BYE BYE CD's Forever..

Donny,
You always preach to go with the times
I used to buy CD's then I-tunes ...
Now I use Spotify. Any Song, Anywhere, Anytime.
Any CD, Playlist etc.
I am super happy
Haven't used CD's in a Loooong time ...
Eric

So, soon, CDs will go the way of transistor radios, cassette tapes, 8 tracks, and vinyl records ... how many people will be looking for new careers, and how many will find them? ... Technology rolls on, but at what price? ...

Vinyl is in a full resurgence with sales continuously increasing and is currently up to 90s levels, (Even big manufactures have reintroduced turntables to their range, not forgetting that even the big supermarkets now have vinyl aisles) cassettes are also starting to get some return momentum (Tascam has reintroduced its cassette range, with older used classic cassette models increasing in price (Think Nakamichi) and for hi-end users (Read expensive) even reel to reel is making a comeback.(Youngsters are even buying vinyl even though they don’t have a turntable just so that they can hold something physical in their hand, something you can’t do with streaming)
In Japan manufactures have also started to introduce Hi-res CDs using the MQA system.
Will they replace streaming, of course not, but people just like to hold something physically real. (Even youngsters)
Let’s face it what would you rather have: Karaoke or a live band, Sex doll or a real women/man, see someone pushing buttons or someone actually playing a keyboard/organ/synth, online is great but people require physical interaction to survive.

Bill

Speaking of Karaoke, I have a Karaoke show every week in which about twenty singers, collectively, bring hundreds of CDs which I put on my machine. I know people have songs on mem sticks, I-phones etc, and many KJ's use a streaming service. Many of my people are not at all tech savvy, and wonder about them. I know they can be converted to audio, but what a job. I can and do play from iPads and mem sticks, but wonder If I should warn them yet. At least, they should have back ups.

To each his own! Until a better "medium" is available, CDs will remain my preferred method for playing music for my own consumption. Streaming is being "pushed" very hard by all the big music entities, labels, PROs and now they want to change copyright laws. What is good for them is not good for me... and probably not for you. Their angle is always "more money" for them and more cost for you.

It has become a "let them eat cake" world... and they can have all they want... as long as they leave me out of it... and leave me alone.

CDs remind me of tiny records. Most come with some kind of printed matter to tell the consumer a bit about the artist and each song. As a songwriter... one of my objectives is to leave a legacy for my children. Streaming seems cold and impersonal.

CDs aren't totally over for me yet. I'm getting Tower of Powers 50th Anniversary CD "Soul Side of Town" I did thinn out my collection bit still have a few hundred in a road case. I also like to have something physical to hold. I do miss the album jacket art and writing of vinyl.

It is about time, stop living in the past,
...let's move on the future is exiting,
I'm happy to be alive in these times of technological progress
which is still in it's infancy. Everything we have now will be an ancient memory in just a few short years to come.

Much to be said about "Being above ground!" LOL! Thanks for the "heads up", Donnie.

Technology is a great servant but a bad master, and if you forget about the past you will end making a mistake that has already been made, thus you will go nowhere and just waste time.

Take the mobile away from most folks and ask them to do something, they will just give you a blank look, as without their masters (The mobile and its apps) they are pretty much an empty shell. (They ignored the past (Learning how to do things for themselves) and ended up worse off in the long run)

Easy play features of organs developed into arranger keyboards due to technological advances where you can now just press a button and everything is done for you, however take all the easy stuff away and ask the performer to play a song then most of them will just have that horror look as they don’t have their masters (Automatics etc.) to produce that fantastic sound for them, which is why in the old days you could tell a player by his playing style, whereas now you can only tell the instrument manufacture and thus most players just sound the same as each other, as their masters (The automatics) don’t vary. (Talent has nothing to do with the technology but the determination of the performer, which if you looked to the past you would know as it has happened before)

If on the other hand you are happy to be spoon fed by the companies (You have no (Or don’t want) a mind of your own) you just become a sheep. (Those that have their own mind become the Ram, and have much more fun and fulfilment than the sheep)

Bill

Well said, Bill!

You aren't kidding-right on the mark.

Donny, my post isn't about living in the past, or not embracing the technology of the future, but rather, the affect it has on people's livelihood ...
In my '9-5' (there really never was such a thing) 45 year business career I was on the cutting edge of computer technology - going from IBM punch cards to data entry systems to main frame computers to desk top PCs to laptops ... and being an Operations Manager I had to be innovative and embrace and utilize the 'latest and greatest' along the way ... but all those innovations came with the price of deep staff reductions, as retraining and repositioning of people only works for some ... there was always an unfortunate number who were left with nothing ...
That's why I don't always jump for joy when I hear things like the Best Buy announcement ...
PS: It's also why I refuse to use a 'self-checkout' register in any store - at least until they start paying me to do it ...
Enough of my rant for today ...
Have a great day ...

(re: Bill's (Abacus) post)

But as long as we worship at the (arranger) alter and wait with baited breath for the next new even-more-automatic arranger to come out, aren't we contributing to the problem.....you know, the one we all acknowledge but are too lazy (or complacent) to change.

Dave and Bernie recognize the problem but the real question is: what do we do to fix it? Here's one idea. Use the darn thing but don't let it dominate your performance. Make sure the focus is on YOU and your playing, not the tricks that the arranger can perform. Make sure you're hitting more KEYS than buttons, sliders, and switches. Make sure the audience knows that underneath that ENTERTAINER'S cloak, there is a MUSICIAN. Your performance should never come across as 'hey guys, look at what my magic machine can do', it should always be 'hey guys, look at what I can do'. Easy to do with a piano or guitar; with an arranger you have to work at it a little harder. JMO.

chas

Tony somebodys job was to "design the self check out systems" deliver & install them so more jobs are always created as older ones fall to the side..same with easy Pass...etc, etc,...

Absolutely right about that, Donny ... but once the technology is designed it replaces far more jobs than it took to create it ... Believe me, I drive a LOT and I love E-Z Pass, but how many toll collectors lost their jobs because of it? ... And the number of people hired to check the photos of the 'toll beaters' doesn't match that ...
'nuff said ... I'm out on this subject ...

Re: chas' post above ...
I am happy to say that with all the compliments I heard after our 50s concert last week, no one said "that keyboard sounded really good" ...
In fact, I don't ever remember anyone saying that, even when I 'upgraded' my keyboard ...

Damned, this is the second time this year I have agreed with Chas. Better mark your calendars!

Cheers,

Gary

Speaking of change: I just witnessed a commercial on TV by one of the auto makers... ballyhooing the fact that with their new model SUV, you'll have to subscribe to play music. That alone is enough for me to seek somebody else's equivalent set of wheels. I want a CD player and a great sound system in my car. Apple can go fly a kite as far as I'm concerned. I'm perfectly capable of selecting my own "playlists" and I sure don't want them "streamed."

Tony, I'm with you. Every time I check out at Wal-Mart, I bypass that section where the customer can do the work for them by scanning items purchased and bagging them all by one's self. There are tons of people who need those checker's jobs. If they eliminate all the checkers, I'll buy my groceries somewhere else.

You mean the 'deplorables' and the 'libertards' can actually agree on something? Next thing you know I'll be putting out my C&W album (featuring Capt. Russ on Harmonica) and Gary will be promoting his new Smooth Jazz album. Both will be streamed.

chas