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

[amirm]

Indeed. There is next to no competitor to HD Tracks for example. And the typical customer has a lot invested in gear and tends to be less price sensitive than the general public.

 

[Joe Whip]

You now have Superhighrez.com which has some interesting titles and an ever increasing amount of DSD 64 stuff. I just bit the bullet and purchased a new computer to serve as a music server and will get into computer audio. Hopefully the new computer will arrive sometime this week. I just need to get the Loki DSD DAC to go with my current DAC and I will be set.

 

[caesar]

Indeed. There is next to no competitor to HD Tracks for example. And the typical customer has a lot invested in gear and tends to be less price sensitive than the general public.

Great point, Amir. The audiophiles don't seem to be very responsive (or elastic, in economists’ terminology) to price. What's a few extra bucks to get that high and be transported to a state of bliss? Makes me wonder why the downloads are priced so cheap.

 

[rrr]

Great point, Amir. The audiophiles don't seem to be very responsive (or elastic, in economists’ terminology) to price. .

Sure they are, that's why nearly all of this stuff is available on the torrent sites, free!

 

[merrillaudio]

From a purely academic standpoint (that means thorectical with no information to back this up)

1. CDs were priced higher than vinyl (when CD's came out) because the industry thought the could get a price hike with more profits. This played out to be the opposite. The thought process is now with downloads, they could do the same and perhaps capture the profits that they did not get with the CD's. This is profit not per CD but per album recorded.
2. If the music was priced lower, there would be less incentive to copy, torrent (download for free), and not buy. This would increase the quantity. Since costs for digital downloads are fixed, any increase in quantity is pure profit. I suspect the increase in quantity will more than offset the decrease in profits from the lowered price, and I am guessing from the Freemium products out there, that the increase in quantity will be a lot. If this is the norm, then copying will slow down, not cease but slow down. At a certain price point, the impulse purchase will increase the quantity by a lot.
3. If the culture is that it is cheap enough to buy, then many will buy rather than copy and that will develop generationally to become the norm. Raise the price and other options are looked at again.
4. With the internet, the main publishing houses don't control the whole market. The sales per album recorded are less as there are a lot more choices for consumers down to the artist that sells 1 song (cheap to sell on the internet) - The long Tail.

Until that time, support your local high rez DSD and Double DSD (without PCM editing) downloads. Kidding. Support all high rez and direct to tape recordings that don't have compression.

 

[MrAcoustat]

From a purely academic standpoint (that means thorectical with no information to back this up)

1. CDs were priced higher than vinyl (when CD's came out) because the industry thought the could get a price hike with more profits. This played out to be the opposite. The thought process is now with downloads, they could do the same and perhaps capture the profits that they did not get with the CD's. This is profit not per CD but per album recorded.
2. If the music was priced lower, there would be less incentive to copy, torrent (download for free), and not buy. This would increase the quantity. Since costs for digital downloads are fixed, any increase in quantity is pure profit. I suspect the increase in quantity will more than offset the decrease in profits from the lowered price, and I am guessing from the Freemium products out there, that the increase in quantity will be a lot. If this is the norm, then copying will slow down, not cease but slow down. At a certain price point, the impulse purchase will increase the quantity by a lot.
3. If the culture is that it is cheap enough to buy, then many will buy rather than copy and that will develop generationally to become the norm. Raise the price and other options are looked at again.
4. With the internet, the main publishing houses don't control the whole market. The sales per album recorded are less as there are a lot more choices for consumers down to the artist that sells 1 song (cheap to sell on the internet) - The long Tail.

Until that time, support your local high rez DSD and Double DSD (without PCM editing) downloads. Kidding. Support all high rez and direct to tape recordings that don't have compression.

I for one don't think that downloads are expensive IF i was in computer music i wouldn't mind paying $2.99 per downloads because there are rarely more than three good songs on an album BUT i am not ready for downloads i am 100% for cd's BUT i know that it's going to be the NORM pretty soon till then i will stick to the little silver discs.

 

[rbbert]

At this time I burn all my downloads (a few thousand at least) to disc for listening, so I'm not sure I completely under your point.

 

[mep]

At this time I burn all my downloads (a few thousand at least) to disc for listening, so I'm not sure I completely under your point.

Say what?? Why do you do that? Do you think that burning them back to CDs makes the music sound better?

 

[rbbert]

Say what?? Why do you do that? Do you think that burning them back to CDs makes the music sound better?

Mostly for convenience. It's much easier for me find a disc than wade through a hard drive.

 

[mep]

Mostly for convenience. It's much easier for me find a disc than wade through a hard drive.

OK.

 

[microstrip]

(...) It's much easier for me find a disc than wade through a hard drive.

+1!

 

[FrantzM]

Mostly for convenience. It's much easier for me find a disc than wade through a hard drive.

Really !!!??!!??!?!?!?!?

Come on!!

Using any one of the popular players you find what you want by simply typing it ..

 

[mep]

Really !!!??!!??!?!?!?!?

Come on!!

Using any one of the popular players you find what you want by simply typing it ..

Kind of what I thought. I thought part of the joy of being a digit head is that you get to become a digital couch potato. Having to get up our of your listening chair and remove a CD from the CDP, put it away, find the next one you want to play, and inserting it in the CDP is so 1980s. Sheesh. I also thought we had something like a second cousin consensus (vs. a brotherly consensus) that CDs actually sound better when they are played back from a hard drive, but I guess not.

 

[rbbert]

Consensus? What's that

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I don't have my PC connected to my setup yet (something I will do this year though), so I also make copies of music to play via the CDP. I actually like making various compilation discs as well. Once the PC is connected I won't bother with that though.

 

[MrAcoustat]

Kind of what I thought. I thought part of the joy of being a digit head is that you get to become a digital couch potato. Having to get up our of your listening chair and remove a CD from the CDP, put it away, find the next one you want to play, and inserting it in the CDP is so 1980s. Sheesh. I also thought we had something like a second cousin consensus (vs. a brotherly consensus) that CDs actually sound better when they are played back from a hard drive, but I guess not.

I choose what i want to listend then put them in my ( 16 favorites rack ) and i have for a few hours of pleasure.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I choose what i want to listend then put them in my ( 16 favorites rack ) and i have for a few hours of pleasure. View attachment 15090

A bit time consuming to do I would think, but that's actually quite a nice idea!

 

[MrAcoustat]

A bit time consuming to do I would think, but that's actually quite a nice idea!

True BUT as an old retired man TIME is not a problem.

 

[mep]

True BUT as an old retired man TIME is not a problem.

...until you run out of it.

 

[MrAcoustat]

...until you run out of it.

Whe will ALL reach that point mep.