Another thing that’d be nice…
October 1st, 2007 Posted in classical music, mp3
You know what’d be absolutely bloody fantastic, except no-one in their right mind would do it? If there was an online music store in which you could buy an album, and you could instantly download the MP3s, but then they’d also ship out the CD to you. Since most people probably just rip the CD when they get it anyway (based on very conclusive scientific figures which I just made up a few seconds ago) it’s just a way of encouraging people to buy from you, for a little bit more cost and convenience.
I’m pretty confident that this idea is completely unworkable due to licensing issues and copyrights and other hugely boring, legal and depressingly fundamental issues. By the time the record companies realize that they wouldn’t really be losing much cash by allowing this to happen we’ll probably be getting all of our music beamed directly into our minds, and no-one will even remember what a CD looked like. Oh well.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:45 am
But haven’t you heard? CDs are going out of style.
I occasionally burn my digital stuff on CDs or DVDs for archiving, or on the off chance that I might want to play something in a place where only a CD player is available, but now that the 160 gb iPod is here, I can carry practically everything I want to in a small box, and with good headphones or a good stereo system it sounds quite acceptable to me. (The hard core vinyl fans would have nothing to with me, but that’s another congregation altogether.)
Probably some people feel more secure with CDs because they are worried about hard disk failures or other computer disasters, but a proper back-up regime will take care of that. No one has any business using a computer who doesn’t know how to back up their stuff, but an amazing number of people apparently don’t bother.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:25 am
This is a fantastic idea. Miss Mussel would buy way more from iTunes if she knew the CD was coming later. The liner notes along are generally worth the extra price, not to mention the superior sound quality. Also, having a tangible pile of CDs is a way of connecting physically with the music in a way that MP3s can’t offer.
Looks like you’ve got some smooth talking to do at the next Apple conference.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:52 am
JonJ, Mussel,
Yeah, sometimes I (almost) feel like a bit of a luddite when it comes to music downloads. I’m still clinging to CDs though, since:
1) They still cost about as much as the MP3s do, but you get a higher quality recording (which basically ends up as a backup, since I also listen to MP3s almost exclusively)
2) You get the liner notes.
I would probably switch completely to downloads if they were (pick two of the following three options): cheaper than CDs, as high quality as CDs, included access to online liner notes.
I think the music industry is going to have think of a replacement for liner notes/inlays/album art, in every music genre. Wouldn’t be nice if after you bought an MP3 classical album, you received in the mail a little “concert guide”? In fact, there’s a lot more freedom because there is now not the size limitation of the CD case. People really seem to miss the physical connection that physical media give you.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Would the artist get paid twice?
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Anna,
Maybe slightly – I think the principle should be that since you already bought the music, they can provide you with a second copy for not much extra charge. Of course, since you are getting an additional benefit people will want to charge as much as possible for that privilege. Ideally, the artist would receive a percentage of the total profit from the sale, so any additional charge would add to their cut.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Ben,
interesting idea! I have managed ecommerce stores for music for the last 7 years and I’ve thought about doing something like this for years. Especially for preorders of titles that have yet to be released. Often times I would have cds that people would place an order for 30-60 days (sometimes more) prior to release and thought it would be great to give the consumer some instant gratification. There are some licensing issues and practical issues to position the offer so that it is a win win win.
I’m kicking around the idea again and will see what comes of it.
October 8th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
John,
Great! If it happens I shall definitely be using it…