Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Thomas W. Bethel]

Are we getting to the stage where there is going to be no media that we can hold and touch and everything will be streamed?

My mentor who is a GREAT audio engineer and a GREAT mentor recently said that if you want to make money it is not about the media it is about the content. He told me that the days of the CD and the DVD are fast dwindling and people will be obtaining most of their music and video off the WWW or from a satellites orbiting in geosynchronous orbits in space. The days of having something in your hand or really owning something will be only a dim memory. I am wondering how others here feel about this??? I just want to add that my mentor has been so right so many times it is scary. I guess that is why he is my mentor and a good friend.

[Waltz Mastering]

The vinyl things seems to have been  bubbling under for some time and also seems to have been gaining some steam recently.  I can't really see cd's going extinct anytime soon although digital distribution is  on an upswing... That's my forecast for partly sunny skies...

[bblackwood]

I wouldn't call your mentor a seer for this proclamation - the trend has been there for some time now.

I suspect in the next 5-10 years we'll see increasingly less physical media production. May be years before it goes completely away, but internet distribution will be the new king sooner rather than lat8er.

[Bob Olhsson]

I don't think so in spite of the endless marketing spin from the tech industry. There's no question that storage having moving parts is going away soon. I figure somebody will be smart enough to figure out a new solid state album package that will make an impressive birthday present.

[Gold]

I've said it before, but the day I read "CD's are dead" in the NY Times is the day I buy a CD line. People like stuff.

[Bonati]

I'm with Paul. I make my living mastering records by fringe bands/artists. They have devoted audiences who buy the records. They like stuff. I don't see that part changing. I still buy plenty of records myself.

Vinyl has picked up steam because people recognize it as a more attractive art object than a CD. Not convinced it has anything to do with sound quality. Especially when the audio has to be slightly mangled to get a decent lacquer cut.

I wouldn't care if I never made another CD master ever again.

[Cooker]

Pop culture will most probably abandon cd. Young people like what they want as fast and comfortable as possible; just use i-phone and buy/download the song you hear from a friend, radio or tv. This doesn't have to be mp3, internet is getting faster...

I follow an audiophile forum and noticed all of the "digital" guys there convert their cd's to 24/192 and store them in their harddisks, many even bought computers just for this reason. Seems they would be perfectly happy being able to download high quality .wav files but they also like a collection on one side of the room. They want a media that brings their DAC's to its limit.

I'm aware the youth and audiophiles doesn't have much in common but they give a better idea of how the future will be. In general, I agree with Thomas's mentor.

What I wonder is how will the "album" concept work with this. People will be more familiar to single's rather than albums so an artist may choose to sell the hits and use the sh.t's for concert since they won't sell much (no need for recording an entire album...scary but can happen).

[minister]

Thomas W. Bethel wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 12:18

My mentor who is a GREAT audio engineer and a GREAT mentor recently said that if you want to make money it is not about the media it is about the content. He told me that the days of the CD and the DVD are fast dwindling and people will be obtaining most of their music and video off the WWW or from a satellites orbiting in geosynchronous orbits in space. The days of having something in your hand or really owning something will be only a dim memory. I am wondering how others here feel about this??? I just want to add that my mentor has been so right so many times it is scary. I guess that is why he is my mentor and a good friend.

Does he know what micr-dynamics are?

[Waltz Mastering]

Cooker wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 16:26

I follow an audiophile forum and noticed all of the "digital" guys there convert their cd's to 24/192 and store them in their harddisks, many even bought computers just for this reason.

A lot of these guys also dither on the way up and believe it all sounds better.  Did you let'em know what time it was?

[Schallfeldnebel]

Most of my clients sell their CD's during concerts. I do not see how they will sell their fans downloads.

[Andy Krehm]

Schallfeldnebel wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 18:46

Most of my clients sell their CD's during concerts. I do not see how they will sell their fans downloads.

Download cards.

[djwaudio]

Schallfeldnebel wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 15:46

Most of my clients sell their CD's during concerts. I do not see how they will sell their fans downloads.

Here is a solution to that very question.  They also go nicely in a birthday card.

http://www.nimbit.com/products/downloadcards

[masterhse]

Schallfeldnebel wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 18:46

Most of my clients sell their CD's during concerts. I do not see how they will sell their fans downloads.

Some of my clients have been giving away download cards when purchasing merch like T-shirts etc. You can't copy or download a T-shirt. I do agree that many Indie artists are still selling CDs at gigs, but usually just use short-run duplication over replication of more copies.

Singles are more popular than ever especially as downloads. I believe that that some companies are also looking at using duplicators at outlets over stocking complete CDs allowing customers to create compliations rather than having to purchase a complete album from a single artist.

I believe that when broadband becomes more common customers will simply subscribe to a service, purchase music, and have it linked from a central server that they can play from their phone or computer. Media will be meaningless and content might be better protected from piracy.

[Thomas W. Bethel]

masterhse wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 20:14

Schallfeldnebel wrote on Mon, 11 January 2010 18:46 Most of my clients sell their CD's during concerts. I do not see how they will sell their fans downloads. Some of my clients have been giving away download cards when purchasing merch like T-shirts etc. You can't copy or download a T-shirt. I do agree that many Indie artists are still selling CDs at gigs, but usually just use short-run duplication over replication of more copies. Singles are more popular than ever especially as downloads. I believe that that some companies are also looking at using duplicators at outlets over stocking complete CDs allowing customers to create compliations rather than having to purchase a complete album from a single artist. I believe that when broadband becomes more common customers will simply subscribe to a service, purchase music, and have it linked from a central server that they can play from their phone or computer. Media will be meaningless and content might be better protected from piracy.

A couple of years ago two things happened simultaneous around here. One you could go to this music store and they would sell you "any sheet music" ever published for any instrument. The way they did it was they using a secure site on the internet and they would simply print up the sheet music while you were standing there. I don't know if they are still doing it but it was easy for musicians to get what they needed quickly without a lot of hassles.

At the same time a store opened up that had access to a secure server somewhere and you went in there and they would put what ever songs you wanted on a CD all in real time. Their listing of songs left much to be desired but you could get a custom disk done for about the cost of a commercial CD. They opened up and about 6 months later they were gone. I never found out why they folded. This was way before ITUNES and either they were way ahead of the game or they were ripping off the public with pirated songs. I think a couple of friends went there but were unimpressed with the amount and diversity of the songs offered and chose not to get a "custom CD".

Ampex came to the college I worked for with a proposal to install some equipment that would allow students to have access to any songs in the Conservatory Library. This was before CDs so it was done on cassettes. You picked what you wanted on the cassette from a listing on a computer. The computer duplicated the cassettes from the play list and in about 10 minutes you could walk out of the library with a cassette tape. This was for "educational uses only" and the student had to sign a form that they would only use this for school work and would not duplicate the tape. It was going to be a very expensive installation and the college never went for it but it was a very interesting idea way back in the early 70's.

My point is that some of this stuff has been around for a very long time and seems to be regurgitated on a regular basis.

[masterhse]

Tom,

I agree in the case of remote duplication of CDs and have seen this around 10 years ago. But copying songs to an iPhone, iPod, or mp3 player is a different thing. I've heard of some instances where people were planning on having stations at concerts where you could get a copy of the concert on your iPhone/iPod directly after. Much easier, cheaper, and quicker than burning CDs. Being able to play from a server is instantaneous.

Cheap and easy always win with consumers.