Rumors of CD Demise Exagerated? New Hegel

One factor here is the Pandemic.  The notion is that people were stuck at home, rediscovered their music collection, and this stimulated a demand for better playback equipment.

   Without doing actual market research, I guess the only way to assess this is by personal experience.  In my own little non virtual world I actually do know two couples that did upgrade their music systems, in both cases going from virtually nothing to mid Fi.

Darko has a comparison of Schitt's Urd versus Hegel's Viking should anyone care ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4H4VdxG_aI

What is overlooked is not so much the Annual Gross CD Sales being an indicator.

The Annual Music Sales Survey, shows that purchasing recorded music is still a very big business, which has become huge in relation to 'rented music recordings'.

It is the amount of 'owned CD's' still being used to supply an individual a most acceptable experience of replayed music.

Why would such an individual who is openly expressing an enthusiasm for this type of entertainment not be open to the idea, that a New CDP could quite easily add to the experience that is already much enjoyed.

I feel confident it is these Types who are fuelling the sales of New Devices to replay Hard Medium and not those who is only interested in the availability of New Release material.

As for New Release Material, many performers are turning to Hard Medium merchandise as a means to improve on revenues offered via the Rented Music streaming platforms. Hard Medium sales from a CD or Vinyl LP is much much more valuable to them, and the end user actually own and are not leasing what is purchased.     

Love streaming, but also love my CDs, vinyl albums, and even some old cassettes. The main issue I have with streaming, over buying a CD, is that I find something I really like, but then a few months later, I can't recall the artist's name or the name of the album or track. But I remember loving it at the time. Yeah, Tidal maintains a listing of the albums you have "liked" or favorited, but man, try to go back and find something from months or years ago can be a pain in the ass.  If I buy the CD, I can usually find it in just a few minutes through "muscle memory". 

Streaming seems great for the "kids" who only care to listen to the flavor of the month or week that is popular. Do they care enough to try remembering what they are listening to say a year or two later? I'm not sure. They are more likely to remember what video game they played. 

For $12.99 a month, I love having access to music library that I can never imagine hoarding on any physical media. .....

That's the difference between *you* and *me*..  I spent $12.99 on 1 (one) CD and I discovered magic. You spend $12.99 on a fast forward life. I take it low and slow. Neither is wrong I guess. 🤷🏼‍♂️ But believe me, my physical system beats your stream. ✌️ Not trying to be confrontational.