| Author
|
Artists & Labels: I'm Saying Goodbye to Buying CDs!
|
Elad
Tsabeat/Sattel Battle
Started Topics :
158
Posts :
5306
Posted : Apr 18, 2007 11:03
|
peaple allready share wav on p2p anyway.
i see it as nice thing that bret want to pay and support.
it comes down only to the "who want to contribute" thing...
as long we dont make cd's on 24 (or 32) bit , then files will be huge to be loseless...
bret - u talk about the future ... i wanna see who d/l cd that is 4 gigs full quality 
  www.sattelbattle.com
http://yoavweinberg.weebly.com/ |
|
|
|
mouka
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
383
Posted : Apr 18, 2007 11:58
|
I don't see the problem about the file size here, or even a difference between a cd-track & an audio file, it is exactly the same! The File size is no problem anymore as we all have broadband connection nowadays, cd's can only carry 16 bit /44.1khz and with dvd we can go to 24 bit and 96khz, that is nice if you have an expensive high end sound system which only audiophiles will have.
The future will be the digital file through the internet, or digital distribution. If there will be better, cheaper and easier payment systems available every label can have its own digital shop and therefore make a bit more money than selling it through a third party shop.
Or maybe we have to think about a payment system where you pay like a monthly fee for downloading music, in the same way like you pay for your water or electricity. A label gets it share paid depending on how many tracks sold.
www.ajana-records.com
www.trishula-records.com |
|
|
|
elektric sheep
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
26
Posts :
315
Posted : Apr 18, 2007 23:30
|
Comparing CD vs Digital of Khoomans new release on Ajana records (which is a must buy!)...
http://www.beatsdigital.com/index.php?album_id=8003
http://www.beatspace.com/dettagli/dettaglio.asp?id=3348
CD = £7,29
MP3 320kbs = £6.80
WAV!!! = £8.50
So for many online digital shops it costs more than CD!
Digital should be cheaper, cos theres no CD production , packaging and distribution costs.
To save on bandwidth would FLAC format be too complicated? You can then burn 2 CD or convert to whatever compressed format you desire for your portable player or high end Hi Fi system.
Many new mini Boombox systems have USB slots for MP3 with tag info display so you can avoid CDR.
e.g.
http://www.teac.co.uk/product%20pages/lifestyle/lifestyle_SL-D900DAB.html
Digital music also makes it easier to manage your tracks and you can attach metadata such as BPM, genre, subgenre & comments. If you DJ with Ableton you can buy tracks pre-analysed.
I wonder what a label must invest to offer digital?
CD format, esp with nice digipack artwork will always be cool, like with vinyl, but digital should overtake if prices come down.
|
|
|
|
damon
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
88
Posts :
2122
Posted : Apr 19, 2007 00:17
|
Quote:
|
On 2007-04-18 23:30, elektric sheep wrote:
CD = £7,29
MP3 320kbs = £6.80
WAV!!! = £8.50
So for many online digital shops it costs more than CD!
CD format, esp with nice digipack artwork will always be cool, like with vinyl, but digital should overtake if prices come down.
|
|
That's the weird trend I'm seeing lately ... file prices on some sites are slowly going up ... I won't be surprise if one day (when cd will disapear) companies decide to sell files at the same price as cds or even higher...
http://www.chillumafia.com |
|
|
|
mouka
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
383
Posted : Apr 19, 2007 11:48
|
Quote:
|
On 2007-04-18 23:30, elektric sheep wrote:
CD = £7,29
MP3 320kbs = £6.80
WAV!!! = £8.50
So for many online digital shops it costs more than CD!
CD format, esp with nice digipack artwork will always be cool, like with vinyl, but digital should overtake if prices come down.
|
|
Point taken, I have reduced the album prices:
CD = £7,29 --> pretty cheap price  around £8.80 is more realistic for cd price
MP3 320kbs = £6.00
WAV!!! = £7.50
These prices are better I think, thanks for pointing this out!
www.ajana-records.com
www.trishula-records.com |
|
|
|
MARGHERITA
Master Margherita
Started Topics :
156
Posts :
1442
Posted : Apr 19, 2007 18:36
|
Quote:
|
On 2007-04-17 16:39, Justin Chaos wrote:
I still miss my vinyl.
|
|
me to, a 40cm artwork is much better,, but ,,  is the past.....
 |
|
|
|
xuam
Inactive User
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
53
Posted : Apr 19, 2007 19:34
|
I don't understand all this snobism towards mp3s and cdr.
saying that you don't like MP3 is like saying that you don't like JPEG.
the support is not as important as the content to me.
I prefer a great tune on mp3 than a crap tune on wav.
and wav is not so "pristine" either...the real professional mastering studios as Masterdisk in NY or Exchange and Kevin Metcalf in London always work on analogue tape...
what if an artist refuse to sell music to people who listen to it on the headphones...or with cheap speakers ?
Don't assume that the all planet is on broadband this days...the western rich part of it maybe...and not even all of it...unless you live in a city.
and it's not true that the digital distribution is more ecofriendly either,,,this is a very naif concept...
computers consume a lot of energy...internet uses a lot of electricity...the electricity used by internet servers is now 20% of the total consume and it's growing every day...this is a quite expensive pipe....and we filling it more and more...
music is an holographic immaterial art...support is a just a medium...
|
|
|
|
Quasga
Inactive User
Started Topics :
12
Posts :
498
Posted : Apr 19, 2007 23:00
|
I can't say exactly when and what the price ranges will be, but I do know that digital downloads are coming to http://www.saikosounds.com in the future along with the new website system.
|
|
|
|
intrees
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
18
Posts :
599
Posted : Apr 20, 2007 10:15
|
It will be a sad day if cd's cease to exist, I have been collecting this style of music for over 15 years and have always enjoyed opening a new parcel from the letterbox every week or two 
I am all for lossless downloads and even high bit rate Mp3's - hopefully the bigger labels will start to follow this trend over the next couple of years.
And Brett, I have a question. Do you intend to burn your downloads to CD for DJ purposes , or will you go totally digital and play from a laptop ?
Cheers,
Mattski
- - It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice... - -
www.revolvemagazine.co.uk |
|
|
|
BrettFromTibet
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
61
Posts :
749
Posted : Apr 20, 2007 19:18
|
Intrees,
I intend to go all digital, eventually.
The FIRST thing I used to do when I bought CD's was to burn a CD-R copy, for DJ use. The original was like my master / collector's item. I keep my Dakini releases wrapped in plastic... so I never used the actual CD much anyways! (I would not take my case of 100 originals to a party in downtown Seattle without getting nervous that it would be lost or stolen.)
ON PRICING:
I think the sweet spot for pricing a lossless digital download will be anywhere between 50% up to as much as 75% of the cost of a CD ($14 US). Say between $7 to $11, maximum. Fake Science is offering 320kpbs .MP3 downloads for $5, and that pricing sounds very attractive to me.
I would like to buy and enjoy more music than I used to. I'd check out a new label release without having to read reviews and make triple sure it was a good "investment" worth shipping over from Hong Kong.
Digital downloads have minimal production costs (just send a master CD-r to the download shop!), and no printing/media/plastic/airmail costs. Bandwidth is cheap enough for first world labels.
And unlike CDs, digital downloads have no collectable or resale value. It logically should COST LESS than a printed CD, for all these reasons. Innovative technology should make prices fall, not rise.
Labels can try to sell $17 or $20 "premium" downloads... but then the whole sticky piracy thing will have incentive to continue.
I want to be able to tell friends "You like this music? No, I can't make you a copy... just go online and download it yourself for a really reasonable cost.. easy as 1-2-3!" It's too hard to explain how they have to order it from a small shop in Australia and pay $10 shipping.
Labels can try what they want to, but I predict that distributors who are really focused on their CUSTOMERS and what works / is convenient / acceptable / affordable to them will be the ones who get the most compensation for the use and enjoyment of their tracks.
Let's face it: CD sales versus copies and .MP3's of tracks are minuscule.
The digital genie is out of the bottle... and it can't be forced it back in. Consumers have a voice and the technology to copy and distribute audio on their own, with no help needed. Successful labels will have to make things attractive and reasonable - and offer great value and great quality music, in a variety of emerging formats (including CD, if significant demand for it survives) that make sense to consumers. |
|
|
|
maer
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
29
Posts :
101
Posted : Apr 21, 2007 23:06
|
Fake Science is offering $5 downloads (album only, no single track sales) for 320k mp3.
the pricing scheme comes from an ideology of connecting consumers more directly with artists/labels. labels that use middle-men (digital distro services) do not or can not sell their product at that price.
our service tends to work best for emerging artists, and some labels with a "balls-out, sell it everywhere possible" philosophy (ultimae and agriculture for instance). unfortunately there have been many labels that have not embraced this philosophy and won't utilize our service.
cheers, brett. hope the cd boycott goes well =)
dub beautiful collective
bringing elitism to the masses.
http://www.dub-beautiful.org
-----
OEM Radio - original electronic music radio.
http://www.oemradio.org |
|
|
|
maer
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
29
Posts :
101
Posted : Apr 21, 2007 23:06
|
|
andrew interchill
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
26
Posts :
435
Posted : Apr 22, 2007 21:58
|
I agree with Brett that if labels overprice then they are not making enough effort to give people reason not to copy
but i also think that 5$ is too little for an album.
[it has to be said though that fake science has brought great music to my attention, and maer has made plenty of intros to artists who we have gone on to work with]
Interchill deals with digital through IODA - I don't have to micromanage deal terms/ delivery / payment / legal etc etc. If they're happy with a download service and their model then I am... I just supply the data once and focus on digital promo. Given that time is in short supply, I value this.
If anyone who runs a label wants more info then pm or email me... |
|
|
|
andrew interchill
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
26
Posts :
435
Posted : Apr 22, 2007 22:20
|
re: I wonder what a label must invest to offer digital?
some labels have gone the route of offering their own digital download shop... [the hassle of many small transactions put me off going this route - and the fact that many many more people visit 3rd party websites]
some object to giving up any % of royalties and so try to make direct deals with the services [ some fare better than others - obvious problems being time and cost of delivery, hassle of doing contracts and understanding all the myriad different business models, and getting the major services' attention]
others go to an aggregator, sacrifice some % in return for the services and advantages the aggregator offers.
the larger your catalogue becomes the more attractive the aggregator route becomes. The alternative is major investment into your own encoding/delivery/tracking control panel - or a dedicated employee [or both].
the cost of delivering our catalogue [in time, blank cdr's, mail
] is such that I don't choose to do direct deals with services any more.
the best is to talk to people who have experience with these different approaches and aggregators and see what has worked for them.
iTunes USA and E Music USA remain the services that are doing the best $... Beatport have a good name, but take a look at their chillout section - perhaps there's a job opportunity there for someone ? |
|
|
|
maer
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
29
Posts :
101
Posted : Apr 23, 2007 06:47
|
i didn't intend for my statement to level a charge at any person or label, btw. i don't bemoan anyone for the way they do business =)
as andrew points out, different services work for different labels/artists, and there is a wide field for them to distribute their wares to the market.
on another note, i think there's a value to the "legacy" formats. with CD's, it's the tangible product, the artwork, and the occasional bonus materials that come with. we recently interviewed Booka Shade, and Arno spoke very eloquently of the "sexiness" of vinyl, which maintains a market with the DJ set, especially in Europe.
i think that we, the people who work and live largely online (forums, online communities, email lists, etc) tend to forget that the largest part of the music buying public isn't as engaged with online music distro and formats. it's sad, but over 10% of the US music market still purchases their tunes from Wal-Mart stores. that represents the largest single retailer of music here. MP3, FLAC, iTunes, eMusic, Beatport, etc may be huge in our minds, but for most of the music buying public - online digital sales represents a small amount of the market.
it's paramount for labels (and artists) to engage their market as widely as possible.
dub beautiful collective
bringing elitism to the masses.
http://www.dub-beautiful.org
-----
OEM Radio - original electronic music radio.
http://www.oemradio.org |
|
|
|
