to make an effort to listen to them every Saturday night.



oh wow...that would be awesome!!! :)

The only Music format that is truly dead is the 8-track.


Apparently you never go to thrift shops.  Lots of senior citizens snap them up real fast ;D

Not to go off topic, but this will tie into this thread once you've read through:

I was flipping the dial on my 15 year old Magnavox CD player (I still can't give it up!), and happily came across an original airing of Casey Kasem's Top 40 countdown from Nov. 8th 1975. Oh my goodness, I came in at like #23 and every single song was just classic - and these were songs in the Top 40, not even #1's.

Firstly, our generation (teens & 20-somethings) is sorely lacking a show like Casey Kasem's, which educates the listener about the artist and makes a countdown exciting; Secondly, we're sorely lacking music of that calibur from the '50s, '60s,'70s, and '80s that could even make a Top 40 interesting enough to listen to. I doubt some of today's music could even last a Top 10, before you have to start listening to filler junk.

I think CD's will be on there way out, but I also think there is a chance for a reemergence, too. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but I think we may be on the verge of a total twist on the music scene. I am thinking that somebody who may be the next Paul McCartney (or picture another major selling artist), might make music worth listening to again. We need something fresh. Something to turn our heads and go "Wow, this person will change the world!"


Oh coolness, I still have tons of old-school boomboxes too.

I pretty much agree (like usual! :) ). The music industry really thrived from about 1954/'55 to 1998 in terms of most pop being something that drew lots of people in and created new sounds that the public really looked forward to. Also, back then, that was the easiest way to find out information on artists, whereas you can just look it up online now. Top 40 just doesn't have the variety anymore to pull massive numbers of people in, even if there's the occasional good songs here and there. I think it's most of what could be done in music already has been, so people aren't really interested en masse anymore.

I also like Casey Kasem, he's got that perfect disc jockey voice. He makes the introductions sound so exciting and cool, lol. :) They were still airing reruns of his '80s shows in, like 1999 on Sunday mornings. I miss that.

  I'd hate to see hard media disappear...

  It took a long time for me to embrace CDs...

  Call me sentimental, but there's just something about holding an album in my hands, throwing it in the player, eyeballing the cover and reading the liner notes, lyrics, etc.  Habit or nostalgia or something.  All a CD is is a mini LP and the player is the turntable...

  It may be just a plastic disc, but that's part of the deal.  The ritual.  Anything less, it's not complete... 

I used to LOVE listening to Casey Kasem's countdown...it was something that I always looked forward to hearing. :)


I listened to Casey religiously, especially during the "second British Invasion" of the early '80s.  The only problem was it took too dang long because of the ridiculous amount of advertising on Westwood One.  Once there were too few songs I liked on the top 40 to justify Saturday morning listening to it, I just scanned the charts in Billboard at the newstand.  I rarely bought a copy. Billboard was expensive.  A subscription was $200 in 1984 dollars.  As an industry rag, they didn't need to woo the public.
::)

Not to go off topic, but this will tie into this thread once you've read through:

I was flipping the dial on my 15 year old Magnavox CD player (I still can't give it up!), and happily came across an original airing of Casey Kasem's Top 40 countdown from Nov. 8th 1975. Oh my goodness, I came in at like #23 and every single song was just classic - and these were songs in the Top 40, not even #1's.

Firstly, our generation (teens & 20-somethings) is sorely lacking a show like Casey Kasem's, which educates the listener about the artist and makes a countdown exciting; Secondly, we're sorely lacking music of that calibur from the '50s, '60s,'70s, and '80s that could even make a Top 40 interesting enough to listen to. I doubt some of today's music could even last a Top 10, before you have to start listening to filler junk.

I think CD's will be on there way out, but I also think there is a chance for a reemergence, too. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but I think we may be on the verge of a total twist on the music scene. I am thinking that somebody who may be the next Paul McCartney (or picture another major selling artist), might make music worth listening to again. We need something fresh. Something to turn our heads and go "Wow, this person will change the world!"


I just loved listening to Casey Casem's radio show every weekend in the late 80's through the early 90's, when the radio station that carried the show completely changed formats. I would tune Casey's show on my Walkman while doing chores. Remember those "requests and dedications"? I enjoyed those as well.  :)

I agree with Davester.  I too love owning the actual CD.  The linear notes, the sleeve art .. the whole bit .. it makes listening to your music alot more enjoyable :)

The part I love is the excitement of waiting for the new album by your favourite artist to come out.  Then going to the store, seeing it on the rack and purchasing a copy.  With mp3s, you type in the song you want, click to download it, and then listen.  Where's the fun in that?  Granted, I still download mp3s alot and I love them, but I will take an actual CD anyday 8)

I just saw a message from Michael Jackson to his fans on a Michael Jackson forum which is relevant to this discussion. The main reason for the message was to announce some sort of event with Al Fore as well as a Jackson 5 reunion performance at Jermaine Dupri's New Years Eve party. But one part I found particulary interesting is that Michael Jackson will not be release a standard CD album next year. Instead he will be releasing a series of singles. He mentions in the message how albums are on the way out. Which is true, because people these days are just buying songs singulary off iTunes instead of whole albums. So I see why he's opted for a chain of singles rather than an album. But I dare say that not too long after all the singles have been released they will be sold as an album. It's very 50s if you ask me. This sort of stuff was done all the time. An artist would release a few singles and then the record company would bring out an LP with all those singles on it. I like what he's going. It's risky, but in an industry where everyone is playing it so safe at the moment, someone needs to do the risk taking. What do you guys think of Michael Jackson's idea to release a string of singles rather than an album?

I too love owning the actual CD.  The linear notes, the sleeve art .. the whole bit .. it makes listening to your music alot more enjoyable

i completely agree. that's part of the reason i refuse to convert to ipods.

i completely agree. that's part of the reason i refuse to convert to ipods.

You don't have to abandon hard media to have an iPod. It's a portable music player and face it, all hard media for playing music isn't very portable. Sure, everyone remembers walkmans and discmans. But I can also remember having the lug around big cassette cases and CD wallets in my backpack. Not to mention a pack of spare batteries. The size was also not suited for mobility. I can't remember ever owning a walkman or discman that would fit comfortably in my pocket. I'd always be carrying it around. With the iPod and other portable mp3 players, you can carry around your entire music collection in your pocket without having to replace batteries or recharge the battery for hours. That's what makes iPod so great. It replaces thos ehuge walkmans and discmans. But you can keep your stationary CD/casette/vinyl players in your home. But it is very handy to have an iPod to take with you when you leave the home.

But if you do miss the old cassettes, there is always this...

http://www.geekalerts.com/u/nano-cass.jpg