Page 1 of What would make you buy more music CDs?

I`m sure you`ve all heard about the finacial problems EMI having been having and that they`re blaming piracy as one of the problems. It has now come to to the point where piracy is everso common. This seems to be linked to ISPs providing cheap, broadband or unmetered access allowing mp3 downloads as well as the CDRs and writers becoming so cheap.

Another probem that can`t go away is MP3 sites. I use them for the simple reason that I can download full albums with my ADSL connection at great speed and they`re often released before the shops get them (e.g. the excellent Blade 2 soundtrack). If I decide I want an album its far easier to connect to a site and download then it is to make a trip into town, fork out the cash for the cd and make my way home.

SO what would make you start buying more CDs again?

For me they would have to be cheaper - even cheaper than CD-WOW (which sell them @ £8.99). It would also be a good idea to offer something that can`t be downloaded. Maybe half price concert tickets or a bonus DVD? All this obviously means more cost for record companies but it`ll increase sales.

If cd`s were cheaper i`d buy more because having the proper cd makes me feel better than having a cd-r with a photocopied sleave. i doubt they will get any cheaper though.

They (the record companies )have ripped us of for years and they still try, they even stoped putting 60-70 mins worth of music on a CD.
Remember buying my kids the first Spice Girls CD, it had less then 40 mins of music on it!!

Latest ploy is release CD and a few months later re-release it again with extra tracks stuck on it.

To be honest £5.00 a CD woudn`t make me rush out and purchase!

They sowed the seed and started the greed!!!!! So f***k them

I one and only thing that will make me buy more cd`s is better music! I can`t stand the way the music industry is so manufactured these days, no emphasis? on talent by only on looks..

Sad.

I always buy CDs, hate MP3, it`s ok on the go but not at home. I only have 56K so it`ll be hours to download a album and there was a reason I spent £500 on my CD player.

I have to say that I agree with bear. If anyone is being the theiving criminal its the record companies. For example how many times has that Eminem CD Marshall Mathers been released? Three times the last time I looked. The latest being a double CD. Stereophonics JEEP is not any better. They can only afford to re-release the cds because so many loyal fans have bought the previous versions. At least when you download or copy the music you know your not going to be ripped off.

They have ripped us off too much. What goes around comes around I say. The record companies are now finding out what it feels like to be cheated.

I do feel sorry for some artists though. I was reading in the paper about Will Young (I`m not a fan) as an example. He only gets a small % of each record sale and has to pay costs for his videos and tour expenses. If 50% of artists CDs are pirated the artists are loosing out big time. I`m p***ed off with the record companies but not the artists and do feel like I owe them something when I download a great MP3 of theirs.

I want more consistency in the quality of the music an artist puts out. If they do 60 mins of music, I don`t want two good songs with a load of bad ones. I want 60 mins of good music (subjective though). This is why I download albums, I want to check it out. If I don`t like it, I delete the MP3s (quality isn`t good, even at 128kbps). If I like something, I buy it. Artists do get a raw deal from some labels since they have to pay for a lot of things themselves (packaging costs for one).

I don`t want to rip of the creatives who put a lot of time and money into what they do, they`re in this business to earn a living and do something they enjoy. I wouldn`t want people downloading my music or films (though I might feel guilty if I knew what I made was poo) since I`ve sweated months to put it together.

I like Natalie Imbruglia so I`m not going to rip her off by downloading and keeping MP3s of hers. If she stopped making music because of piracy, I for one would be quite saddened.

There are trials going on however of music chains with CD burning kiosks where you can select your favourite music and add it to a playlist, ready to burn with a sleeve/tracklisting. You then pay x amount per track and it`s burned in minutes. I want to have a go at this.

Is this a good idea?

This item was edited on Friday, 22nd March 2002, 09:10

I only buy CDs from artists I really like, and even then it`s frustrating when you know only a small part of that money goes to them. I don`t bother downloading anymore, but listen to the radio a lot more, although the problem with that is finding a station with playlists I like (if I need to chill out I actually listen to ClassicFM!)

If there was a better way of buying music, preferably after hearing it first, then I would...

1) If they were cheaper - sub £10 accross the board. £15 for a cd is a rip-off, and they`ve been that price for ages, it`s not just a rise in piracy. You can see the profiteering going on when places like HMV have their clearout sales, and CD`s are often £7 ish. They`ll still be making money at this price...
2) The music industry, ie record companies, is so obsessed with finding a trend, then apeing it. How many boy-bands are there singing the same sounding stuff, with the same beats, same tunes, same vocals, as each other? There was a time when `metal` was extreme music. Now, some bands found a popular formula, and now there`s a ton of copy-ists, peddling the same wares, and you see 11 year olds hanging round shopping centre`s wearing Cradle of Filth t-shirts! There`s a total lack of will to innovate or risk something new, and that applies to all genres of music.
3) The cost of singles is also a disgrace. £3 for what is often only a couple of minutes music, and then after a week the price goes up to a fiver! What the s*** is that all about?
4) Value-added. Quite a lot of cds just have s***ty inlays with nothing but a few sleeve notes and some pictures. I want lyrics! Maybe including a video or 2 would be an idea too (as some bands do already). Perhaps even competitions to win merchandise, or `meet the band`. There`s so much that could be done, but huge opportunities are missed. Again, its a fear of innovation.

I could go on, but this posting risks becoming gargantuan.
;-)
Bb

I`m with JamesW on ClassicFM, I`m well into Smooth Classics at 7 for dinnertime.

As for record companies lacking innovation for singles, there`s a simple reason for this, money. It all costs money and adds to the cost of the single. Believe it or not, singles are a bit of a loss leader unless it`s a huge star with plenty of hype, aka Pop Idol/Pop Stars where they can get guarantees of a million singles or so and get a decent return on investment. It all helps to sell overpriced albums at HMV etc. I still can`t believe that people still buy albums at more than £10 on the high street, what`s wrong with them?

I don`t like the way singles are £3 in the first week then go up to £4-£5 the next, it`s as if they`re trying to push first week sales or something...