Image courtesy Dan Kamminga.
From Katie:
If CD’s were cheaper, would you purchase more of them? If so, what price do you think is fair for a CD?
(If you get a chance, check out Katie’s independent music site, Phibble.com, particularly my new favorite band, Beware of the Boo. Also, Katie’s upcoming short film, Crossed.)
September 28, 2007 at 08:50
I wouldn’t.
I’m a total convert to the iPod and downloadable music. For me, I think, why cart around physical CDs, when something like iTunes & syncing to the iPod is so much more convenient?
That said, fair price on a CD… definitely not $15. Because usually if I get a CD, it’s because I like 1-2 songs, and the rest, I skip. So cost-wise, it’s more effective to purchase single songs for .99 cents or whatnot.
That flexibility is so valuable to me as a consumer– I get exactly what I want, for a cheap price, and it’s highly portable.
The only downside is dealing with the mp3 vs. iTunes formatting, etc. It’d be better if the various programs and services interacted together more universally.
September 28, 2007 at 10:49
I still buy CDs when it’s more convenient because I can import them into iTunes later. However, I’m a mostly digital music listener now. Plus I usually only buy a CD of someone I already know and have faith that their new CD is worth the money.
I currently have about 25,000 songs in my collection but I find that I still crave buying new music — even though most of it’s crap.
I would really like to buy music found on Myspace and other places because these artists are often more original and surprisingly good.
Lastly, I would like to create free ringtones for my iPhone using music I’ve already purchased.
September 28, 2007 at 15:15
I would still buy CDs because I can convert them to mp3 later. As a matter of fact, I burn CDs of my mp3’s so I can play them on a regular CD player.
As for price, I agree with you that there are usually only a couple of songs that I buy a CD for, so $5 would be a fair price for a CD.
September 29, 2007 at 06:19
I like to own the CD if I like a band’s music.
And I probably have a different perspective on the whole digital music thing, since I used to manage unheard-of rock bands. When at that level, the band wants to be heard, rather than wanting sales. And digital music and its distribution through friends of friends and personal recommendation is much more the focus.