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CDs are making a comeback for the first time in 15 years

froggyboy604

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Streaming has been the primary option for listening to music for about a decade now. But prior to the emergence of services like Spotify and Apple Music, music fans turned to CDs. And, now, they are starting to make a comeback.

According to recent data published by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), CD sales increased in 2021 for the first time since 2004. CD sales in 2020 reached around $483 million and 2021 sales were up to $584 million.

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CDs are making a comeback for the first time in 15 years

CD sales had been steadily declining since 2004, but something changed in 2021.
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I think a lot of people still buy CDs because they are more convenient to buy when someone sees a CD they want to buy at a department store or discount store while they are shopping for clothes, food, electronics, car supplies like motor oil, school supplies, and other stuff.

I feel there are still many people who don't know how to buy or subscribe to paid music on iTunes, Google Play, etc. There are also many people who find buying digital music somewhat of a hassle, or don't like paying for digital music files which they can illegally download for free or rip from online video sites or video files.
 
CDs are still good, having the real version is better then the pretend one behind a screen.
 
Cool it's been so long since we have seen CD format either for movies, music , etc.
 
Good to see CDs back, but how many of them are really what a person wants other than to collect merch from their favorite artists?
 
In my opinion the sound quality of music CD is better than streaming. The convenience of using Apple music wins for me though. I do like how certain artists/bands have exclusive tracks for their CD releases.
 
Sharon said:
In my opinion the sound quality of music CD is better than streaming. The convenience of using Apple music wins for me though. I do like how certain artists/bands have exclusive tracks for their CD releases.
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Most streaming services are streaming lossy audio formats while CD’s are lossless, on top of not being streamed. So you are correct in thinking CD’s sound better than streaming.
 
Tiger21820 said:
I collect all sorts of New Age CDs! Never knew that CDs were ever in decline in the first place!
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A lot of major retailers either completely removed their CD section or it’s one corner of a shelf dedicated to CD’s. If you buy your stuff online, or go to specialty stores, you won’t really notice it.
 
Grungie said:
A lot of major retailers either completely removed their CD section or it’s one corner of a shelf dedicated to CD’s. If you buy your stuff online, or go to specialty stores, you won’t really notice it.
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Yeah, I usually get my CDs from Half Price Books, and other places!
 
Demon_Skeith said:
Guess that makes vinyls high end flac type music.
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Not really, vinyl is analog, so those don't follow the same type of format. Vinyl sounding better is also a misnomer, because it's a giant rabbit hole that can vary between pressings of even the same album. Though on a technical level, it's actually inferior to CD, but at the same time doesn't suffer from unsavory mastering practices that CD's are susceptible to.

Then there's albums that have the CD master just pressed onto vinyl, so you're just paying more money for a more novel way of listening to the album.
 
Grungie said:
I think people buy it because they want a physical item.
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That's the reason we do it. It's the same way I prefer to buy a physical book & not get a Kindle or the like. Or even reading a newspaper. Online is just so blah. Flipping through the actual pages is a great feeling. Then with CDs, sometimes inside the cover they have more info. Yeah, info you can get online, but it's right there :)
 
ZandraJoi said:
That's the reason we do it. It's the same way I prefer to buy a physical book & not get a Kindle or the like. Or even reading a newspaper. Online is just so blah. Flipping through the actual pages is a great feeling. Then with CDs, sometimes inside the cover they have more info. Yeah, info you can get online, but it's right there :)
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I like the ones that give you the lyrics. It's kind of interesting to see how it's not uncommon to see incorrect lyrics online.
 
I feel the included booklet, and extras like concert DVDs could make music CDs gaining in popularity.
 
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