The CD is dead. Long live the CD
The IT research company Gartner just released a report that recommends the music industry to prioritize downloads:
Many bloggers and newspapers are proclaiming the death of the CDs. This has been done for many years now, but the CD, as a medium, is still around.
2006 Alain Levy, chairman and CEO of EMI Music said that the CD is dead “as it is now”. EMI did not stop to focus on the CD as a medium, but started to add additional content to the CDs to maximize the extra value.
No doubt, the CD has been struggling against the downloading (legal and illegal) for some time now and I think it’s a good idea if the music industry are focusing a bit more on downloads during 2009.
There are some good reasons for why the CD are still here, i will list my top 3:
- Better sound quality than MP3 and AAC. Most of the tracks on iTunes 128kbit compressed AAC that is far from the sound-quality that a CD will provide.
- iTunes are still to dominating on the downloading market. The music industry want to have a larger number of alternative stores.
- The CD is physical media. If you download, you have to handle the content. Many people still think that’s inconvenient. Maybe you’re on the road and wants to buy some good new music. Then the CD is your only option (for now).
I like the CD and I think that it will survive over it’s 30th birthday 2012.
