Is there any future for CDs?

[MIO Records]

Hello friends

I didn't write here for ages....
Wanted to hear after so many years detached from the subject where do you guys think we are heading in the CD area?
Will the CD do a come back similar to Vinyl? Is it dead?

I understand prices are very cheap and ppl tend not to buy CDs anymore....

I am "stuck" with 20,000 CDs in my warehouse of very rare to very easy to find CDs mainly progressive, psych, folk, classical, jazz music and not sure if i should even bother to list these OR if there is even a market for that.
Another question would be: what is the web site best to list these CDs? Amazon/Ebay fees are VERY HIGH. Discogs?

Thanks in advance...

Meidad (MIO Records)
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[moecurlythanu]

Hello Meidad,

I don't think CDs are going to be viable going forward, but there is a market for people of a certain age. In other words, people on this web site. For rare CDs, ebay is your best bet. Set your opening price at the minimum you'd like to get and let people bid it up from there. For the others, Discogs is your best bet. It may take some time, but many will sell.

I'd be interested in the Atmosphera CD. I gave up on it and bought the Anazitisi vinyl reissue.

[MIO Records]

Thanks!
Yeah, sounds like it's a real end of an era and those who consume it are old timers (like myself :-) )
I tried to explain to my boys how many hours i spent in shops when we saw a tiny vinyl shop two weeks ago, they were excited but mostly from the iron maiden vinyl pictures not the concept ;-)

My collection is in boxes so in order to have them available it will require a very large effort so not sure if it worth it in this situation.

Regarding Atmosphera, the vinyl release is not authorised by me and was done using MIOs remastered. From my point of view that is a bootleg release but it's better then not to hear that good album.

I got 1-2 copies somewhere in my warehouse but it will take ages to reach these.
The only MIO CDs i got plenty of are the Besombes-Rizet and Besombes-Cesi est Cela, Decibel - Furtuna Virilis and Decibel - In Concert plus... CDs.
It's 15 years since i shut down MIO, times flies ;-)

Cheers
Meidad

[Steve983]

I still want to buy cd's but they do seem to be getting more and more scarce. When you look around Amazon you can see so many titles are out of print. For the those who want cd quality downloads check out Qubuz

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/shop

[PixelDelirium]

For me it really depends. I'm reasonably happy with digital (lossless) versions of most music, but for certain bands I still want a physical CD (mostly the bands I already have a lot of CDs for). Personally I don't buy anything from eBay. Amazon is where I buy almost all of my used and new CDs (plus Lasers Edge). I've also sold a lot of CD dupes and DVDs I've replaced by Blu-rays there (never had a problem). I mean, yeah, there are fees but getting something for what you have sitting around in a warehouse (which I'm assuming costs money) is better than nothing, no? It's certainly the best way to reach the largest potential customer base you can hope for.

[Zeuhlmate]

Hi Meidad

It might go as with Vinyl.
It will still be around, but has fewer users, but they are devoted.

Personally I will never rely on streaming.

Cdandlp.com, discogs.com is where I usually look for rare & older stuff, but sometimes its actually cheaper to buy new cd's.

[MIO Records]

For me it really depends. I'm reasonably happy with digital (lossless) versions of most music, but for certain bands I still want a physical CD (mostly the bands I already have a lot of CDs for). Personally I don't buy anything from eBay. Amazon is where I buy almost all of my used and new CDs (plus Lasers Edge). I've also sold a lot of CD dupes and DVDs I've replaced by Blu-rays there (never had a problem). I mean, yeah, there are fees but getting something for what you have sitting around in a warehouse (which I'm assuming costs money) is better than nothing, no? It's certainly the best way to reach the largest potential customer base you can hope for.

Totally agree. I will need to make the first move and start opening the first box, one out of 70 :-)

Meidad

[Munster]

There seems to be a cunning ruse on Discogs to not charge too much for a CD (as Discog's commission is assessed on that amount) and then charge a huge amount for postage (which is commission free). I forget the number of times I have seen a reasonably priced CD suddenly become unaffordable (unless I absolutely must have it) because of postage fees (which I know are high but, I suspect, not THAT high). Amazon, on the other hand, is becoming absurdly expensive. Because of a policy introduced a few years ago that stipulated all sellers must be able to account for where their stock comes from (thus ruling out the part-time 'amateur' sellers) there has been massive price inflation. The through-flow of reasonably priced CDs has slowed to a trickle and now it seems that expensive items just sit there.

[zyryab]

From my experience as a buyer, there is no standard postage fee set by Discogs. It all depends on the country of the seller. To me, the ridiculous high postage fees, especially from the U.S., seems to pose the highest threat to CD market nowadays. Whenever I want to order just one CD from a U.S. seller, I usually back off, as the total amount incl. shipping goes up to twice the price of the item. If I want to order more than one item, the increase in postage is less, but then comes the custom clearance. I recently ordered three CDs from Amazon US (new releases, total amount ca. 30 USD). They were delivered to the Athens Airport by DHL (not Express) and I was requested to pay ca. 80 Euros for custom fees!! Of course I declined. Thankfully Amazon US cancelled my order and accepted my complaints. Probably U.S. buyers face the same situation when they order from European dealers.
To answer your initial question: dear Meidad, Discogs is the best record marketplace around, period.

[Camelogue]

My collection will always have a future until I am dead. Then what happens to it?

[yodathedog]

Postage fees for cds and lps in the US are still reasonable due to the Media Mail classification. It’s slow but cheap.

Postage outside of the US has gotten ridiculous. I stopped selling overseas mainly to stop all the complaints about high shipping.

[Scott Bails]

My collection will always have a future until I am dead. Then what happens to it?

You can leave it to me. I'll send you my address

[Rarebird]

I still collect CDs. If it isn't on CD, I don't buy it.
Some time ago a reviewer of classical music (and the son of a Dutch musician), wrote a piece in which he stated he hoped the CD would make a come-back, just like vinyl.

[Man In The Mountain]

I have always been a die-hard CD buyer.

But in September this year I purchased my first new car that does not contain a CD player. It complicates the reasoning to continue to buy CDs.

[Rarebird]

I don't have a car and play my CDs at home. I also make mp3-files for my Walkman, though most of them will never be on my Walkman.

[Scott Bails]

I have always been a die-hard CD buyer.

But in September this year I purchased my first new car that does not contain a CD player. It complicates the reasoning to continue to buy CDs.

Yeah, this is the problem. I was not pleased when my car did not have a CD player.

[Mister Triscuits]

Probably U.S. buyers face the same situation when they order from European dealers.

Not really. I have never had to pay customs fees on low-value items such as CDs, vinyl, books, or t-shirts from overseas.

[MIO Records]

I moved to Spotify and very happy with it both home/car/phone/airpods and as a CD freak in the past i must admit i don't miss them much.
My car doesn't have anymore a CD player.... i don't feel as if it's a problem.

Few examples of spotify playlists i made:

Italian progressive 126 hours:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H...T1CEQe1wg7xBrg

Krautrock approx 40 hours:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3s...TDC-b_MFT-E8VQ

The only problem is that i paid during 33 years collecting so much money and now it's all stuck in storage room :-(

[infandous]

I still buy CD's, and my car still has a CD player. I imagine my next car, whenever that happens, won't have one, but who knows? My father got a brand new Honda crossover SUV about 2 years ago, and it has a CD player along with the usual digital infotainment system. He didn't request it, so I guess they still put them in some cars out there.

I haven't had any issues getting CD's I want, though I haven't looked for much older stuff for quite a while now, and I could see how that stuff might be harder to find on CD now. Being in the USA, I get pretty much everything I need from Laser's Edge, Bandcamp, or straight from the artists themselves.

I do rip everything I get immediately, as I tend to listen to stuff on my PC or on my portable MP3 player (in my car, it's the CD player), so I have actually bought some albums digitally in the past few years. I may or may not make the switch to all digital before I die, but for now the CD's I want seem to be still relatively easy (and reasonably priced) to get.

[Rarebird]

I stick to CDs and occasionally a record. Love to look at the artwork, read the booklet, if it is not in Korean, or French, or some other language I don't understand, so everything besides Dutch, German or English.

[ergalthema]

I'm guessing CDs won't see the comeback that vinyl had. If I want the best audio quality, I go with a lossless digital file. If I want the physical experience, I'll go with the large artwork of vinyl. Most hardcore collectors like many of us here still love CDs, but I'm afraid the format will continue to decline.

[spacefreak]

Hi Meidad,

No, unfortunately CDs are dead and gone...

The sad thing is that they do not seem to have any resale value (out of a very few collectables).

[yodathedog]

I could've gotten a CD player on my 2016 Kia, but I would've had to give up my console.

No thanks.

[moecurlythanu]

My collection will always have a future until I am dead. Then what happens to it?

It will divide itself into battalions and take over Pittsburgh.

[moecurlythanu]

Not really. I have never had to pay customs fees on low-value items such as CDs, vinyl, books, or t-shirts from overseas.

I've never paid customs charges, and I buy expensive records from time to time. I'm not sure they even read the customs slip on the package.

As for overseas postage, yes it is a problem. Italy is prohibitive. Germany is wildly inconsistent. Some sellers charge €8, and others charge €36 to ship similar packages. The UK is way more expensive than it used to be, and everyone wants you to purchase registered.