Why are downloaded cd's so expensive? Is it a rip-off?

[amirm]

I have been refusing to pay so much for the downloads, and I will continue to refuse : the costs cannot be justified (to my eyes).

I used to be the same but then one day I decide that we need to support these distributors so that they thrive and expand. Otherwise one day we wake up and all there is, is MP3 downloads with CD getting phased out. So now I play for music I like and are not bothered by this.

Secondly I prefer to have the physical support (CD) than simply a file : I get more for less money.

Again, I used to think the same but not anymore . Love being able to download the music here and now. And importantly not having to sit at my computer and ripping music and having to fix the metadata that can be quite wrong or missing for niche content.

 

[Blizzard]

I can't believe people put so much value on an aluminum plated piece of plastic that scratches easily, skips and takes physical space to store. I'd take a download any day over those worthless relics from a past era.

 

[Blizzard]

yes your right but its the content i value not the disc. they sound ok on my TAD.

Exactly. So why people would have a problem with downloads makes no sense to me. Likely the same crowd who pays for groceries with a personal cheque, and goes into the bank to pay bills rather than online.

 

[still-one]

Exactly. So why people would have a problem with downloads makes no sense to me. Likely the same crowd who pays for groceries with a personal cheque, and goes into the bank to pay bills rather than online.

Because you do not own downloads and it is illegal to re-sell them. You can re-sell your CD's but not a iPod or a server full of music.

 

[still-one]

people moaning about the price of music is pathetic. its all a bargin, i got 12 bill evans albums for £12 they sound ok. iv got loads of old jazz from the 50s and 60s on cd at £6-12 yes single layer shm sacd is more @ £25-70 but well worth it. downloads are fair too though i am yet to go down this road

i cant belive how great they all sound. im totaly in love with gerry mulligen jhonny hodges bud powell ben webster just to name a few. they are all playing live in my living room.

i cant belive any one who has a system thats musical to them would moan. shame on the ones that do.


listening to bill evans now and his subtle heart felt ivory strokeing is beautiful.

The reason that you were able to purchase 12 Bill Evans albums for £12 is that the average listener does not want that music. You are fortunate that you enjoy a genre that does't interest the average purchaser of music.

 

[Blizzard]

Because you do not own downloads and it is illegal to re-sell them. You can re-sell your CD's but not a iPod or a server full of music.

Nobody's going to take my downloads away from me. As long as the music is on my server, it's mine enough for me.Why would you want to sell your downloads? If you don't like the music, don't buy it. Collect art instead, and use music for listening to.

 

[still-one]

Nobody's going to take my downloads away from me. As long as the music is on my server, it's mine enough for me.Why would you want to sell your downloads? If you don't like the music, don't buy it. Collect art instead, and use music for listening to.

Post deleted. Please do not attack another member of this forum for any reason. Debating the technical merit of a post is acceptable but attacking a member is against the TOS of this forum. Please consider this a formal warning still-one. Posts like this will not be tolerated by any member of the management team.

Tom

 

[NorthStar]

 

[Blizzard]

Spooky

 

[Blizzard]

bit unfair but while you might be happy bliz thats not the point. their is more to it. its kind or wrong on a deeper level.

To me music is about the music. If I can get it sent to me in 2 minutes, in a much higher quality format than CD, store it on a server so it can easily be cued up on my mobile device GUI, I'm a happy man. If it's just about being a collector of material objects this maybe a different story. Vinyl is great for that. But to me the music is about the music.

 

[amirm]

Nobody's going to take my downloads away from me. As long as the music is on my server, it's mine enough for me.Why would you want to sell your downloads? If you don't like the music, don't buy it. Collect art instead, and use music for listening to.

I am with you Blizzard. I buy a ton of used CDs. I suspect vast majority kept a copy and are selling the CD still. This is not ethical.

Also in the age of easy previewing including full length albums in vast majority of cases through Youtube, there is no excuse to want to sell a CD because you didn't know what the music was before you bought it. You bought it thinking you liked the music and that is that.

Is there a license anyway for music? Maybe it is buried in the registration process but I buy a ton of music and other than Pono, none of them make me accept any kind of license. The entire process is a "buying" process form shopping cart to purchase. If so in US are protected by first sale doctrine and can choose to sell the downloads anyway.

Really it is a "gift" that in music we get access to high resolution stereo masters with no copy protection whatsoever. In video the content is heavily guarded and the higher the resolution, the stronger the locks. Can we complain and moan about music prices? Sure, just like we can about price of bread . But as audiophiles, we better buy or these few tiny companies won't be around to serve us. They will lose the battle to Amazon and iTunes and one day you wake up and there are few CDs to buy and everything else is compressed.

 

[Blizzard]

I am with you Blizzard. I buy a ton of used CDs. I suspect vast majority kept a copy and are selling the CD still. This is not ethical.

Also in the age of easy previewing including full length albums in vast majority of cases through Youtube, there is no excuse to want to sell a CD because you didn't know what the music was before you bought it. You bought it thinking you liked the music and that is that.

Is there a license anyway for music? Maybe it is buried in the registration process but I buy a ton of music and other than Pono, none of them make me accept any kind of license. The entire process is a "buying" process form shopping cart to purchase. If so in US are protected by first sale doctrine and can choose to sell the downloads anyway.

Really it is a "gift" that in music we get access to high resolution stereo masters with no copy protection whatsoever. In video the content is heavily guarded and the higher the resolution, the stronger the locks. Can we complain and moan about music prices? Sure, just like we can about price of bread . But as audiophiles, we better buy or these few tiny companies won't be around to serve us. They will lose the battle to Amazon and iTunes and one day you wake up and there are few CDs to buy and everything else is compressed.

Exactly. Music downloads are the best thing to ever happen for the music lover. I'm all for supporting the artists and the music, not polluting the planet with plastic disks just so we can use an inferior form factor.

 

[Blizzard]

i agree with you but is the whole buying things that unlimately dont end up being owned by you i think is what still-one was on about.

if thats the case then he has a point but i dont know what the blatent rudeness was about...

oh and music is compressed to hell dynamics wise either way.

oh and i would not worrie about the planet getting poluted.. if it ends up humans can no longer be sustained we will die and in doing so allow something else to evolve and take our place. no bad thing in my book

I understand it's hard to wrap heads around the concept. But music shouldn't be owned by anyone anyways. It should be for us all to enjoy, share and pass on through the generations. But the artists, and all the folks who work hard to deliver this music to us to enjoy, have bills to pay too. So let's support them, and let's support innovation as well at the same time!

Yeah I suppose you're right about that. We will just become oil for the aliens to drill for buried miles under the earth in a few million years anyways

 

[Detlof]

yea then the sun implodes so who gives a flying funkmister.

Don't agree Spaz, true, the universe will exist without us, but we are the ones, who bear witness of its existence.

 

[Detlof]

Sorry Spaz, to disappoint you, but I completely agree with both your points, even if they seem to contradict each other. I cannot prove that the Universe exists without me, but the probability is high.

 

[amirm]

I should note that while it does not happen all the time, in a number of instances I have found the download cheaper than the CD. This is especially true of CDs which their time have come and gone.

 

[microstrip]

I can't believe people put so much value on an aluminum plated piece of plastic that scratches easily, skips and takes physical space to store. I'd take a download any day over those worthless relics from a past era.

Why do you need to post your disdain for those who value the aluminum plate, paper liner notes and rituals? We respect your downloads, your upgrades and your posts, I think we can expect the same for you.

 

[microstrip]

Because you do not own downloads and it is illegal to re-sell them. You can re-sell your CD's but not a iPod or a server full of music.

I have found from experience in several forums that the issue of ownership and legal rights is a taboo subject - no one dares to post about it.

 

[Blizzard]

Why do you need to post your disdain for those who value the aluminum plate, paper liner notes and rituals? We respect your downloads, your upgrades and your posts, I think we can expect the same for you.

I guess I find it hard to be passionate about plastic, aluminum and inferior file formats. Music to me is about the music itself, and the quality. And if I can get it in a superior format that occupies no physical space, can be easily cued up with a mobile GUI etc, it works for me. No offence to others who are passionate about the outdated form factor.

Looks to me this thread is about bashing downloads. I'm just stating the several obvious reasons downloads are superior. If CD's actually sounded better it would be 1 thing, but they don't. And if you really want the music on the CD to play in your old fashioned CD transport, simply burn it onto a disk!

 

[Blizzard]

It won't be long before someone moans and cries about the demise of the laserdisc. The bigger, and more cumbersome it is, the better the value.