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Tell me about CD's - do you still use them? Do you buy blank or pre-recorded CDs?


Phil O'Keefe

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CD's - tell me about them. smile.gif I'm a bit curious as to where we are with them, so I thought I'd ask you guys. How are you using them - if you use them at all?

Do you still purchase albums on CD, or do you prefer digital delivery? Or maybe streaming's your thing now...?

Do you still distribute your music on CD, or are you still interested in CD-format releases of your music? Do you consider it an important format for getting your music to your listeners? If not, what (if anything) has replaced that as your primary release format?

Do you still back up data to CD-R / CD-RW, DVD-R / DVD-RW, or have SSDs and HDDs replaced optical media as your backup format of choice?

Do you still burn audio CDs at all - for use in the car, as studio "roughs", use in a Diskman, as "mix tapes" for friends, etc?

Not counting tablets and smartphones, do you own a computer that has no optical drive in it?

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I still only purchase albums on CD. I buy a lot. Used and new.
I don't distribute music.
I very rarely back up something important on DVD-R, but I don't really have any files that are important anymore. Still have all my college papers saved on a DVD-R.
I don't burn cds anymore unless it's a copy of something for my old man. That is rare though.

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Last CD I bought was Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, because the mp3 version wasn't offered anywhere. Otherwise I buy mp3's from Amazon or iTunes. I listen to my music on my phone, either with headphones or plugged into my car. All of my stuff is backed up on an external hard drive.

I also have a Spotify account so that I can try out music before I buy.

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I don't think I've purchased a CD is about 3 years. Almost everything is available via iTunes at this point which is a little cheaper and I don't have shelves full of CD's taking up space anymore, just an ipod and laptop, and satellite radio in the car is pretty awesome. I have a bunch of vinyl just for cool factor/collecting, but everyday listening is all digital.

My laptop is backed up on an external hard drive is all

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I still buy CDs if I like most of the album and the band, sometimes I'll buy an album as bit CD and vinyl if the record doesn't come with a pressed copy (not enough bands do that). generally buy online or at shows since I don't usually find what I want in the stores around here and the markup is more expensive than ordering and getting it shipped to your door.

I no longer buy albums without hearing them first, even if its a band I love (ok Every Time I Die, they've never let me down), haven't done that since the early 00s. no buying albums based purely on the cover without knowing the band either. used to do that a lot in the 90s, got exposed to a lot of great music that way, but it's too much of a gamble now.

haven't bought blank CDs to burn stuff in 6+ years, I still have 80% of a spindle of 100 kicking around that I'll never use, can't remember the last time I burned a cd or dvd.

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Only if it has interesting packaging. One of the reasons I disliked CDs in it's infancy - bland packaging. I grew up a prog rock kid who loved to look at gatefolds & booklets while listening...
Still use CD blanks with my Harman/Kardon burner.
Never stopped buying vinyl. Glad the kids are into it now.

I wonder what the future is going to be like. I mean some musicians sell so many mp3s & few physical copies. Will these bands be known in 20yrs when everyones hard drives crash & they forget to back them up? Will anyone care? My parents/relatives passed down vinyl to me. I treasure them.
What will happen?
"Here kid, here's my ipod from 2012. It's broken, good luck."

A collector buddy of mine from Germany has backed up his thousand+ CD collection onto a 2TB hard drive. He's just giving away his physical copies. Told him he'll be sorry someday.....

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Quote Originally Posted by Phil O'Keefe View Post
I'm a bit surprised by how popular they still seem to be, based on the replies so far. Thanks for your input guys. cool.gif

Keep those opinions / comments coming please! wave.gif
The main reason why I still play cds...

It makes me actually listen to the music. On the computer where I have 15,000 songs ripped or even on my ipod where I have 2,400- it's just too easy to skip, shuffle, or change my mind and turn on something different. I'll even do it when I'm in the middle of a song I like. My brain can't just be happy with what is playing when there's so much else immediately available.

Stupid, I know.
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I buy CDs all the time. Sound on mp3 is crap, and I can not only hear the difference on my car stereo, but it's really obvious on my home stereo. Frankly, I even think the sound on a lot of new CDs is pretty crappy since a lot of modern mixes use too much compression, which kills all the dynamics, because it gives a cut more drive on radio.

I'll burn something every so often, mostly if I have a live recording I want to copy. I've stopped backing up data using CDs for the most part.

BTW, I really prefer to get stuff on SACD, so I'm definitely in the minority, and yeah, I'm an out of touch old fart, because I miss browsing the music bins at Tower for stuff that might be interesting, and don't like shopping music on line.

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Quote Originally Posted by PurpleTrails View Post
BTW, I really prefer to get stuff on SACD, so I'm definitely in the minority,
Shit, I've got a stack of about 30 dvd-audio discs icon_lol.gif

Those hi-resolution audio formats really came along at the worst possible time. They created formats that emphasize the best possible audio quality that's to be enjoyed with 6 speaker surround set ups... only to have ipods hit and suddenly everyone cares more about convenience and portability while sound quality becomes the least important factor in music (mp3s, apple ear buds).
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I only buy music that comes on vinyl or bandcamp. CDs are kind of pointless imo, they just go on a shelf and gather dust.

As a musician though, I've found that it's still much easier to sell cds at a gig than it is to sell mp3s online. So they serve a purpose in that sense.

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I buy a lot of CDs, usually when the band and/or artwork really excite me. I do most of my other purchasing via Amazon MP3, iTunes, or Bandcamp when I have a hard time finding the CD, or want immediate gratification and don't feel like waiting for a CD to ship to me.

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For the last 4 years or so every album I've wanted to own has been available in vinyl with the mp3 download, so that's what I always go for. Some deluxe boxsets include the CD, which is cool. But generally, no, I don't bother with CDs anymore.

But I still own an optical drive, the Samsung Optical SmartHub, which allows me to wirelessly read all CD/DVD formats from my MacAir, iPad, and Galaxy tablet. I can also burn wirelessly from my PC laptop. I have so much archived in disc format, I don't think I'll ever have time to xfr it all to some other drive. So I will always need an optical drive.

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