Jahfin Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 I think I even posted some personal experiences in those threads, but I don't remember the answer to my question being very clear there, either. If MP3s are available online, electronically - there will be no physical media for the music, no package, cover art, credits, lyrics, etc? Glad I still got a frisbee or two, for rollin' "fatties". Or as Shelby Lynne is quoted on the Record Store Day website, "you can't roll a joint on an iPod". As for your question, I think the answer is rather obvious but can't completely be answered until we see the complete demise of the CD. Hopefully with the renewed popularity of vinyl we won't ever see record stores disappear completely from the landscape. As for the artwork, some sites still make that available, you just have to use your home computer to print it off. In other cases, the DVD format is being used to replace artwork and liner notes by providing some multimedia content to go along with the music. How it will all pan out remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 O.K., got a better understanding now - thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainsbarre Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I'd really like to know - what is the proposed method of buying music that will soon replace CDs? If it's MP3 or online or whatever, will music stores be obsolete? It'll have to be MP3s because no-one would be wanting to dowload Wav files...just too big. Compression is how it'll continue to go. Yeah music stores will vanish. Maybe not completely but there probably won't be a CD shop in every suburb anymore... Funnily enough, a couple of years ago, I was in an interview with Virgin Stores Business Managers here in Australia, and I asked them how they felt the future of music download would affect their retail business, and it shocked me, but they didn't think it would be affected at all. They said they felt music download would only constitute 25% of all music sales, and that the remainding 75% would be through retail... And I said "yeah, but not in 10 years time, surely...", but no they stuck to their guns and said that music download would never go above 25% of the market share, that it had now levelled off... I personally think that is bullshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 It'll have to be MP3s because no-one would be wanting to dowload Wav files...just too big. Compression is how it'll continue to go. No, it won't have to be mp3s. At least as long as there's lossless formats around like FLAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I think CD's will disappear completely, but not vinyl. There are too many collectors of vinyl as there is bands that are intrested in releasing their music on vinyl. Of course, the masses will download their music and the regular Britney-artists will only release their material as downloads, but I won't cry over that. Almost every current band (well known and obscure) I'm listening to has always released their records on vinyl as an alternative to downloads, I can't see the day it will end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 But if current bands are still releasing stuff on vinyl, why do I only see old second hand (or no) vinyl in the stores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 But if current bands are still releasing stuff on vinyl, why do I only see old second hand (or no) vinyl in the stores? You're shopping at the wrong stores. Hell, I even saw the soundtrack to the Who's Amazing Journey documentary on vinyl at Best Buy. I wonder what the clueless fucks that call themselves clerks there think it is. If you're searching out new vinyl and none of your local record stores stock any, your best bet is to see if they can order it for you or order it online yourself. As for the longevity of CDs, they may well continue to stick around well after their demise just as vinyl has. Or they may go the way of 8-tracks and cassettes. I think it's anyone's guess at this point. With the way technology is advancing there's no telling what the popular format for music will be in 10-20 years but it's sure going to be interesting to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Not Dead Yet: Why the Album Isn't Going Anywhere by Adam Bunch The album is dead. Or so they tell us anyway, over and over again. Steve Jobs declared it obsolete years ago. USA Today claims that "the very concept of songs integrated into a whole faces extinction." The New York Times has featured one expert after the next making dire predictions: "The album is going to die," they say. "An album-centric plan will be a thing of the past." And frankly, it's hard to argue with them; the stats do seem to be on their side. By 2007, just four years after the very first iPods hit the shelves, single-song sales were already accounting for two-thirds of the music market. Individual tracks outsell albums online 19 to 1. And between 2000 and 2005, CD sales plummeted by 25 percent. Tower Records has crumbled. iTunes has exploded. It's pretty easy to imagine that an album-less society is just around the corner. It seems like a foregone conclusion that, in just a few short years, we'll have trouble even finding a dozen or so songs strung together in a pre-determined order. To read the remainder of the article click here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 I've been looking everywhere for Led Zeppelin albums on vinyl, but I can't find em anywhere.. hopefully now that vinyl is making a comeback they'll be easier to find I'm not sure how hard you've been looking but this site has some Zep on vinyl. Not sure if you're looking for new or used but either way it's not the only site out there that stocks Zeppelin vinyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzfan715 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Zep vinyl is out of print now. It went out of print a few months back. Try ebay though, you can usually find some great deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheLedOut Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I wonder if Technics still offers turntables? They were decent, for the price. I don't know if they're still around but my vintage Technics that was handed down to me by my dad is as good a turntable as I've seen this side of the 1000 dollar range (apparently vintage Mitsubishi models go for that much now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Zep vinyl is out of print now. It went out of print a few months back. Try ebay though, you can usually find some great deals. Hasn't there been multiple pressings? At any rate, the site I posted a link to in my previous post still has some Zep on vinyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarplum Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I'm not sure how hard you've been looking but this site has some Zep on vinyl. Not sure if you're looking for new or used but either way it's not the only site out there that stocks Zeppelin vinyl. Out of curiosity.. how much did Zeppelin albums go for back when vinyl was the only format around? Or I guess I should just ask what the average price was for a vinyl. And I've noticed the sort of tinny, shallow sound my music has as well. It's actually starting to bother me.. and I can't think of what to do about it, since like people have been saying, mp3 files are compressed, and data is lost. Now that I think about it even more, I remember my parents used to play vinyl on our record player when I was younger, and it did have a much warmer sound, as I recall. This is tempting me to look into vinyl more myself now.. I think this thread is a very interesting discussion so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlaxle 56 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 For me, the only deterrent is the cost of getting all of my favourite bands on vinyl, however I would switch in a heartbeat if I could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I don't know if they're still around but my vintage Technics that was handed down to me by my dad is as good a turntable as I've seen this side of the 1000 dollar range (apparently vintage Mitsubishi models go for that much now). Yikes! We have two Technics turntables that I would assume weren't much over $100. My wife's original one was probably about 25 years old when it crapped out, recently. The replacement is in the living room, going unused - I'm petitioning to get it down in the basement, where it can be given a good workout... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzfan715 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Hasn't there been multiple pressings? At any rate, the site I posted a link to in my previous post still has some Zep on vinyl. I'm postive that it's all out of print. I made a thread about it awhile ago. If I can find it I'll send it to you. I think that's why the newer pressing are going up in price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 One thing that hasn't changed is that the equipment we play our vinyl on still has to be pretty good. Tube amps as opposed to solid state IMHO still make vinyl sound better. I've still got my old Marantz circa 75 and the difference is staggering. Of course a good cartridge is a must as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Out of curiosity.. how much did Zeppelin albums go for back when vinyl was the only format around? Or I guess I should just ask what the average price was for a vinyl. Yeah, because there were also other formats such as 8-tracks and cassettes. To the best of my recollection vinyl in general was around $8-10 (for a single LP) before it was removed from the shelves in my area in 1989 to make way for compact discs. It's strange because now it's not unusual to be able to find CDs on sale for around $10 but high grade vinyl can go for up to $35 a pop. Vinyl pressings are also configured a bit differently these days. Most of them are 45 rpm so a lot of what's available are in 2 LP sets. I find the whole thing a bit intriguing myself. I prefer the convenience of CDs but think they could have been introduced on the market without removing vinyl from store shelves. Prior to that vinyl co-existed with tapes (8-track, cassettes and reel-to-reel) so there's no reason why vinyl couldn't have co-existed with CDs. That's what makes me believe the whole thing was just a scheme by the industry to force CDs on us (the same way the vastly inferior mp3 format is now). All of us that grew up on vinyl replaced a lot of our collections with CDs along the way (though I still have my vinyl collection as well as tons of cassettes, homemade and otherwise). When sales of CDs went down they were sold to us again in "deluxe, remastered" formats to get us to buy the same albums again. Now, suddenly vinyl is back in when it never should have disappeared from the market in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 I'm postive that it's all out of print. I made a thread about it awhile ago. If I can find it I'll send it to you. I think that's why the newer pressing are going up in price. Not to be argumentative but if the Zep catalog was completely out of print none of the albums would be available at all. As for the price, new vinyl is generally pretty high anyway, especially if you want the high grade stuff. Also figure in the oil factor and the price of petroleum in general these days since vinyl is made from those resources. Otherwise, raising the price on Zep vinyl just because it's the last known pressing would be considered price gouging which is illegal (which obviously doesn't stop some people). Also, let me make it clear that I'm no expert on Zep vinyl or vinyl in general. As I mentioned, it's my understanding that there's been several pressings. The most recent I'm familiar with is a Japanese pressing of the entire Zeppelin catalog. If I remember correctly, those are the ones that are now out of print. Any clarification would be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 To the best of my recollection vinyl in general was around $8-10 (for a single LP) before it was removed from the shelves in my area in 1989 to make way for compact discs. I bought most of my albums between 1976 to 1986, approxiametely. Times Square Stores often had recent releases from top rock bands for $ 1.99 - I could swear that's what I paid for Zep II (one of my first albums, ever). The most I ever paid was $12.99 for Yessongs (a 3 record set). The only record store that was within bicycle distance was "Looney Tunes" which is still in business, despite being burned down last year. No new records or bongs there, anymore. I still remember showing my 14 year old friend the "Worst of Jefferson Airplane" album and cracking "Boy, this band must really suck". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarplum Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Yeah, because there were also other formats such as 8-tracks and cassettes. To the best of my recollection vinyl in general was around $8-10 (for a single LP) before it was removed from the shelves in my area in 1989 to make way for compact discs. It's strange because now it's not unusual to be able to find CDs on sale for around $10 but high grade vinyl can go for up to $35 a pop. Vinyl pressings are also configured a bit differently these days. Most of them are 45 rpm so a lot of what's available are in 2 LP sets. I find the whole thing a bit intriguing myself. I prefer the convenience of CDs but think they could have been introduced on the market without removing vinyl from store shelves. Prior to that vinyl co-existed with tapes (8-track, cassettes and reel-to-reel) so there's no reason why vinyl couldn't have co-existed with CDs. That's what makes me believe the whole thing was just a scheme by the industry to force CDs on us (the same way the vastly inferior mp3 format is now). All of us that grew up on vinyl replaced a lot of our collections with CDs along the way (though I still have my vinyl collection as well as tons of cassettes, homemade and otherwise). When sales of CDs went down they were sold to us again in "deluxe, remastered" formats to get us to buy the same albums again. Now, suddenly vinyl is back in when it never should have disappeared from the market in the first place. That's sad how much the price has gone up. It really disappoints me to see how expensive those Zeppelin vinyls are going for now. I was hoping to get some and try them out on the old record player we still have. From what I've been reading.. I hope vinyl at least becomes more readily available and more affordable. Hopefully there really is a growing interest in obtaining them.. that way more would be pressed. Every time I have seen pictures of Zep vinyls, I've always been envious. The packaging just looks so much nicer than a tiny cd case, in my opinion. Maybe I just like that vintage feeling. I don't know. It seems to me that, like you said, perhaps the market has rushed new technology to the shelves in order to meet a demand for convenience, rather than quality. I can definitely see that happening. I'm going to look into this more.. I think it's very interesting. Hopefully a demand for quality becomes more apparent soon. I agree, I have an an mp3 player because it is convenient and small, and I hook it up to my car's stereo because I don't have a cd player.. but I would really like to hear how a good vinyl sounds, in comparison. It'd be nice to at least have the option of listening to vinyl at home, where portability doesn't matter.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarplum Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Here's a clip of a documentary from 1993 about the movement from vinyl to cd.. It talks about how analog is a continuous wave, and digital music compiles samples of that wave.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Klu Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 This is cute and all but in the era of ipod portability, vinyl are just for the chic, poseurs, or generally the un-pragmatic among us (youngsters). I disagree completely. My ipod is portable, as you say. When I go out I take it with me - it's a no brainer. But when I'm at home, sat in my living room, portablity doesn't count for anything. I want the best sound - and that's NEVER going to be mp3. This isn't about being chic - I'm 42 & I've had some of my vinyl since I was a kid (& looked after it too). Some is even older, from my parents' colections. It nearly all still sounds as good as it ever did. I'm not a luddite about it - I have plenty of music on CDs & I'm happy with them too: they're full range uncompressed recordings. Play 'em back on a good system & they can sound great. I buy new music on CD rather than go looking for limited release vinyl editions. As long as it's mixed & mastered right it'll sound good. But my attic is full of storage boxes with hundreds of vinyl albums & I'm not in any hurry to replace them with any other format. ....no offense, but you're not a youngster so this didnt really apply to you. Presumably, at this stage in life you have amassed a fine collection of whatever 20+ yrs gets, and can be as un-practical as you like. I'll wager most kids don't have an attic full of vinyl.....or would find it practical to begin building one... ...the vinyl collection, not the attic. Speaking just for myself, I still have a vast collection of vinyl, one I've been adding to since I was just a child. CDs were introduced as some sort of indestructible, superior format when in fact, they're not. Yes, much has been done to improve the sound quality of CDs since they were first introduced but in no way are they "indestructible". Hell, they may even more delicate than vinyl. Then comes the digital age. Anyone with any knowledge of the mp3 format can tell you they are also not superior to CDs or vinyl, yet they are quickly becoming the most sought after format because the industry is driven by what the casual listener wants, not the avid music listener that knows mp3s are shit. So, once compact discs have disappeared from the shelves and all we are left with are compressed files what do you think I'm going to go with it? Vinyl. It doesn't have a fucking thing to do with trendiness but it does have everything to do with sound quality. I don't disagree with any of this. I just was telling it as it is. Yeah, that's why I want to listen to vinyl, because I constantly worry about what everyone things of me and because I am a youngster. I listen to vinyl because I like the way it sounds. I'm not out to impress anyone or show anyone up. It's about the music and how it sounds, not how people think of me. I'm may be young, but that doesn't mean anything. Vinyl is for anyone who wants to listen to, my grandma listens to vinyl and so does my dad along with all sorts of "older" people I know so I guess that ruins your theory. Unless you can make an arguement that vinyl is a practical way to listen to music in lieu of the present alternatives....how have you ruined my 'theory'? That old geezers don't repurchase albums in CD format still listen to vinyl? If so, you didn't really digest my quote. Btw, you're having your cake and eating it too, considering all things retro have been 'in' for at least a decade, yet you 'don't care' what people think about your retro-likingness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAC64 Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 I still have all the records I bought back in the 70's & 80's, over 400, and still listen to them today. They still have the best sound! Great depth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 Vinyl recordings are spinning a surprising resurgence in this digital age By SARAH SKIDMORE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PORTLAND -- It was a fortuitous typo for the Fred Meyer retail chain. This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.'s latest release "Accelerate" inadvertently entered the "LP" code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores. Some stores sent them back. But a handful put them on the shelves, and 20 LPs sold the first day. The Portland-based company, owned by The Kroger Co., realized the error might not be so bad after all. Fred Meyer is now testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska. Other mainstream retailers are giving vinyl a spin too. Best Buy is testing sales at some stores. To read the rest of the article click here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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