What Will Become Of The CD?

“Out with the old and in with the new” seems to accurately describe the way this generation wants to listen to their music. The “new” would be the endless opportunity offered through digital downloads, with the ability to have almost any song imaginable at any time of the day. The “old” would be the CD. Why would you want to wait for tomorrow until the record store opens to buy the song you just heard on this week’s episode of the O.C., when you can go to the internet and download it in several minutes? Sure, the quality may be beter on the CD, but the sound offered from digital downloads seems to be constantly improving. What will happen when the quality offered from a CD matches or surpasses that of the CD?

Jupiter Research seems to be highly optimistic. They predict that in 2011, 78 percent of the money spent on music will go to buying CDs. On the other hand, just a couple of months ago, EMI Music Chairman and Chief Executive Alain Levy was quoted by the Houston Press, telling the students at the London Business School that “…the CD as it is right now is dead.” Ged Doherty, the UK head of Sony BMG label group, was quoted making the prediction that CD sales would be 50 percent less in three years than they are now. The second two opinions seem more likely, especially with the recent closure of 89 Tower record stores, and the increase in digital downloading.

With record stores closing music fans will flock quicker to the Internet for their music cravings. Without record stores, CD retail is left to major stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. These larger retail stores focus only on the most popular music from major labels, limiting CD selections to guaranteed sellers. This also decreases the chances of impulse buying of CDs, since many artists are not found at these stores. Music selections take up a couple aisles, if that, and if an artist is not played repetitively on the radio, you probably will not find the CD at all at these larger retail stores.

The decreased selections offered by large retail stores have caused this generation to lose interest in purchasing CDs from them. According to the Houston Press, the CD audience is limited to predominately age thirty and up. This is bad news for CD sales, since people buy less music as they become older.

The CD seems to be following the image of the cassette today. It is outdated. It also scratches easily, takes up space, and is inconvenient. Think about how long it takes to download one of your CDs into your iTunes library to put it on your iPod. Rather than taking the time of downloading songs from my old CDs onto my iPod, I find myself repurchasing the songs from iTunes.

The reason I say old CDs, is because I realized that I have not purchased a CD in months. I find that I only purchase CDs for my favorite artists, and for local bands, when I attend concerts. At concerts, I feel a closer connection to the artist, like I am supporting his or her music. With my favorite artists, I buy the CDs to get the extra information offered, such as lyrics, DVD bonuses, and other added benefits. If it was just the songs I was interested in, I could easily download them. I suppose though, this is why people still value vinyl records, because the album covers are unique, and offer lots of information about the artist. The difference though, is that vinyl records, although inconvenient like CDs, offer a distinctly better quality. This has resulted in the resurgence in used album purchases.

So it comes down to this. The digital downloads are the new convenience, like CDs used to be. They allow you to pick which songs you want, and leave out the ones you do not want. This way you can have a handheld device (an iPod or other mp3 player) with an entire library of music that can be taken in the car or played on a stereo system. Gone are the days of shelves filled with music libraries, or CD cases rolling around in the back seat of cars. Some of the few characteristics the CD still has is its quality and bonus features included with the CD (artist biographies, DVC extras, or other notes from the artist). Perhaps, the CD will be like the album. When people want a good quality recording of their favorite artist, that was not released on an album, they will look to the CD. As it is albums have the added benefit of being low in cost, maybe the CD will drop in price and follow the album’s footsteps.