at this point in the game, there are really only a few reasons to buy a CD:

1.) so you have a hard copy backup in case your hard drive crashes
2.) to financially support the artist or record label
3.) you can't find a free copy for download

artists only get paid royalties once - when the NEW CD is sold. you are not financially supporting the artist when you buy a used cd.

The only way to solve this whole downloading dilemma is if they really get serious, begin cracking down and start throwing people in jail for showing any sort of interest in music whatsoever.

tw wrote:at this point in the game, there are really only a few reasons to buy a CD:

1.) so you have a hard copy backup in case your hard drive crashes
2.) to financially support the artist or record label
3.) you can't find a free copy for download

seriously?

i have very little music on my hard drive. if it were to crash i might loose some demos of my band and a few other things but like 99.9% of my music is either on lp or cd.

i'm sure i could find a free copy of tons of things. i choose not to.

i enjoy buying records, looking through bins of used stuff and checking out the new releases. i like going to the record store. if i see a band i like i will buy their cd from them. i like listening to music. this is why i buy cd's.

endofanera wrote:Assuming there are enough used copies floating around, then yes, the music maker will not see any further reward, but that's what you get for making a record that's good enough for people to buy, but not good enough for them to keep.

Well put. If a band decides to record and print records to the point that their product is devalued, that's really not the purchaser's problem. See Stone Temple Pilots circa 1995, etc.

endofanera wrote:No brick and mortar record store is being supported.
Why does brick and mortar matter? Amazon is being supported. If you care about the local brick and mortar stores that much, then you could have taken the record to one of them instead of selling it on Amazon.

There is much merit in supporting the sale of music on Amazon and brick-and-mortar retailers, regardless of format or whether the artist sees a dime. Every time you purchase music, new or used, you are helping to keep the market alive that makes it possible for artists to at least partially recoup the cost of recording and distribution by selling their music.

Downloading and enjoying without the artist's permission and not following that with a purchase, new or used, compromises this.

With occasional exceptions, most music I purchase used isn't available new or in the format I am purchasing. I don't need to justify why I'd rather give a store $30 for a nice original vinyl copy of Lust for Life rather than a subpar late-80s digital transfer.

As far as how this affects major-label sales, who fucking cares? Those artists made their choice when they signed the contract and can fuck themselves if they don't like the fact that nobody buys their music under the business model they've chosen.

tw wrote:at this point in the game, there are really only a few reasons to buy a CD:

1.) so you have a hard copy backup in case your hard drive crashes
2.) to financially support the artist or record label
3.) you can't find a free copy for download

artists only get paid royalties once - when the NEW CD is sold. you are not financially supporting the artist when you buy a used cd.

4) some people prefer the sound of CDs as compared to MP3s
5) some people like having the physical object--artwork, booklet, etc.

tw wrote:at this point in the game, there are really only a few reasons to buy a CD:

1.) so you have a hard copy backup in case your hard drive crashes
2.) to financially support the artist or record label
3.) you can't find a free copy for download
4.) because you want to hear the music that was actually recorded instead of a shitty two-dimensional representation of same

artists only get paid royalties once - when the NEW CD is sold. you are not financially supporting the artist when you buy a used cd.

FYP

endofanera wrote:
Assuming there are enough used copies floating around, then yes, the music maker will not see any further reward, but that's what you get for making a record that's good enough for people to buy, but not good enough for them to keep.

When used CDs are sold, the artist and label don't get any money period, regardless of how many copies are floating around. And people don't only sell CDs because they don't like the album--I'm sure many people rip CDs they love and sell them.

Every time you purchase music, new or used, you are helping to keep the market alive that makes it possible for artists to at least partially recoup the cost of recording and distribution by selling their music.

How do used CD sales help artists recoup on their costs?

eta: By the way, I'm not against buying and selling CDs, or downloading necessarily. However, I think it's a good idea to think about these issues.

i always will ick a vinyl release before i EVER buy anything on cd.....cds are alright for work and the car, but at home it's vinyl all th etime....last cd i think i listened to was just a general mix of tunes from the first zep box set so i can play along to them

oh wait, it was the 3 POLVO ep's....wait that was all teh same day, so i guess i'm a hypocrite.......last LP played was a 180 gram pressing of ROCKET TO RUSSIA (that's the ramones best album. number one with a bullet!)

newberry wrote:I'm sure many people rip CDs they love and sell them.

This is lame but I'd guess this is a one-time problem of people divesting themselves of accumulated recordings they never really cared about anyway. Once purchases of recorded music stabilize, which they will, this will be a non-issue.

newberry wrote:How do used CD sales help artists recoup on their costs?

They don't, or only indirectly depending on how fine a point you want. The ability to market used music provides an option for independent retailers to make money so they can keep the doors open - doors that would rapidly close if all they were able to sell were $15-20 new releases that no one wants. This creates or maintains opportunities for artists to distribute their recordings. This may be less relevant now that you can sell by internets but who knows?

Based only my own observations, it seems like used CD and vinyl sales saved the asses of a great number of record stores (read: distribution options for bands I care about) in the mid-90s and continue to provide this backbone today.

This is lame but I'd guess this is a one-time problem of people divesting themselves of accumulated recordings they never really cared about anyway.

What do you mean, never cared about? You're responding to a quote where I mentioned people ripping and selling CDs they love.

Once purchases of recorded music stabilize, which they will, this will be a non-issue.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "purchases of recorded music" stabilizing. Could you please elaborate? And why will that be a non-issue?

They don't, or only indirectly depending on how fine a point you want. The ability to market used music provides an option for independent retailers to make money so they can keep the doors open - doors that would rapidly close if all they were able to sell were $15-20 new releases that no one wants. This creates or maintains opportunities for artists to distribute their recordings. This may be less relevant now that you can sell by internets but who knows?

I see what you're saying.