The future of soundtracks - digital download only???

Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:55 pm Post subject:

I heard an NPR story about a company that has started doing this with books. I don't remember the name, or I'd provide a link.

For myself, I'm really of two minds on this. At first, I liked the idea of buying individual tracks on demand. "Power to the people!" and that sort of thing. I started buying some things on iTunes, and then I found myself wishing I had the CD. For example, E.S. Posthumus' Unearthed.

I think for now, I'll be sticking with CD purchases unless they're unavailable.

Still, I imagine physical media eventually going the way of vinyl: Fun for collectors to fuss about, but not of much consequence to the mainstream.

Mr. Green

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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:47 am Post subject:

I second that. I don't think that physical media will disappear completely, but there are signs that streaming tends to replace the other channels. Several days ago I found an interesting discussion on Slashdot. I think this shows the interest of the people for the new distribution channels.

As far as I am concerned, streaming is a very good solution. Thanks to webcasters, I discovered a lot of beautiful music and great artists. Also, I would rather pay a subscription to gain access to it instead of struggling to cram a big pile of disks in the 28 square meters of what I call "home". I would soon come to be saying "this death metal chair is too hard on my back, I will start using pagan metal instead". Wink

As for digital downloads, quality is a factor, indeed. But my sound equipment isn't state-of-the-art and I'm too impatient to wait for snail mail delivery. I'm also not willing to risk the package being lost or damaged in the mail. Hence, I think that the digital downloads are a good solution for me. Please note that I'm only talking about official distribution channels.

Now don't get me wrong, please, I still buy CDs and DVDs, just not as many as I would buy if webcasters (and especially 24seven.FM) would not exist. I still have that collector's mindset, I like to hold the physical disk in my hands and read the booklet. Smile

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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:50 pm Post subject:

People have been waiting for lossless downloads for a long while, and that's the only thing that will do for serious collectors. Imagine if amazon was all lossless...how many servers would they need? :p I could probably ask Jeric the same question what it takes to house SST digitally. :p That's gotta be nuts too, and that's partially why lossless downloads aren't there....yet. Wink

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:19 pm Post subject:

BTW: Have you been to SST's Gallery, AdamR?
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:00 pm Post subject:

BTW: Have you been to SST's Gallery, AdamR?

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:40 am Post subject:

Which lead me to repeat one of my previous posts.
Does the music format made available on services like Napster, has the same audio quality compared to a CD?
Is the service accessible worldwide or it's restricted only to parts of the world?
Do I need to donwload extra software to access and buy the music from their services?
Is certain music and artists restricted and only available to one download service, and need to subscrive more services to access distinct music libraries?
Is it DRM-free, and need to pay additional amount of money if I want to burn inferior lossy files to CD-R, or renew my subscrition when needed?

I don't need to go through all these steps, when I can easily buy a CD with: a)Always with the best audio quality guaranteed; b)Album artwork with contents (Booklet with liner notes, track-by-track description, production photos, etc.); c)The possibility of ripping directly from the original CD source, 1:1 lossless copies for backup purposes; and d)It's a Compact Disc album and is inherent a patrimonial and cultural value by itself, which compared to digital download albums, where they are conjuction of mere computer files.