I was talking about this with someone because although digital downloads are becoming more and more dominant, there will always be a demand for a physical format

bboy87 said:

doubt it because there wont be any stores left to sell things soon. I think what will eventually happen is that older artists will just release through their websites, be it Vinyl,Cd,or digital tracks. The one-off exclusives with Walmart will become the new rage and alot more will do it, and you will see the eventual disappearance of music stores that are left.

i miss tower records!!!

lastdecember said:

How about the independent stores? Rasputin Music and Amoeba Music here in the Bay Area are still doing really well (They sell CDs, Vinyls, DVDs, memorbillia..etc)

bboy87 said:

I might slip into a deep depression if my favorite indie music stop here closes! But it seems to doing really well too

thekidsgirl said:

The ones I go to are ALWAYS packed! We have alot of DJs and musicians and straight up diehard audiophiles out here so they keep those places running.

You can barely walk around Amoeba after 5pm because people are walking around digging through the crates and buying loads of stuff in there

bboy87 said:

its hit and miss with stores like that, because they have to be able to sell used cds and stuff to make money off of. Here in NYC where we have tons of little stores they are all barely holding their own, they only thing they have is the loyality of the customer, but even that is waning. A store that comes to mind is "Record Runner" which has been a staple here in NYC for 20 years, they survive on the imports and things like that, they are where you go if you want the new Kylie single or the Janet Vinyl or the Duran Duran poster etc...they have their niche, but everytime i go there the guy who runs it, tells me there are alot of days where its better for him not even to open the store, thats how slow it is.

lastdecember said:

true. The stores I mention sell imports and vinyls. Example:

The main floor of Rasputin is CDs and DVDs, new and used including used video games, magazines, shirts, and posters

the upper sub floor has international music

the sub lower floor has VHS, DVDs, and laserdiscs(yes...laserdiscs )

then the lower floor has all vinyl

and the place is packed

kimrachell said:

Me too.

No.

It's a different world. The video stores are disappearing and shrinking over time as well.

As you say, there will always be likely some demand, but I think in 5 or 10 years (perhaps sooner) CDs become a niche item like vinyl.

I can definitely see CDs doing a lot more sharing of the same floorspace with record shops to try to capture the few dollars that will remain.

SONY has announced Blu-CD as competition to the standard CD.
It uses Blu-ray technology but it's still a Red Book format (44.1 kHz, 16-bit) disc.
Supposedly, it's an improvement in the disc master creation process.

The only upside to this, outside of the claimed improvement in standard CD sound, is the fact that it can be played on existing CD players.


Not sure what the difference in retail price will be.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

We'll still get $20 price tags.

I feel your pain, too. Tower Records was one of my favorite rituals experiences, cuz of what I used to plan to do along with it.

kimrachell said:

eaglebear4839 said:

The one in Concord is Rasputin now

very unlikely.

despite owning a few blu-rays myself and all the hi-def crap, its not a replacement for anything.

Sony is too famous for releasing dead/dying formats...

i'll add it to the list...

SACD
DVD-Audio
Mini Disc
BluRay/CD

xperience319 said:

The 8-Track of the 90s.

kimrachell said:

Me too I still can't believe that it's gone.

bboy87 said:

If Rasputin ever goes out of business,I'm screwed.That's the only real record store that we have left here in the South Bay.

bboy87 said:

The one in Mountain View is also Rasputin now

xperience319 said:

I was going to mention Sony's history of dead formats.

If CDs die out, they will be replaced by pure digital downloads (CD-quality lossless files). The format itself is sound.

Even SACD/DVD-A discs don't sell well -- so that shows that the demand for hi-def audio just isn't there.

Most people cannot tell the difference between hi-def audio and RedBook. RedBook is the standard and sounds amazing. The problem is that the mastering of most music lately is lacking.

SoulAlive said:

The only thing I liked about Tower that I liked was they sold imports and singles, but they were so overpriced

I bought Craig David's 3rd CD over there for $36!

kimrachell said:

So do I. But The Virgin Megastore was way better. It was THE perfect record store for me to check out imported albums from the UK.

Timmy84 said:

Pretty much.

Maybe it'll become a niche market where few survive but they do really well. I just can't see EVERYONE turning to mp3 players for all their needs when some of the stuff people collect isn't even available in a digital format yet

bboy87 said:

Yeah,Tower wasn't cheap In their last years,the prices were absurd but I still miss them.Rasputin has better prices.

It could.....but it won't.

Amazon's the shit.

I'd like to see all physical forms of music go extinct to the point that the only way to get new music is by downloads and burning them onto blank CDs. If a person can burn one CD from their computer, then they can burn several copies for their friends which means less sales for so-called artists these days and monopoly record labels.

I'm all for new technology happening just as long as the new technology is recordable by the general public. If music can't change for the better because people have the good taste and good sense to stop buying the music that is bullshit, then it just needs to get to the point that so-called artists and record labels can't make money off of it and become extinct altogether. As long as there are used record shops that sell old music, I'll be happy.

Could vinyl make a comeback?