HDTracks UK & HDTracks Germany Have Closed

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bmoura

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Mar 2, 2003
Messages
9,518
Location
Redwood City, CA
Announcement from HDTracks on their HDTracks Germany music store - now closed.

HDTracks Germany Closed.png


https://www.hdtracks.de/
 
Any reason why Brian?
If you live in the UK or Germany could you still purchase from the US site?

No, the US site only serves customers from the U.S. and Canada. It's a function of the way that the major labels license their albums (you need separate licensing and accounting for each country). The independent labels tend to license on an international (vs. country by country basis), so their albums are available on more sites (both the ones that serve customers worldwide & the country-specific ones).

I don't know. My guess is the competition from other download sites and the lower pricing forced HDTracks to focus their efforts on their flagship US store with a new website.
Time will tell whether the new website at HDTracks US is enough to keep that one going.

The odd thing about all of this is that the rumors about HDTracks UK closing have been around for months.
No one mentioned HDTracks Germany at all. But it was the one that closed first (in April 2020).
 
I noticed the new site is really good but there are errors in there advertising, for instance today the advertise the Rolling Stones- HONK- as 24/96 but when you look at the actual site it shows up with one option as 24/44.1.
I have seen this on a few others also since the new site went up.
 
No, the US site only serves customers from the U.S. and Canada. It's a function of the way that the major labels license their albums (you need separate licensing and accounting for each country). The independent labels tend to license on an international (vs. country by country basis), so their albums are available on more sites (both the ones that serve customers worldwide & the country-specific ones).

I don't know. My guess is the competition from other download sites and the lower pricing forced HDTracks to focus their efforts on their flagship US store with a new website.
Time will tell whether the new website at HDTracks US is enough to keep that one going.

The odd thing about all of this is that the rumors about HDTracks UK closing have been around for months.
No one mentioned HDTracks Germany at all. But it was the one that closed first (in April 2020).
Iā€™m actually curious about how the music they sell is sourced; due to the variance of quality from title to title? Of course different time periods and technology and recording, but the conversion to digital quality, I guess is what Iā€™m asking?
 
Iā€™m actually curious about how the music they sell is sourced; due to the variance of quality from title to title? Of course different time periods and technology and recording, but the conversion to digital quality, I guess is what Iā€™m asking?

Some of the early HDTracks releases were converted from SACDs (DSD to FLAC) by Bruce Brown at Puget Sound Studios to get the downloads site started. In recent years, the albums come from the record labels. So, it's up to each label's practices in terms of how albums are sourced and processed.
 
Some of the early HDTracks releases were converted from SACDs (DSD to FLAC) by Bruce Brown at Puget Sound Studios to get the downloads site started. In recent years, the albums come from the record labels. So, it's up to each label's practices in terms of how albums are sourced and processed.
Funny, it makes me think the sites that sell higher (consistent) quality music (like DSD) may outlast HDTracks. Not burgers, but Kroc made an empire from the business model of consistency of his restaurants.
 
Funny, it makes me think the sites that sell higher (consistent) quality music (like DSD) may outlast HDTracks. Not burgers, but Kroc made an empire from the business model of consistency of his restaurants.

Well, as the sales of CDs continue to shrink, the high-quality niche markets (like SACD reissues and DSD downloads) get more interesting as audiophiles and serious music fans are still paying for music.
That bodes well for those markets and sites.
 
"Average People" don't really care about music anymore, let along HiRez or Surround music. They use their phone as their "stereo" and whatever they get from Spotify or whatever is what they listen to. There are too many other things to worry about beside good sound for the average citizen.

That's progress! :confused:
 
"Average People" don't really care about music anymore, let along HiRez or Surround music. They use their phone as their "stereo" and whatever they get from Spotify or whatever is what they listen to. There are too many other things to worry about beside good sound for the average citizen.

That's progress! :confused:

But the audiophile and serious music market customers do!
Interestingly that even extends to Surround sales - which NativeDSD tells me is starting to move upward....
 
But the audiophile and serious music market customers do!
Interestingly that even extends to Surround sales - which NativeDSD tells me is starting to move upward....

Brian, I hear you. I do. And I buy the stuff, but day after day there are fewer of us around to do so. Eventually, well, you know........
 
"Average People" don't really care about music anymore, let along HiRez or Surround music. They use their phone as their "stereo" and whatever they get from Spotify or whatever is what they listen to. There are too many other things to worry about beside good sound for the average citizen.

That's progress! :confused:
I guess that makes most of us here "Above" average right? ;)
Part of what I was getting to is, did the inconsistent quality, factor into these sites closing down. Because they position themselves as High Def., but not always delivering as such; you just never know what you're going to get on your paid download.
Seems sad that more folks here don't chime in with thoughts on this, that alone is very telling. :(
 
I guess that makes most of us here "Above" average right? ;)
Part of what I was getting to is, did the inconsistent quality, factor into these sites closing down. Because they position themselves as High Def., but not always delivering as such; you just never know what you're going to get on your paid download.
Seems sad that more folks here don't chime in with thoughts on this, that alone is very telling. :(
I have used HD Tracks extensively & exclusively for my high res downloads. I appreciate the ability to choose WAV files that I can use directly in AA. I have nothing against FLAC but it would just be converted to WAV in AA if I do up mixing. I don't do DSD.

I have very little Doors on discrete high res but I do have their entire stereo discography from HD Tracks, a nice bundled selection I couldn't refuse after a few drinkie poos one night. I have dozens of other albums from them as well. I can't say I've checked each one but of the many I have opening in AA 3 & checking the frequency spectrum analysis window all have shown information well beyond RB CD. So I am pleased that I am getting what I pay for.

I do find it disconcerting that many newer releases are something odd like 24 bit 44.1 kHz. It's better than regular CD but I do think a standard should be set higher.

RE: fading audiophillia
Things come & go with various generations & the hobbies they enjoy. When I was a teenager it was many peoples desire, a hobby or passion to restore a vintage car & customize it. Sure there are gear heads aplenty still today but not as much as say 50's/60's when it was so very main stream. As a kid I knew adults that loved stamp or coin collecting. Who does that today? Or ham radio? Except for Hobie1dog. Hi-Fi music was really coming along in the 50's & riding off the hippie wave it was everyone's goal to have a "really good sound system". Eventually I think people found other things more casual that didn't require so much $$ & demanded some knowledge & the ability to actually sit down & listen to an album all the way through, damn it. Both my son in laws have good quality home theater with Atmos etc potential. But they have never listned to a single piece of music on it that I know of. That was for their parents generation.
 
Use a VPN to get around the country restrictions.

I am increasingly encountering sites that will refuse to connect via VPN. Most of the offenders won't even give a reason, the connection attempt simply never succeeds. If I'm lucky I might get a "403 Forbidden".

Whenever that happens, switching to a non-VPN browser always works.
 
I have used HD Tracks extensively & exclusively for my high res downloads. I appreciate the ability to choose WAV files that I can use directly in AA. I have nothing against FLAC but it would just be converted to WAV in AA if I do up mixing. I don't do DSD.

I have very little Doors on discrete high res but I do have their entire stereo discography from HD Tracks, a nice bundled selection I couldn't refuse after a few drinkie poos one night. I have dozens of other albums from them as well. I can't say I've checked each one but of the many I have opening in AA 3 & checking the frequency spectrum analysis window all have shown information well beyond RB CD. So I am pleased that I am getting what I pay for.

I do find it disconcerting that many newer releases are something odd like 24 bit 44.1 kHz. It's better than regular CD but I do think a standard should be set higher.

RE: fading audiophillia
Things come & go with various generations & the hobbies they enjoy. When I was a teenager it was many peoples desire, a hobby or passion to restore a vintage car & customize it. Sure there are gear heads aplenty still today but not as much as say 50's/60's when it was so very main stream. As a kid I knew adults that loved stamp or coin collecting. Who does that today? Or ham radio? Except for Hobie1dog. Hi-Fi music was really coming along in the 50's & riding off the hippie wave it was everyone's goal to have a "really good sound system". Eventually I think people found other things more casual that didn't require so much $$ & demanded some knowledge & the ability to actually sit down & listen to an album all the way through, damn it. Both my son in laws have good quality home theater with Atmos etc potential. But they have never listned to a single piece of music on it that I know of. That was for their parents generation.
Those drinkie poo's help with a lot of things, and yes they do add to click-itis.
If I have a CD and HDTracks releases it in 24/96 or 24/192 I likely will purchase the download and it is worth it.
If I have a CD and it gets released in 24/44.1 I will not. That would be around 25-30 dollars for one piece of music, double dipped, not worth it.
Lets see, I have been a bottle collector, music collector, stamp and coin collector, I was a rock n roll concert poster collector also.
Funny that all of my collecting even with my music now has been the same. The funnest part about being a collector is the documentation of your collection. It was always fun back in the day when it was all pen and paper, now it is all computer based and super easy.
 
I am increasingly encountering sites that will refuse to connect via VPN. Most of the offenders won't even give a reason, the connection attempt simply never succeeds. If I'm lucky I might get a "403 Forbidden".

Whenever that happens, switching to a non-VPN browser always works.

On some sites they also require that you use a credit card issued in that country to avoid the VPNers.
Tightening up the requirements.
 
On some sites they also require that you use a credit card issued in that country to avoid the VPNers.
Tightening up the requirements.

Try a TransferWise debit card to get round that? Or can we pay with US bank details, which I have due to TransferWise?
 
Yeah I thought it odd for them to close down. I never found the UK store to be intuitive though. Way too expensive and some stuff listed ā€˜is not currently available in your territoryā€™... Well donā€™t bloody list it then!

I canā€™t see it being that expensive to host a store for another country but maybe the need for customer services and the like made it prohibitive? Also coincides with Amazon Music offering Hi Res streaming for a couple of quid extra, might have also made a difference?

Of course the biggest flaw and the absolute reason for their demise is the lack of surround material listed. With a whole treasure trove of material ignored they consigned themselves to doom from the outset! šŸ˜Ž
 
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