The Death of the Music CD 483
Rick Zeman writes "According to the Washington Post, the next new music format will be...no format. From the article: 'What the consumer would buy is a data file, and you could create whatever you need. If you want to make an MP3, you make an MP3. If you want a DVD-Audio surround disc, you make that.'"
IOP (Score:4, Insightful)
Not everyone in the world is a nerd.
Keep things simple. Buying CDs are simple. Hence, people will buy CDs.
Not gonna happen (Score:2, Insightful)
read between the lines (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm also willing to bet Microsoft conveniently has patents on whatever technology would be proposed to "secure" the digital file.
I read this, and it occurs to me... (Score:5, Insightful)
CD's are great because they have really good quality music in non-DRM format.
Keeping the CD's lets you rip to whatever new format or device that comes along.
Think it through...CD's are the consumer's best *and only* friend in the music business right now.
what will it be next week? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is there a place in my preferences where I can turn off viewing "Death of ..." articles?
DT
Re:IOP (Score:4, Insightful)
RIAA (Score:5, Insightful)
Proof of ownership (Score:5, Insightful)
If that means better sound quality, great.... (Score:5, Insightful)
I buy loads of music, and have a reasonably high-end computer-as-transport, headphone rig to listen to it. But I've yet to buy a single track online because of the quality issue (and drm). I buy and rip around 10 cds a month. Its a pain in the a$$ for me to find the music that suits my eclectic taste in CD form and then rip it to
If we could buy stuff in whatever format the artist wanted to output it in (pre-mixing/rendering even (opensource music)), the last remaining desire to have hard copy would be nullified for me:)
Re:I read this, and it occurs to me... (Score:1, Insightful)
CD is are great because they have really good quality music in non-DRM format.
Keeping the CD is lets you rip to whatever new format or device that comes along.
Think it through...CD is are the consumer's best *and only* friend in the music business right now.
Re:RIAA (Score:5, Insightful)
if you are buying the flavor of the month pop garbage, it's your own fault for contributing to the studios coffers, so they can have someone new on the lineup next month.
Start buying CDs now! (Score:2, Insightful)
Store them in your basement for about 10 years and make a killing on EBay!
Re:read between the lines (Score:3, Insightful)
There is always an alternative. Many smaller and fringe musicians, groups and labels have nothing to do with the RIAA or any sort of DRM. Alternative computer OS's will never force DRM upon you.
In my opinion, many of the non-mainstream groups produce better music. At the very least, their music is different, unique, and new to my ears. New is good.
If you want to listen to the Beastie Boys or Christina Agulera you'll have to deal with DRM. But there are always alternatives.
Music Hell (Score:2, Insightful)
Wrong, wrong, wrong.. (Score:4, Insightful)
MP3/downloads-type purchases will saturate out at a certain level - the general public will always go for the "real thing", which will probably still be CDs for the forseeable future..
Re:".no" format? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, that may not be so bad. The reason that policy issues like extending copyright or introducing DMCA/EUCD-like laws are so hard to decide in 'our' favour is that nobody cares. And the reason for that is that these laws aren't enforced all that much.
If Microsoft really cracked down on Windows piracy, many more people would consider an alternative. GNU/Linux can compete with Windows on price and freedom to help your neighbour, but only if people actually are forced to pay for Windows, and kept from sharing proprietary software.
Indie music that is sold on reasonable terms (unencumbered CDs or DVDs, non-DRMmed Ogg Vorbis or MP3) or distributed under a Creative Commons licence that allows redistribution can compete with RIAA music on ease of use (i.e. pay once, listen anywhere), but only if the RIAA's restrictions are enforced.
I say let them DRM the hell out of everything. Hundreds of millions of people and the whole open counterculture that's come into being in the last decade versus the powerful media conglomerates. I think we'll win.
Ultimately you're wrong. (Score:2, Insightful)
Few things computerwise are increasing faster than the capacity of bandwidth. Hard drives are outpacing CPU's, but bandwidth smokes them both. Compression will be VERY undesirable in the future. Something like music subscription services will probably rule the future. Purists of course will swear by the viceral pleasure of having the CD, but the convience of being able to get whatever you want streamed directly to the players of choice as desired will carry the day.
If I were Cingular, I'd try and buy napster or real, and look at adding a $5/mo option with a new 3 year agreement seeing if that washed out.
Re:RIAA (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, as long as it was the single.
"Now you're force fed tripe from the industry pushing their flavor of the month, big breasted, tiny brained, diva wannabes."
No you're not. The industry has always promoted the artists it thought would sell big, regardless of quality. If you're too damn lazy to look for music that you like, that's your own problem. There are hundreds of CDs released each week, and any good music store has hundreds or thousands of CDs available for purchase. If you go online, you can purchase just about any CD you want. Quality music publications are available both online and off and are filled with reviews of a variety of albums. Take advantage of these resources and find music for yourself instead of complaining that the music industry is still promoting easy to sell artists after all these years.
Re:Proof of ownership (Score:2, Insightful)
I have many, many LP albums that are greater than 20 years old. I have a bunch of CDs that are older, too. (the CD media itself might die, of course).
The people with bits spattered all over hard drives and CDR disks in various formats don't have anything that maintains 'collector value' nor anything that anybody will want to bother sifting through in twenty years.
But we live in a 'short attention span' era- buying an album from an artist whose earlier work you liked used to be a committment. There have been countless times when I didn't like a particular album until I'd listened to it two or three times, then it became indispensable music I enjoyed a LOT. That 'stretch the listener's range' phenomenon withers away in a world of single 'tracks' of music.
A case for DMML (Score:3, Insightful)
Just think...a new public, open standard called Digital Music Markup Language. Then you can use a convertor utility similar to XSLT to decide on what format you need...only problem is converting digital music to text is very costly in terms of space requirements. 2-3GB per song, as opposed to 2-3MB.
Kidding aside, it would be cool if there was a public standard for a raw binary format, where you *could* use an XSLT-like translation utility to turn it into whatever format you want.
I see people moaning about how the record companies won't "give" this to consumers. I'm cool with that. It's just one more reason to keep me from "giving" them any of my hard-earned money.
Where do you get all that? (Score:2, Insightful)
It's just that you'd have to download it and either view it on your computer or print it out yourself instead of getting it physically in a store. In fact, an artist could put out multiple versions of liner notes, etc for the same album - and instead of having to by several copies of the CD, you can just pay a few extra cents to download all the versions. I think this could be great! Get the future version of the iPod photo, and you can view your cover art and liner notes (all ten versions) while listening to your music at the gym or wherever.
And as for boxed sets and double albums, did you see the U2 super-boxed-set on iTunes? $440 worth of songs for $150. People will always want to buy things in bulk for a discount (which is basically what boxed sets are for), and people will always want different versions of the same songs or exclusive tracks (which iTunes has plenty of).
I don't know, maybe some people absolutely MUST HAVE the physical item to feel satisfied... In the case of liner notes etc, you can make that yourself if you have a decent printer. In the case of boxed sets - well, I guess I just don't see the appeal so much. Again, if you really need it, you can make it yourself after downloading it all, but what's the point? They take up so much space anyhow.
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, just don't legislate DRM making it illegal for me to use the product the way I want. Make it a challenge, but don't put me in jail for coming out on top.
Re:IOP (Score:5, Insightful)
OTOH, buying CDs is simple while they are not crippled with DRM. When 100% of the new CDs are sold with spyware-hidden-macrovision-drivers, people will understand what the word DRM means and maybe switch to another media.
Re:God, music is dead. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:IOP (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
Semantically true yet semantically null... interesting. The GPP was not talking about "give" as in "give away" -- he/she meant, they want to exchange less and to charge more... which is, itself, a pretty null statement of capitalism.
If the GPP's point is, the music industry will not go this way on its own, he/she was right. Of course if the new model provided more beneift for them, they'll follow it. Depsite what the most rabid slashdotters say, the music industry has no particular interest in screwing over its customers. It just has a high profit motive and is willing to screw over its customers if that leads to (perceived) maximal beneift of the company.
But contrary to the rantings of the most rabid corporatists who also lurk on Slashdot, the music industry is not interested in merely "protecting its rights". It most certainly does want the balance of the copyright bargain to swing irrevocably toward the producer/publisher and away from the user/customer. Again, it's only natural... just don't go handing them haloes.
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:2, Insightful)
Apparently, the music industry is not only coping, but actually THRIVING because of downloading. I don't have stats for the DVD sales industry, but I know I've watched downloaded movies I'd never have seen if I'd had to pay for them. I've then subsequently purchased those movies I wanted to own.
The RIAA and the MPAA need to get their collective heads out of their asses.
Re:Wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
You mean like what happened with the switch from the (relatively) mechanically complex and expensive to manufacture cassettes, to the mind-numbingly simple and cheap CDs?
Hmm, does $4-$9 in 1980-dollars equate to $12-$25 in 2005 dollars? At 2.5% inflation per year, it doesn't even come close. Bummer.
A tipical
A tYpical **AA apologist comment modded insightful. At the same time it directly contradicts historical evidence.
Tell me, do you guys really believe this crap, or do you just post it as a form of trolling? Or do you all work for the **AA and they actually pay you to betray the rights of your own species to your soulless corporate masters?
Re:Random thoughts (Score:3, Insightful)
Fair nuff, though any decent content download system would provide different bitrate versions of the same content. Audible does this, for example, giving you the choice of bitrate/format when you download audiobooks.
The point being don't spend forever telling me how much you love your music if you're listening to it on crappy mp3s, ripped god knows how, at 192, on ear phones that use cone drivers.
To a point, you can definitely cheat with good speakers though. Personally, I prefer Klipsch, best value for money IMHO. OTOH IANAA, and in fact I have a mild case of tinnitus which drowns out the cost-asymptotic 10-20% of difference between a good CD hooked to a clean amp and Klipsches and serious high-end componentry.
Not to mention the portable and automotive experiences really lend themselves to good economical performance. For multi-thousand-dollar aphile componentry to be worth it you really need to own and control the soundstage (even with headphones you need a good quiet (preferably soundproof) room). In a car, that kind of spending is just silly: there's plenty of good-enough stuff at reasonable prices.
Then again, I tend to be a price/performance freak. I'm not the type to typically buy the most expensive/fastest CPU, vidcard, etc.. I buy the best balance at the time which offers the longest service life possible.
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, in the old days, you bought a record, and put it on your record player, and you played it. No problems, and consumers had nothing to do with copyright, because they never copied music. Copyright just governed the publishers, and it was designed for that, and it worked. What copying or deriving the public did do, excerpts, satire, and so on, was covered by fair use clauses.
However, these days, copying is no longer done by publishers alone. I buy a CD, pop it in my PC, rip it, copy the content to my laptop, and listen to it while I'm working. Many people want to share music with their friends via the Internet.
So, copyright licences, which were once simply business deals between content creators and content publishers, are now something that the consumer is getting involved in. Maybe that means that the copyright laws must be changed.
Now about the DMCA, yes it is a bad law. It is rediculous that when I play a DVD I bought in the video shop, in the DVD drive that I bought in the computer shop, using a program that I downloaded with permission from its author, I am breaking the law. But the problem is the law, now how it is implemented in technology. What we need to do is not not implementing the law in our technology, what we need to do is to get rid of it altogether. For that, we need popular support, and for that we need to convince people that it is a bad law. Showing people the results hands-on seems to me like a good way of achieving that.
Re:Ultimately you're wrong. (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe you mean that lossy compression will be undesirable. What could be undesirable about lossless compression? Does
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:3, Insightful)
I am buying a copy of a copyrighted work, not a piece of plastic. The only rights they can "reserve" are the copyrights.
Downloading maybe, but an EULA presented at install time for a program I've purchased or otherwise legally obtained is meaningless since that copy is already my property. They can't demand I sign a contact to use my own property.
Re:Wrong (Score:1, Insightful)
That argument is really grasping at logical straws. LPs in the 60s would sell for an inflation-adjusted price of about 30 dollars. Tapes aren't of a high quality and many people would have to replace their favorite audio tapes every few years, having worn them out. If people weren't willing to pay high sums for a record, they wouldn't be sold at such a price. Industries aren't obligated to keep consistent prices over 25 years.
The idea of all people who disagree with you being RIAA confederates is a paranoid lunacy, obviously.
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:4, Insightful)
You can always bring everything down to *.wav and then convert it to whatever you wish.
Converting DRM protected WMA files to WAV (and MP3s) [tech-recipes.com]
Re:Proof of ownership (Score:2, Insightful)
In the USA at least you should be able to have a 200GB drive full of music and unless obviously from other sources should be assumed to be legal music.
Shouldn't it?
Re:Sound's Great... (Score:4, Insightful)
Small correction: copyright law does not allow you to do whatever in all situations. You cannot publicly (which generally means charge money) show a DVD, even though you bought it. You cannot play a CD at your place of business (this might have changed in the last few years) I think there are a couple other exceptions which are generally designed to charge businesses extra money without interfering with people.
Of course if you have any questions or MIGHT be coming close to some such situation you need to see a lawyer.
Re:Random thoughts (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, speaking as someone who listens to a fair bit of classical music, 128Kbit MP3's sound really lousy, unless you're listening on a portable player. It just doesn't cut it on a proper sound system.
I can't see myself investing in a format (MP3 that is) that has such relatively poor sound quality. I'm reminded of an interview I heard with Johnny Lydon some time ago - he was convinced the whole MP3 thing was a scam, because you're essentially paying for something with such mediocre sound quality (his words were a little more colourful). :)
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
TCData file? (Score:3, Insightful)