GETTING MORE TALE #757: The Demise of CD?
I don’t know if you’ve heard. There’s this newfangled audio format that’s all the rage. It’s called the “record”, or “long player”. “LP” for short. The technology is actually ancient. It’s based on a needle running over a groove, picking up the vibrations, and converting it into sound.
Certainly not as sophisticated as the digital music that most of us consume today. There are none of those pesky 1’s and 0’s being decoded. It’s simple tech and maybe that’s why the LP has become so popular in recent years. We’d never disparage the use of the LP. It’s a physical medium, and it’ll last a lifetime if properly cared for. Physical product is everything to the true music lover.
But what of the CD? The compact disc has been our friend and companion since 1982. Like many friendships, we have had our ups and downs. For many of us, the CD still reigns supreme. It’s smaller than an LP. It’s easier to keep in mint condition than LP. On a typical non-audiophile household setup, it sounds better than LP and is certainly superior to mp3. For convenience, you can convert the CD to mp3 files and take it with you in just one click. It’s a lot trickier to do that with an LP. For many of us, the CD is the perfect format. Plus they have all the bonus tracks, bonus discs, and musical extras that are rarely included on the LP versions.
Canadian comedian and rapper Tom Green recently announced his very first solo album. It is being produced by Ship to Shore Phono Co. It will be on green vinyl…but there will be no CD release.
Here we are in 2019, and Tom Green is releasing his solo debut…with no CD release. This isn’t some indi artist. This is a well known comedian who started in the CD age, made it big on MTV, and later became a fan favourite on Big Brother. No CD release, just LP! Cool, right? Sure, but what does this mean for the beloved compact disc?
I’m not entirely sure.
These things go in phases and there is always a chance that CD will experience a nostalgia phase like LP is right now. But it’s hard to get nostalgic about that little silver 5” disc. Kids of today know them as those quaint things their parents had lying around but they weren’t allowed to touch. Are these signals for the beginning of the end of CD? Will there ever be a special “CD Store Day” for those of us who still think the silver discs are superior?
Time will tell.