iPod Should I buy Physical CD or Download from ITMS

[watcher2001]

I am wanting to purchase the CD "Wreck of the day" by Anna Nalick and I have two choices.
1: Buy it at walmart for $9.83
2: Download it from ITMS for $9.99

I have weighed all the factors and I am at about 50%/50% either way. What I need to know to fill in the last few blanks is which format better benifits the artist. I assume that there is more cost to the record company to physically produce and distribute the CD so it would make sense that the record companies would make more profit off of distribution through ITMS (Even after Apples cut) I guess my two bottom line question are
1 Does the artist make more money off of ITMS vs Retail sales?
2: Do sales from ITMS factor into the billboard rating for sales?

I know this may be a duplicate thread, but it is late and I am exhausted. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dr. Dastardly]

Why not just get the CD? The sound quality is better, nor DRM, and you have a physical copy of it, not to mention its cheaper.

As for benefiting the artisit the record label takes all their money anyway so it really doesn't make that much difference. Just thanks for not stealing it.

 

[PlaceofDis]

might as well get the compact disc.....

 

[yg17]

CD. I'll buy individual tracks from the iTMS occasionally, but I prefer having physical copies of my CDs, plus the artwork and nowadays, CDs are coming with bonus DVDs that are sometimes fun to watch.

 

[mcmav37]

2: Do sales from ITMS factor into the billboard rating for sales?

I do believe that legitimate online downloads do factor into music charts.

 

[Balin64]

I also vote for the CD

Import it into iTunes as lossless, sell it on eBay afterwards!

No, seriously:

For my lifestyle, what I do and the way I listen to music: iTunes is the way to go. I try not to drive unless I have to: see, I see the mess we're in in the US is due to oil, so I don't want to be a hypocrite. The nearest WalMart is 30 minutes away by car: not an option. Also, I am not an audiophile so the iTunes format is just fine for my ear; additionally, I do most of my iTunes music purchasing when I have friends over and they want to listen to something I don't have...

It's so cool to say: no, I don't have that album... yet. Three or five minutes later it is streaming via my AirTunes. I got two of my friends to switch that way, actually.

So, sorry: probably more than you wanted to hear.

Cheers

 

[mduser63]

I absolutely love iTMS because it gives me the ability to buy songs that I wouldn't otherwise have because I don't want the whole album they came off of. However, I'm willing to pay for a CD for albums that I want. I'd MUCH rather have a physical disc with artwork and uncompressed sound than a bunch of DRM'd AAC files that I can only play in iTunes. So, my recommendation is to buy the CD. Another nice thing about CDs is that if you get one you end up not liking or get tired of, you can sell it to a used CD store.

 

[JeffTL]

Most of my CDs get put in a storage tower to collect dust after I rip them (often at 320 AAC, sometimes less), but when I want the whole album I am apt to buy the CD -- higher quality, DRM-free, and sometimes cheaper...not to mention the built-in backup.

But if I don't want the whole album, iTMS is the way to go.

 

[Applespider]

In this case where the CD is cheaper and you're obviously not dying to have it (or you'd have grabbed it where you first saw it), I'd go for the CD.

In general, I buy most of my music from iTMS now. I like the instant gratification of having it immediately rather than ordering it online and having it delivered 5 days later; which unless something is on sale is the only way to get it at the same price as iTMS in the UK). I only ever looked at the CD sleeve on its first listen so that aspect doesn't bother me; and I've had a couple of recent iTMS downloads that have come with a digital booklet. The lone CD I've bought this year (iTMS didn't sell it) was imported straight into iTunes and the CD put in a box.

If it's an artist that I really like and can imagine listening to for years, I may purchase the CD. If it's 'on a whim' then I go for iTMS.

 

[Kerry Sanders]

Go with the CD

I agree with the other posters here. I would opt for the CD. iTunes is a nice music portal, but I prefer to have the option to be able to play the music uncompressed in a CD player if I want. I generally rip my music at a higher bit rate than 128 kbps as well.

 

[roadapple]

Import it into iTunes as lossless, sell it on eBay afterwards!

or buy it used on ebay (or elsewhere), rip it lossless, then resell it back with ebay for around what you paid for it or maybe at a profit

Nothing like ripping a new cd with a nice little 29 cent profit

 

[Nickygoat]

Buy it on CD. Sorry but ITMS is a rip off as far as whole CDs are concerned. If the price for a CD is cheaper than the download the artist isn't benefitting - the record companies are. At least you have the physical disc and you can do what you want with it - no DRM. My 2p

 

[combatcolin]

CD is the only way to go.

Music is more than just 0's and 1's, the music you are listening to has been arranged to create and emotion nd the packaging works towards this end.

I love my iPod, but i will never buy musiconline.

5623 songs, 99.9% of which i own the originals on CD.

Just out of intrest, watcher2001, how old are you?

 

[jcgerm]

CD is the only way to go.

Music is more than just 0's and 1's, the music you are listening to has been arranged to create and emotion nd the packaging works towards this end.

I love my iPod, but i will never buy musiconline.

5623 songs, 99.9% of which i own the originals on CD.

Just out of intrest, watcher2001, how old are you?

I hate to break this to you, but CD's are just 1's and 0's too. They're just not compressed the same way MP3's are.

 

[broken_keyboard]

Get the CD unless you hate CD cases.

Man, CD cases are awful. Cheap, plasticy, break easily. It's horrible to buy such a thing. CD cases are a soul crushing device, in the following sense:

Someone very clever invented the CD, with pristine quality sound and rainbow colors: they wanted to put something good in the world. And then an evil man came along and wrapped it in *beep*.

He couldn't stand the good, he had to destroy it. He had to wrap it in the cheapest, easily breakable junky thing he could find. Just to remind us all that the world is actually *beep*.

And now it is psychologically devistating buying CDs. Because when you buy something you say *I* want this. And he forces you to buy the case too, which is forcing you to say *I* want junk, I deserve junk, I am not good enough for anything else. And so the CD destroys the soul.

The only way to get around this is to refuse to take the case at the store, or else use iTMS.

 

[beatle888]

if your not big on liner notes and arent the type that could tell the difference between cd or loseless (which is superb) than go for itunes.

why not.


it takes care of importing and you dont have to worry about storing a cd. either way now days is just as good in my eyes. but i just go for the iTunes. apple is so mature these days that i just feel its time to jump on their bandwagon.

 

[Macophile]

All things being equal, you save a few cents by buying the CD. That's about the only certainty in this whole thing.

Is more money going to the artist by buying a CD or by downloading from iTMS? Who knows? Record company accounting is so convoluted and corrupt, she'll be lucky to see anything. The extra 16 cents won't make much difference. There are a lot of people between you and her who are ready to pocket it. (There's also the Wal-Mart factor, but that's a whole other thing, and you didn't ask about that.)

There are advantages and disadvantages to both the CD and the download. The CD gives you an insert and liner notes, but if you never look at them, what's the point? No DRM is nice, if you end up liking the CD and wanting to re-rip it at some point in the future. If you don't like it, or if you hang onto it out of habit rather than rabid appreciation, then you've got this thing to lug around with you. I moved last year and had to haul my hundreds and hundreds of CDs with me. That was a pain. All of the MP3s that I'd made from them, along with all of the iTMS AAC files that I'd downloaded, fit onto an external firewire drive that weighed next to nothing.

I've come to think of iTMS downloads as the mass market paperbacks of music: Cheap and convenient. Yes, I know that you can get a lot of new releases on CD for the same price or less at stores like Best Buy or Wal-Mart, where they sell them as loss leaders in the hope that you'll buy a bunch of other stuff while you're in the store. I have no problem with doing that. In the same way, I have no problem buying a used or remaindered hardcover copy of a book when it's cheaper than a new paperback. But for back catalog stuff, much like with midlist titles, a $9.99 download is a bargain as opposed to a $17 CD, especially when it's an artist that I'm trying out for the first time. On the other hand, when U2's last album came out, I bought it on CD, because I have all of their other albums on CD, and I figured the odds were pretty good that I'd like it and still be listening to it at some point in the future.

There are absolutists on either side, and their dire warnings tend to be a little extreme and overblown. For most of us in the middle, there's usually some balance to be found between CDs and downloads, and it usually comes down to dollars and cents and a rough idea of how many times we'll listen to the album to make it worth our while.

If it were me, I'd save the 16 cents and buy the CD.

 

[tykles]

Buying stuff from Walmart is bad for EVERYONE. (but I guess that's a separate rant)

Otherwise, don't buy a hard copy unless you 1. read the notes, and 2. are enough of an audiophile to notice the difference in quality. As someone else said, there is so much waste involved in the production, packaging, shipping and selling of a CD, especially if you're just going to import to iTunes and put the disc on a shelf somewhere anyway.

 

[combatcolin]

I hate to break this to you, but CD's are just 1's and 0's too. They're just not compressed the same way MP3's are.

You own a CD
You can feel a CD
You can look at a CD
You interact with a CD by placing it inside your player

Get where im going?

Now if only some company released CD's in gatefold record sleeves......

 

[Mantat]

Btw, shame on you to buy CDs at Walmart.

They sell CDs at lost and kill the music retail market. Because of them eventually all music stores will be closed and THEY will control what we can buy!

As yourself, is saving 1$ worth that much to you?

I am not telling you to get it from the iTMS, just not from walmart... Personnaly, I think that if you are going to get the whole CD, get it physical, if you just want a few songs, get them from the iTMS, that is what I am doing.

Just dont forget to desauthorise the computer when you upgrade to Tiger...

 

[crazzyeddie]

Btw, shame on you to buy CDs at Walmart.

I am not telling you to get it from the iTMS, just not from walmart... Personnaly, I think that if you are going to get the whole CD, get it physical, if you just want a few songs, get them from the iTMS, that is what I am doing.

I agree. Buy everything from anywhere other than Walmart. They artificially force lower prices, so companies make less and then pass less of that onto suppliers' employees (in this case, music artists).

 

[cmvsm]

Not sure I agree with the Walmart comment. If record companies were suffering, they simply wouldn't distribute to Walmart. The same goes for the artist. If Walmart were cutting into their profit, I'm sure we'd see some kind of backlash or defiant behavior. In terms of the artists, many of them make the majority of their money touring anyway.

Wal-mart sets much of the retail bar for the consumer which is great. The power they have over their vendors keeps prices low for the consumer (me), not only in their establishment, but keeps other retailers honest as well, especially the Home Depot's and Best Buy's of the world.

Sure, artists work hard and need to make a living, but frankly, I'm going to worry about myself and what I have to spend before I'm going to worry about their pocketbooks. I would imagine that would hold true for just about everyone?

 

[yg17]

I refuse to buy CDs at Wal-Mart because they only sell censored ones. I'm a big boy, I can hear 4 letter words and don't need a retail chain to babysit for me. Even if the CD I want doesn't have explicit content to begin with, I still won't buy CDs from them. I'll spend $15 on a CD elsewhere before spending $10 for the same CD at Wal-Mart.

 

[cmvsm]

I refuse to buy CDs at Wal-Mart because they only sell censored ones. I'm a big boy, I can hear 4 letter words and don't need a retail chain to babysit for me. Even if the CD I want doesn't have explicit content to begin with, I still won't buy CDs from them. I'll spend $15 on a CD elsewhere before spending $10 for the same CD at Wal-Mart.

I will agree with this. I went to buy a Rob Zombie cd and only found the pasturized version. Walmart needs to stick to selling things and not worry about the "sensitivity" of their customers so much.

As far as paying $5 bucks somewhere else for the SAME cd...err...I think not.

 

[dhracer88]

Someone very clever invented the CD, with pristine quality sound and rainbow colors: they wanted to put something good in the world. And then an evil man came along and wrapped it in *beep*.

He couldn't stand the good, he had to destroy it. He had to wrap it in the cheapest, easily breakable junky thing he could find. Just to remind us all that the world is actually *beep*.

And now it is psychologically devistating buying CDs. Because when you buy something you say *I* want this. And he forces you to buy the case too, which is forcing you to say *I* want junk, I deserve junk, I am not good enough for anything else. And so the CD destroys the soul.