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Will the rise of streaming put more tasty disc spinners onto the s/h mkt in 2011?

Basil said:
I can only comment as far as setting up a squeezebox, but there was no 'initial server setup'.

It took about 10 minutes to get it up and running, 5 minutes of that was entering my alpha-numeric network code.

I fully accept ripping several hundred CDs onto a HDD was quite an effort, but once done, it just works!
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Realistically, I'll be facing the issue at some point unless I skip local storage and just use the cloud. Still, I'm avoiding it like the plague as I'd like something pleasurable in my life that doesn't rely on a damn computer. Admittedly, a personal quirk...
 
From where I'm sitting, CDs have been dead for a least a decade. I live in a college town (Pittsburgh) and it is nearly impossible to buy new CDs in the main part of the city--which just happens to be where the major universities are. This has been true since I arrived (2002). I assume this is because students just don't buy them. If you want to them, you need to drive out to the suburbs and go to a mall. Even there, the selection has been dwindling. Sure you can order CDs through Amazon and elsewhere. But it just seems like the economics of selling music is inevitably going to be through downloads of some sort, especially if you have to order music on-line anyway. Why pay to ship stuff, if you can just deliver it electronically? Plus you can pretty much eliminate the used market if you copy protect the download. I would think that would be an economic plus for the music business (or not--who knows?).

On the plus side, Pittsburgh does have a great record store.
 
stackowax said:
From where I'm sitting, CDs have been dead for a least a decade. I live in a college town (Pittsburgh) and it is nearly impossible to buy new CDs in the main part of the city--which just happens to be where the major universities are. This has been true since I arrived (2002). I assume this is because students just don't buy them. If you want to them, you need to drive out to the suburbs and go to a mall. Even there, the selection has been dwindling. Sure you can order CDs through Amazon and elsewhere. But it just seems like the economics of selling music is inevitably going to be through downloads of some sort, especially if you have to order music on-line anyway. Why pay to ship stuff, if you can just deliver it electronically? Plus you can pretty much eliminate the used market if you copy protect the download. I would think that would be an economic plus for the music business (or not--who knows?).

On the plus side, Pittsburgh does have a great record store.
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I've lost count of how many sites charge more for low bit rate MP3, than they do for delivering CD. Where's the logic in paying more for less?
 
__mark__ said:
Paul Stephenson, Naim, August 2010, "A third of our business is still CD players."

Naim turnover 2010, £15,000,000.
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Is that how much their new CD player is going to cost?


Rack Kit said:
I've lost count of how many sites charge more for low bit rate MP3, than they do for delivering CD. Where's the logic in paying more for less?
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Whoever said the human race was logical?
 
Part of the CDs decline is price. Can't speculate about that anywhere but the US. Best Buy has the best in store prices I know of - typically $9.99 - $12.99. Everywhere else I look is just outrageous. The same CD in places like FYE and Barnes &Noble is typically $17.99. Just ridiculous IMO.

What makes the cost even worse is that most pop albums are anything but albums. They typically have one or two songs at most that most people want. $17.99 for 2 songs at best? No wonder why people have turned go iTunes and the like. Furthermore, iTunes typically sells full albums for $9.99. We know the difference and in sound appreciate the physical media. A lot don't know the difference and, I agree, the physical media and stuff in the case isn't worth the extra $9 or so.

As most do here, I'm assuming, I don't buy an album for one or two tracks. I buy the whole thing. At $9.99 - $12.99, it's easily worth buying the CD. At $17.99, not a chance most of the time.

While Amazon has CDs for what Best Buy charges and sometimes less, shipping isn't free nor instant. Downloads are instant gratification.

If iTunes or anyone else went full redbook or higher for the physical media's price, and it wasn't available locally, I'd download the music too. Best Buy's music section went from 5 or so double sided rows, to two half length single sided rows in about a year. Rumor is that they plan to eliminate CDs from the floor and sell them online only. A shame if you ask me. I'd imagine they've got some very smart bean counters who've calculated how much they're making vs losing by having that space dedicated to CDs, but when they're gone, I have no reason to enter the store anymore. The rest of what they sell is either junk or stuff that's comparably priced elsewhere.

People talk about used music and how cheap it is. The only place I see used CDs is FYE, and the used CDs are typically $2-$3 less than the new one. With their inflated prices on new CDs, modt often the used ones are more than a new one at Best Buy. Why buy a used CD with a cracked case and beat up inserts for $12 when I can get a new one for $10?
 
When I was a kid - 80's - there were a ton of music stores, both chain and independent. They were always filled with people, and everyone knew Tuesday meant new releases. At least the 80's were good for something other than my mullet!
 
stu pitt said:
People talk about used music and how cheap it is. The only place I see used CDs is FYE, and the used CDs are typically $2-$3 less than the new one. With their inflated prices on new CDs, modt often the used ones are more than a new one at Best Buy. Why buy a used CD with a cracked case and beat up inserts for $12 when I can get a new one for $10?
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Stu,

The problem is your store.

In contrast, we have a small mom and pop chain across our state which boasts fifty thousand titles in stock in one of their locations and nearly that many in the rest. Their used CDs sell between six and eight dollars a piece and are always in excellent condition without cracked cases, missing disks or liner notes. After initial purchase from the customer, all disks are shipped out to a firm for cleaning before they are put out on the shelves for sale. Should a blemish-free disk have a defect after purchase, the customer has seven days to return it for a complete refund. Because of this, they get ninety percent of my used cd business.

Best Buy, Barnes and Nobles, Borders, etc are ridiculous with their $17.99 price tags and horrible selection. I haven't made a purchase from one of those places in years. Most all of my new CD purchases are from Amazon. I don't mind paying more for selection and goods which are actually in stock. Amazon fills those requirments for me.

regards,

dave
 
And i thought everything in the states was cheaper. Ordered two CD albums from last year for a grand total of £11 inc p&p (HMV Online).

I find an album i like, then check the prices across the 7 or so online suppliers i'm signed up and take the cheapest one.
 
While Amazon has CDs for what Best Buy charges and sometimes less, shipping isn't free nor instant.
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Instant it may not be, but Amazon.co.uk has had free shipping for quite a while now.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
vuk said:
that's quite a statement, given that i haven't heard anything in that price range see off my CDX (even without XPS).


vuk.
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My SQ3/Lavry DA10 easily sees of my CDX with a PS and I know the Lavry can be bettered. Maybe your streaming kit isn't set up properly or there is a limitation somewhere in your system... ;)
 
dave said:
Stu,

The problem is your store.

In contrast, we have a small mom and pop chain across our state which boasts fifty thousand titles in stock in one of their locations and nearly that many in the rest. Their used CDs sell between six and eight dollars a piece and are always in excellent condition without cracked cases, missing disks or liner notes. After initial purchase from the customer, all disks are shipped out to a firm for cleaning before they are put out on the shelves for sale. Should a blemish-free disk have a defect after purchase, the customer has seven days to return it for a complete refund. Because of this, they get ninety percent of my used cd business.

Best Buy, Barnes and Nobles, Borders, etc are ridiculous with their $17.99 price tags and horrible selection. I haven't made a purchase from one of those places in years. Most all of my new CD purchases are from Amazon. I don't mind paying more for selection and goods which are actually in stock. Amazon fills those requirments for me.

regards,

dave
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The problem is that we don't have any used music stores where I am - about 25 minutes outside NYC! NYC does, but even though it's a 25 minute train ride, it's just an aal day thing that just gets tiring after a while.

I've seen a few good used music stores in my travels. But they've been few and far between, unfortunately. What state are you in? What's the name of the store?

While more people are listening to more music and more often now than probably ever in the past, it seems like music has no real value any more.
 
positive_energy said:
Streaming means over a (telecommunications) network. When you playback from you computer its not necessarily streaming. There has to be some sort of network/protocol in place. A PC connected to a DAC connected to speakers is not streaming.

Streaming is a bag of pain.
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I stream music over my home network and it's not at all difficult.
 
I find streaming easy and convenient. I can hear the difference between my squeezebox streaming lossless files and my universal player playing CDs but the jury is out as to which I prefer. Both are fine. I prefer the squeezebox into an external DAC (although just using the analogue outs at the moment) to either the universal player or any CD player I've owned. Saying that, I've never owned a high end Cd player, only mid priced (cambridge audio, arcam, Sony, technics) mass market stuff.

Technically, setting up streaming was a doddle, though.

Increasingly my listening is about 40% vinyl, 40% streamed audio and the rest either SACD or DVD from the universal player or FM. Almost no ordinary CDs at all.
 
stu pitt said:
The problem is that we don't have any used music stores where I am - about 25 minutes outside NYC! NYC does, but even though it's a 25 minute train ride, it's just an aal day thing that just gets tiring after a while.

I've seen a few good used music stores in my travels. But they've been few and far between, unfortunately. What state are you in? What's the name of the store?

While more people are listening to more music and more often now than probably ever in the past, it seems like music has no real value any more.
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Wow! Near NYC and nothing close by without entering the city! Man am I lucky out here in the sticks;-)

I live in NC. Our store is called "Edward McKay's Used Books and More":

http://www.wefeedyourhead.net/1/
 
Yes it's really tricky, took all of two minutes to set up the network ,then at least thirty seconds to plug the DAC into the Mac.
Keith.
 
I still buy CDs as I always did, I just listen to them via a streamer. They are all stored in a cupboard in case I fancy playing the disc or re-ripping in the event of multiple disc failures.

I do buy some downloads from Linn and via an Emusic subscription but usually find CD and then ripping is both more cost effective and more satisfying.
 
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