CDs: Obsolete by 2015 ?

[Totally Plucked]

More than two in five (42 percent) say they have not purchased a CD in the past six months, while 12 percent claim they'll never buy a CD again. However, nearly two thirds said they'd bought a digital music file in the last six months.

Nearly a third also believe the DVD will be obsolete by 2020, with 67 percent saying they expect all films to be downloaded or streamed over the web by the start of the next decade.

Original In depth article below

http://www.pcworld.com/article/213233/cds_obsolete_by_2015.html?tk=hp_new

[Excalibur]

Well as far as I'm concerned, the CD is virtually obsolete in my house. The biggest problem is waiting for all the CD only tracks to be put on MP3 sites like Amazon and their competitors.

[Megamix]

Can't see the CD album going in a hurry but CD singles may well disappear - possibly replaced by a CD burning service for little old ladies without online access.

[Vectis]

possibly replaced by a CD burning service for little old ladies without online access.

The market isn't big enough to justify the investment.

Possibly someone like Amazon with sufficient clout to force a Ts & Cs change on the labels and the potential audience could provide at a premium price, but it won't be happening in your local HMV I wouldn't have thought.

[simonp]

The market isn't big enough to justify the investment.

Possibly someone like Amazon with sufficient clout to force a Ts & Cs change on the labels and the potential audience could provide at a premium price, but

Absolutely


it won't be happening in your local HMV I wouldn't have thought.

Funny you should say that, because it very nearly did a few years ago. They were going to trial a similar service in the old Oxford Street store where you would be able to burn your own compilation CD in store in little 'booths', it was then going to be rolled out across the company - it never got off the ground though.

Back to the OP - the only time I buy CDs now are as gifts - I know you can 'gift' music but the friends and family I buy for still prefer something tangible in their hands.

[Megamix]

the CD is virtually obsolete in my house
Not in mine - brought my kids up surrounded by thousands of them - the eldest two prefer to buy them, but do get downloads of odd tracks also (like me)

[BeerFunk]

It will be a gradual thing so it's hard to pin it on a specific year. I must say I'm fairly surprised at how quickly digital music has evolved over the last decade - and really that's how long it's been in the mainstream, as your average user didn't know what an MP3 was 10 years ago.

[DJWilson]

CD's will around for a while.

Even though 98% of track unit's sold are digitial downloads, but it's still only a fifth (20.3%) of actual income.

[Charlie Brown]

When you walk into the HMV in Nottingham...you walk into PS3, Xbox and Wii games. Then it's DVD's and PC Games...The music is right at the back in a corner!

[Vectis]

... the same corner that the LPs were in about 10 years ago ;)

[BeerFunk]

When you walk into the HMV in Nottingham...you walk into PS3, Xbox and Wii games. Then it's DVD's and PC Games...The music is right at the back in a corner!They don't have CD sale sections at the front door (3 for £20 etc)?? The ones in Edinburgh do, CDs and DVDs at the front.