CD's no longer supported ?

CDs are going to be around a while simply because there is no other distribution method that can reach all segments of the market. Not everyone has high speed internet. Ipods and players are popular, but hardly universal. Most cars sold the past 10 or 15 years will play a CD but most still don't have an Ipod dock. There are tons of home stereos where the person just wants to play a disk.

What is an issue is the business model of the recording industry. Like many businesses, they depend on endless, compounding growth, year after year. At some point the traditional model cannot provide that growth. (Starbucks is another good example; they've built so many coffee shops that their growth is now slowed.)

While the download market has certainly hurt the growth of the CD market, even if that market is off by 30% since 1999 (reported as the peak year of CD sales) that still leaves 70% of that market present. That means about 750 million CDs were sold last year. Just to use rough numbers, at $13 per disk retail, you tell me who is willing to walk away from $10 billion in sales per year?

So, yes, the market is in transition. CD sales have fallen and will likely continue to do so. That said, there are a whole bunch of CDs still being sold each year. The infrastructure to make and distribute them is solidly in place. The reality is the music industry will continue to milk this cow for many years, even though she's not as young as she used to be.

I think what the TV talking head was reporting on was the Red Book code. Part of the licensing has run out so if you look at current cds you will most likely not see the "COMPACT disc DIGITAL AUDIO" logo on the label side of the disc. A record manufacture only has to alter the algorithm a tiny bit and they don't have to pay the license fee. IIRC, this happened a couple of years ago...check out your old cds and then look at your newer ones.

Now if they were talking about the demise of the cd, I think they are a little premature. Yes, sales are down and will continue to shrink, but cds will be around just like vinyl is still around.

Look at your top forty, music I basically can't stand, the stuff that is made for the youngsters, loud - compressed - mp3 ready, downloadable, singles. These artists may not support cd's, or their masters at the record company don't- this is pure profit music, disposable after a few months for the next crapola.

Artists who actually care and make music will continue to make albums and put them out on cd's or LP's. They may not sell a million on i tunes but really why would you want that crap ? Were not losing anything if the fake musicians don't make albums anymore !