Kaonashi Ga Suki

Like many people, I’ve got an iPod (Mini, in my case) and use iTunes to purchase music. Several weeks ago however, I had heard about the debut album by American Idol alum Chris Daughtry, titled simply, Daughtry. Curious, I listened to the sample tracks on iTunes and thought they were cool, but then I got distracted by something and forgot about it for a while.

Recently I started hearing some of Daughtry’s music on the radio and was reminded of the album. I fired up iTunes again and listened to the songs again to see if I still liked them. I did, and in fact I decided to buy the entire album. I was ready to start downloading away when I realized- what if I wanted to listen to them in my car? It’s not iPod ready, nor do I have the money to spend on customizing my car for that purpose. I chose then to buy the actual CD. That way, I can take the CD in my car, but also have copies on my iPod.

I realized then that it had been a while since I last bought an actual CD, and I then wondered if the case is the same for many people. The Internet allows people to obtain music (legally and illegally) at the click of a mouse. There’s nothing like the satisfying feeling of instant gratification. Furthermore, in many cases people are only interested in a few of the songs from a specific album. Why spend $14 on a CD with the crappy songs included, when you can spend $0.99 per song and buy only the ones you really want? Granted, music from CDs are clearer than when they’re in Mp3 format, but the general public can’t really tell the difference, nor do they care.

A few months ago, the Tower Records store near my apartment had closed down, as did the rest of the chains across the country . I was stunned. Tower Records was a longtime institution. The one on Sunset Blvd. in West Los Angeles was a particularly prominent landmark for decades. Suddenly they’re gone, as is The Wherehouse and Sam Goody. All three companies filed for bankruptcy based on poor sales. Furthermore, it’s been argued that these old fashioned, brick-and-mortar companies just couldn’t keep up with the music download craze.

That being said, I reiterate my original question: Do people still buy CDs?

First of all, a huge assumption I’m making is that nearly everyone in the United States has some type of Mp3 player. In fact, a CNet article in 2005 reports that only 11% (22 million) of the U.S. population owns one of these electronic devices. With the total US population at approximately 300 million, there are still a lot of folks out there sans iPod. A second assumption I’ve made is that every song and album that exists is available for download. That is obviously not the case. Obscure, older, and less popular albums are sometimes not found on iTunes. Therefore, if someone really wanted say, the soundtrack to Newsies, they’d have to hoof it to a store and purchase the CD.

Thirdly, let’s not forget my own reason for buying that Daughtry CD: I wanted to listen to it in my non-iPod compatible car. There are several ways of making your car iPod friendly, but each has its pros and cons. You can buy a super cheap cassette tape adapter, but that’s assuming your car has a tape deck, which many cars lack these days. Or you can get a $60 FM transmitter that allows you to listen to your iPod through the radio, but if you live in a major city with lots of radio stations you get a whole lot of interference, not to mention horrible sound. If you like, you can go whole hog and take your car to an audio shop for customizing, but that can set you back at least $400. With such choices, it seems easier and cheaper to be old school and bring your CD case in the car.

I’d like to you what you all think. Are people still purchasing CDs? Will people continue to do so? Or will CDs go the way of the dodo?

Technorati Tags: CDs, Tower Records, Wherehouse, Sam Goody, bankruptcy, music, iPod, Mp3player