Themis;530132 Wrote: > Hi, > > what is important here is that LP sales are -up-, while total music > sales are -dropping-. No-one claims LP will replace redbook. > If bicycle sales are up while car sales are dropping, this is something > to consider. > > You example of nasty-sounding LPs is obviously correct, but I can find > ten examples of nasty-sounding CDs for one of your examples of > nasty-sounding LPs. Especially on mainstream (pop/rock) music. > > For the rest, I agree with you, of course.
Other music sales are not down. According to the latest RIAA statistics (on their web site) CDs are down about 25%, but download sales are up 27% for singles and 34% for albums. And those numbers make LP sales look like a small ink drop on a sheet of white paper. Keep in mind that the nature of music distribution has changed constantly over the years. From 1880 until the 1940s, the primary source of income for music companies was sheet music. 78 records didn't break through that until their lifespan was almost over. I have no doubt that the nature of the market will continue to change. However, one has to be careful not to linearly extrapolate the current growth rate of anything. Just because LPs have a current growth spurt doesn't mean it will continue at that rate. That said, LP lovers should enjoy their current moment in the sun. Though you may think that poor sounding CDs outnumber poor sounding LPs (and with some of the LPs I've encountered I'm not sure I agree), the bigger point is that you acknowledge that some CDs do sound very good. Right there you have the proof that it can be done. Good sounding CDs have been made and they can be made anytime people at the record company make quality a priority. Bad sounding CDs are just like the hot teenage clothing fashion of the moment. We may scratch our heads wondering what they're thinking, but the clothing manufacturers make clothing in that style because they can sell a ton of it. Music is the same way. CDs don't have to sound hot, compressed and aggressive. They sound that way because someone intentionally set out to achieve that sound. -- mlsstl ------------------------------------------------------------------------ mlsstl's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=9598 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=76496 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
