More Layoffs at Rhino??

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I prefer having the physical product as a backup myself, but I've become a total convert to the idea of having everything on hard drives and easily accessible...

I can't imagine ever parting with any of my media--from my kiddy 78s to the modern stuff, but for ease of access, this setup just can't be beat...

I absolutely understand and completely agree! I very much enjoy the portability and simplicity of having a "soft copy" of my stereo (2-channel) collection. Like you, I just prefer STARTING with the physical product and producing my own soft copies as an alternative so that I always have the physical product to fall back on when I have a disc player accessible.

As new generations of consumers and technologies come along, the things that have always attracted me to the physical product will be poorly understood and appreciated. The recording labels seem to be finding this out the hard way.
 
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It's not an upgrade. If you need your teeth descaled then listen to the new remaster. Pretty painful.

There's been a few hatchet jobs with music from that era, which really would need some sort of upgrade done correctly.

To drive the ship slightly more on-topic, not surprised at all with the Best Buy news. It is what it is at this point. My only hope is that we can preserve some sort of lossless standard.
 
A recent stop at my local Best Buy store was a disheartening visit for me. The CD section has been reduced to one short isle that also shares space with DVD & BD music/concert videos (along with a couple LP releases). But that's it!.....one isle for music. From reading the Best Buy announcement from Elmer's post above, I am sure the change here has already taken place.

On a side note, I had a BB Rewards certificate for $35, however one must spend in excess of that amount to redeem it or you forfeit the balance. No cash back or gift cards. How consumer unfriendly is that? I walked around for half an hour unable to find the new releases I was looking for or anything else that I wanted, so I walked back out empty handed. I found my shopping experience to be most unsatisfying, and unless I need a new refrigerator I probably won't be returning anytime soon....but I digress.

In BB's defense I am sure that I am not their target demographic. Not enough profits in music sales to people my age. Also, like most folks now, a good 90% of my music purchases in the past 6 years have been online. BB's decision to downsize it's floor space for physical media simply reflects my buying habits.

This raises a few questions about where the music business is headed. If the future is in downloads only; Will the "album" concept continue or will future download sales be singles only? Will music subscriptions to an online database be the norm? Will physical discs still be available online? If so, for how long? Forum members here will want to know if there will be lossless surround recordings available for dl purchase?

With audiophile quality recordings being my passion, I find all of this extremely disconcerting.

Dennis
 
With audiophile quality recordings being my passion, I find all of this extremely disconcerting.

My passion too (audiophile recordings).

That's one niche that will survive IMHO.

Re-issue labels like Audio Fideliy, Mobile Fidelity and Analogue Productions have increased their 24K Gold and/or SACD output in recent years.
That's pretty much all I'm buying these days.
 
Yes, unless it's a certain band here or there like "Cheap Trick" :) I don't buy CD's (forget MP3). It's not that I've made so much a conscience decision not to buy CDs, it's just how my buying habits have changed now that I've heard DVD-A/SACD/Blu-Ray on even the cheapest AMP one could think of.. I expect more bang for the buck. In all fairness, one should also expect that small inventory items, if a physical product, will have to be priced accordingly for niche audiences so that money can be made.

This is not to say that either CD or MP3 should go away. Both serve a certain function for certain devices and uses. It's that we want to see more HI-Rez options both MC & Stereo. One way or another Bands/Artists will come to see 24/96 and even higher resolutions become common place due to the way how technology makes stuff more affordable and easer to create content. The average person might see MP3 as less important with time as internet speeds grow faster and storage space is smaller, cheaper. Perhaps more "lossless" formats, if offered, will be the norm.

As far as layoff's at Rhino, we've seen throughout the decades various layoff's from time to time with record companies as a matter of how they do their business practices, for good or ill. Let's hope that management at Rhino keeps the Quadio program rolling (and continues to understand the importance of Quadraphonic preservation as well) as we've seen the CTA DVD sell out already and AF Hits will probably do the same.
 
I'm a fan of the music first and then the delivery platform. Certainly, I would prefer everything to be made available in a Hi rez format but that is simply not going to happen at least in my lifetime. There is still alot of really good music being made out there and it is only available CD or DD (digital download)
 
I'm a fan of the music first and then the delivery platform.

Well, I'm a fan of quality first.
Nowadays, the Compact Disc format can be pretty good quality (few releases) or flat out terrible sounding (most releases).

Certainly, I would prefer everything to be made available in a Hi rez format but that is simply not going to happen at least in my lifetime. There is still alot of really good music being made out there and it is only available CD or DD (digital download)

Yes, it can happen in your lifetime.
It's called playing an LP or digitizing an LP collection to high rez.;)
 
Well, I'm a fan of quality first.
Nowadays, the Compact Disc format can be pretty good quality (few releases) or flat out terrible sounding (most releases).

Well I guess you won't be able to tell anymore as you refuse to buy any more CD's

Yes, it can happen in your lifetime.
It's called playing an LP or digitizing an LP collection to high rez.;)

Digitizing an LP to a Hi Rez doesn't make it Hi Rez - it will only be as good as the original source.
 
I absolutely understand and completely agree! I very much enjoy the portability and simplicity of having a "soft copy" of my stereo (2-channel) collection. Like you, I just prefer STARTING with the physical product and producing my own soft copies as an alternative so that I always have the physical product to fall back on when I have a disc player accessible.

This is my preferred way to get music. Buy the CD, make the "soft copies" for my iPod and whatever. I can then use the wav's on the PC to "fix" them, SPEC them, or whatever I want to do (for myself) with them, and I always have the disc itself for backup. I don't mind spending the $10-$15 for the CD if it's something I want. However, when it gets to the $18-$20 range, it better be special. Especially if it's just stereo.

But then again, I am at this point, pretty much a dinosaur! :D
 
I do not want purely digital copies of anything. I want a physical medium, and I want lots of them around.

I will never see my favorite Bugs Bunny film ever again. Warner Brothers locked up their old films, so they would increase in value when played at future dates. But the films disintegrated while locked in the vault. There are now no existing copies of that film.
 
I do not want purely digital copies of anything. I want a physical medium, and I want lots of them around.

I will never see my favorite Bugs Bunny film ever again. Warner Brothers locked up their old films, so they would increase in value when played at future dates. But the films disintegrated while locked in the vault. There are now no existing copies of that film.
And if they would have transferred it to disc there still would be a copy of that film.
 
It's not an upgrade. If you need your teeth descaled then listen to the new remaster. Pretty painful.

I just heard the remastered version of the main album. To paraphrase Neil, "Holy fucking hi-hats." What were they thinking here? I could barely get through the third track before reaching for one of the vinyl versions.
 
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