State of the physical music industry

Hey Sup Forums, I hope you're all still buying music .. physically ...

What is the current state of the physical industry?
It's nice to see people taking an interest in vinyl, even though it's kind of a novelty and I much prefer cds.
Does anybody here still buy cds?

If you could afford to buy music, would you choose that over pirating?
Tbh I would love to give up pirating, although it's nice I find that having the physical aspect causes me to appreciate the music more whereas digital makes me feel like the magic is missing and I become super depressed.

I don't see why cds and vinyl can't be relevant as long as people are willing to buy them.

Too bad more and more artists are becoming digital only.

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newmusicbox.org/articles/new-music-on-vinyl-everybody-loves-it-but-it-doesnt-make-much-sense/
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>physical

Vinyl sales exploded last year but it's probably a bubble, expect it to crash and burn within 5 years or less

Why waste space and natural resources on a dying medium?
The record industry is just a chapter in music history, like when it used to be just sheet music.

Because the physical aspect creates an emotional attachment to the album you can't get from digital.
Having a physical collection, all the artwork to gaze at, the years and memories of building your collection ... it's not the same at all with digital.

I agree, but that attachment is long gone because of how accessible everything is now. Want to hear some of your favourite music, but don't have the money to buy it? Hello, YouTube. Hell, even if you do have the money, streaming services take over. Physical media is getting shafted

I buy records occassionaly of albums I love but keep them framed most of the time and only listen to them the odd time.

Owning a CD is kind of pointless though. It's literally digital music so you might as well just download a FLAC.

>they're people here that unironically purchase a meme medium

I do it mostly for a decent sized image of the album artwork and generally buy them cheap second hand anyway.

Who cares about the delivery method? The content is all that matters

>muh experience
you could always buy a printer

>numeric
>not wasting ressources

>The content is all that matters
>but as dictated by me, not the artist
OK

>I don't feel attachment
>so no one else does
STOP

>Does anybody here still buy cds?
Yep. They're like $1 at thrift stores and other second hand shops. Cheep and very effective
>If you could afford to buy music, would you choose that over pirating?
Yes. I would love to have the actual thing as opposed to the idea of the thing.
>Too bad more and more artists are becoming digital only.
The cassette scene is also a thing, so I think the mindset of artists being "digital only" is a bubble. Most bands I see will have a physical release, and aren't digital only.

Maybe, but vinyl sales have been rising steadily since 2009 at least. Sales were fine a few years ago, so even if they drop off from last year I don't think it will matter much.

>Does anybody here still buy cds?

Yeah me and my friends do :^)

>the idea of the thing.

Digital music is music not just an idea.

All CDs are are a different delivery method for the exact same file. I can have some understanding of why you'd want an analogue format over digital but not even almost understand why you'd think CDs are superior to digital.

CDs are in the US and UK are falling. They're still a big seller when looking at the numbers and the most popular physical format but CDs are now thought of as niche. Did you get a new CD player with dsotm or Stone Roses' debut? Then probably that's your millennial format. Vinyl is on the up but it's re-releases making the bulk of sales. Cassettes? In some countries they might still be popular but the industry is funding the plants on a non-profit basis. Cassettes have their own feel good nostalgia but the inference was that it is an artificial life-line.

Streaming is hugely problematic, for audio and video. There are many technologies and providers
and it is rather cobbled together. Plug in a tablet, plug in a speaker , plug in the wi-fi, with an app that will not be compatible with the next iteration. Somehow it reflects our times and the challenges of transition can be seen in other industries too, automotive for example.

I'm convinced there is a need for a format that can consolidate and simplify, that there is a new revolution potentially in the wings.

World events may dictate otherwise.

they look nice i guess. you cant put digital music on your shelf ._.

>Digital music is music not just an idea
Isn't music just an idea?
>All CDs are are a different delivery method for the exact same file.
Oh do they all come in a blank case with now art/layout/lyrics etc?
>CDs are superior to digital.
You get more stuff, and it's real, something to hold and cherish. What, do you cradle your laptop?

Not sure how you got to that piece of logic, but if you want to ignore the facts, then, by all means, go right ahead

I'm getting at the idea that, in general, everything is so disposable now because of how easy it is to access it. I never suggested that you couldn't still have attachment

>something to hold and cherish
exactly this

>but if you want to ignore the facts
You have yet to post them
>I never suggested that you couldn't still have attachment
You just said
>but that attachment is long gone
Which is it?

>they look nice

Most CDs are in jewel cases which get scratched very easily.

So? most things get scratched easily.

>Isn't music just an idea?
No.

> Oh do they all come in a blank case with now art/layout/lyrics etc?
All of this is available digitally
> What, do you cradle your laptop?
No but it's not usual for people to hold or cradle CDs either.

If you're going to waste plastic on music at least buy records so you've got a decent sized copy of the artwork you want so badly.

Okay, how about this

We are currently in an age of huge accessibility due to the internet and social media. We are exposed to way more music than ever before. I don't have a fact to back up this next claim, but I would assume that, because of this heightened exposure, consumers would want to listen to more music because they would hear more than they would, say, a few decades ago. They have all this music that they want to hear, but that would mean spending hundreds of dollars to acquire the physical media, which not everybody can afford. As a result, they turn to streaming service to suit their needs, which removes the physicality of the music and instead provides a digital experience for them. They can easily be attached to the music, but that attachment isn't held down to actually having a copy on your shelf

>No.
How so?
>All of this is available digitally
Really? Show me the artwork scans for the OKNOTOK boxset
>it's not usual for people to hold CDs either.
That's right because we pick them up, open the case and put the CD in the player with our fucking minds? Stop being daft

you can buy a new jewel case if its condition is really bad

>They can easily be attached to the music
The problem is they aren't really attached to it, are they? it's now more disposal and serves a background music. Since there's no real investment in the music itself, less amount of attachment is yielded.

You're either being deliberately dense or are a complete fucking retard. Either way I'm not getting any more involved in this conversation.

But that was the point I was trying to make in the first place. I made a mistake of saying that the attachment is completely gone, but there's no investment anymore because of that disposability

I've had discussions with older relatives about this kind of thing and they talked about how much of a big deal it was when an album came out. It was a huge thing back in the day when an album came out because that was the only way to hear music by a favourite band. I can't recall a time in my life where ive had such an experience because buying albums doesn't feel as special anymore

>out of arguments
>better make an ad hominem
Yikes
Then it looks like we're in agreement.

One can still have that feeling though as long as physical media exists.

I occasionally get CDs because my car doesn't have an AUX cable, but instead has a 6 CD changer and I can't be fucked to burn.

I accept that it's a dying medium, but I like CDs.

I think we were agreeing the whole time, but I probably worded it wrong. I want to bring up that last post, where I forgot to mention that the reason buying albums feels so lacking is because you can hear the whole thing on YouTube and it doesn't cost you a dime. Why would anyone want to spend money at that point? Paying for a CD or vinyl is simply paying for the physicality of the music, which seems to limit it to devout listeners and collectors

I love buying CDs, they're beautiful things

I used to buy a lot of stuff physical but I've stopped buying as much recently. Now I only buy stuff physical that I otherwise would not be able to access. I'm only really buying stuff that is being pressed in small batches where I feel my individual purchase is actually significant.

i literally spent weeks looking for a shelf like that and found nothing eh

>they just crumble in my hand

I stumbled upon it in a charity shop for £15, it's this shelf though if you're interested argos.co.uk/product/9328635

I buy records on vinyl because I like to support the artists, in fact they get the most money when you buy on vinyl

And I hate not having a physical thing, same with books, same with games, I think you lose most of the experience

I work at the largest indie shop within a 40 mile area in a C or D tier city

We sell far more records than CDs and have made more and more money each year. RSD has only been more profitable each successive one, and comparing any given day we are open today vs a year ago, we consistently outperform.

The number of people buying new and new reissues vs the people buying loads of used quality-graded records means someone is always looking for something and on track to buy it.

I don't buy CDs because I can't afford it but I do go to my library and rent out all their albums and rip them to my computer.

If I'm ever successful I'll have my entire collection on CDs just in case something happens to my hard drive (and so I can rip them all lossless).

Vinyl is inferior and very outdated, we're literally talking 1950s technology. Its main advantage is that you get the nice big coffee table-sized album art.

>in fact they get the most money when you buy on vinyl
it's the most expensive format to manufacture and store, so no

>t the reason buying albums feels so lacking is because you can hear the whole thing on YouTube and it doesn't cost you a dime. Why would anyone want to spend money at that point?
Because of the lesser soundquality and the packaging of the album can be a part of the artistic expression and experience of the album.

wrong, they get more money with vinyl than Cds now, and far more than digital due to the rise of sales

lmao i bet youve never experienced an album like Sgt Pepper's or F# A# infinity on vinyl. You're tryin so hard

Producing a CD costs maybe $1.50 per unit. Producing an LP in a typical small-label 500-copy run can cost $6 or more per LP. Vinyl weighs more, and is thus more expensive to ship, and it gets damaged in shipment more easily than CDs. “And if it doesn’t sell, then you have giant boxes of records sitting around your warehouse!”

“After you pay the artists their royalties, there is literally no profit left.”

newmusicbox.org/articles/new-music-on-vinyl-everybody-loves-it-but-it-doesnt-make-much-sense/

>Sgt Pepper's
I have the new box set reissue

Do you?

I would argue the sound quality comment, but I can see your second point. It comes down to whether or not you want that copy in your hands. These days, people give much less of a shit about physical media these days and prefer consuming it in the most convenient way, which happens to be in digital format

I misread your original post, my bad.

Hardcore vinylfag here

>I would argue the sound quality comment,
How so? Youtube encodes at approx 128kps.
>These days, people
What people are you talking about? Again, every band I've seen and played with offer physical media. All of my circle of friends have rooms of records and crates of CDs.

I never suggested that physicals aren't offered, and I'm not sure where you got that idea. I'm trying to say that, in the general public, people prefer easy-to-consume media, which is offered by streaming services, the radio, and so on. People who go out and by albums are paying for the physical version of these songs, and that's about it. There is a sense of attachment to physical copies and I'm not denying that, but when everything is so accessible, buying music turns into something of a hobby because, while you could easily listen for cheaper, you choose to pay for the copy to enhance the experience. It's like putting money into souping up a car; you get more attachment from it because you've invested money in it

>but when everything is so accessible, buying music turns into something of a hobby because, while you could easily listen for cheaper, you choose to pay for the copy to enhance the experience.
These people you are talking about would just listen on the radio at work or while driving. They weren't record buying enthusiasts anyways. They just transferred their listening habits from FM radio to Pandora Radio or whatever.

That's what I said earlier! I already mentioned that buying albums has become almost entirely limited to enthusiasts, who would no doubt love to have a huge CD or vinyl collection. This is not the rule for the general populace. The average person does not buy albums because they couldn't care any less about what form it is in. The physical experience is lost on those people. It's also because singles are so popular right now and albums are on the back burner. Any artist that gets popular does so on the back of a chart-topper, and albums are too expensive for people to buy just to get one song if that's all they want

>This is not the rule for the general populace. The average person does not buy albums because they couldn't care any less about what form it is in
Then why bring it up if this is the same as it's always been? It's like a non argument

You also didn't acknowledge the Youtube audio quality comment

YouTube was a specific example, you could easily get an album online through downloads or whatever else for good quality. It's about physical vs. digital, and I think you can get album quality music online no problem. Maybe not YouTube, but elsewhere

My point from the beginning was that the physical experience of owning a CD is not nearly as impactful as it used to be due to the multitude of ways to get your hands on music. By bringing up the general public I was making a case that these people are proof that album purchases are on a downturn (don't have proof for that, just making an educated guess). They can get their entertainment from more convenient sources, and they do not care about the album experience - they just want something to listen to

>muh plastic
>muh memories
>muh shallow love for a piece of corporate plastic

Grow up, please.

Except emotion is the point of music

Nice try though

I only buy cassettes of obscure bands

...

"My point from the beginning [...]"
>Anecdotal, can be countered by saying "no"

bumperino

idk about you user, but I've developed strong sentimental attachment to a number of the albums I've downloaded over the years.
Scarcity of the medium does help though, unfortunately that only applied to physical media before digital became prolific

Idk bout y'all but to me, part of the appeal of having a physical copy is that that's it's sort of a "backup" if things go wrong with your computer. My hard drive has been fried twice, and I lost all my digital downloads, but I still had all my CD's and could just re-import them

>not putting all your music on a safe, external device that you can put the music back onto your computer with

i like buying CDs when they're available but i'm wising up to the fact that it's more practical to buy digital direct from the artist / label

You may think you do, but you don;t.

>can only redeem download album three times

I find that my CD collection is a good way to keep track of my music. I find it easier to just pull something I haven't heard in a while of the shelf rather than sifting through my FLAC library. Also, as other anons have mentioned, they're cheap as fuck nowadays.

I regularly do jewel case transplants on CDs in my collection that aren't looking so good. However, they're usually in that condition because I bought them use, not because I did anything to fuck them up

bump

Most of the time I buy CD if I can
Only vinyl for records i like a lot, even if the quality isnt as great as CD and digital, it's cool to have the big album art and the cool shit that so many come with (posters, extra art, etc)

this too even though i could just

>enjoying a physical object makes you childish
nani?

I prefer buying Cassettes and Vinyl since their listening experiences are still unique while CD is essentially FLAC or WAV which exist perfectly as non-physical forms.

>Producing an LP in a typical small-label 500-copy run can cost $6 or more per LP.
No one does this though, everyone who gets vinyl records pressed does them in ridiculous batches that cost lots of money.

Vinyl is simply not financially feasible for most unsigned artists without reliable distribution channels.

Add to that other quirks like Cassettes being more expensive than CDs per unit, CDs are the best format in terms of price, and audio quality, but they have completely fallen out of fashion, and so they don't have much of a purpose for selling.