The Disappearing Music CD

You are tuned in to Steve Megatron on Altered

Geek. Hello and welcome to Altered Geek. I am

your host for this episode, Mike Booth Ninja

Powers, and I'm joined as always by my friend

and co -host, Steve Megatron Phillips. Yo. So

before we get off to this start here with the

story for this week, I just want to throw it

out there really quick that we are always taking

suggestions for stories that we should talk about.

You can leave them for us on Twitter at at Altered

Geek or to myself at Boothinj81 or to Steve at

SCP 21 or on the forums, Facebook, the website,

geekcasradio .com, all those places, always taking

suggestions for stories for us to talk about.

Just wanted to get that out of the way up top

This week I wanted to talk about The death of

the CD Mainly music CDs, which I think has been

coming for a while but Surprised it took this

long. Yeah Yeah, I think there's a story reporting

it reported at the beginning of the month that

Best Buy is pulling all the CDs from their store

beginning in July and That target may follow

suit shortly thereafter I was just kind of curious

how you feel about this because I the last time

I bought a CD was In fact, I remember it was

2013 It was actually was the day the PlayStation

4 came out I was at Best Buy waiting for the

waiting to be able to take it home and I just

went and bought the latest M &M CD That was the

last time I bought a CD ever since then it's

been You know getting it off the internet And

then just recently myself I signed up for Apple

Music, which you know, like Spotify gives you

access to millions of songs So there's no need

to buy a CD so I Don't know like I what do you

think about this like is this like a You didn't

I guess you didn't seem too surprised not really

I mean it's It's kind of It's kind of not surprising

in a sense because they We've we've had digital

for a number of years. I mean, it's It kind of

started all back in what 2001 at least 20. I

remember I remember like, you know Getting mp3s

for songs in like 1999 You know using illegal

methods like master parents kids ask your parents

Yeah, I remember those days I used to get a lot

of songs and then I stopped doing that a long

time ago, more so because it's just too difficult.

Right. Because Napster. And then half the time

you got like the wrong file. LimeWire. Yeah,

LimeWire, Morpheus, WinMX. Oh, oh, yeah. I think

I think my favorite was I can't remember what

it was. It was it was just it showed you a bunch

of technical information about what you were

downloading, where you were downloading from.

But that's that's besides the point. So yeah,

it's been almost 20 years Oh 30 no 20 20 years

That digital music has been on the rise and obviously

that's slowly been eating into CD sales The article

I found was on Business Insider And they said

that you know in 2001 they were 800 million CDs

sold in the US alone In 2017 though that number

was 89 million Wow So that's you know, that's

a pretty big drop And they they cited that the

you know, the popularity of streaming music services

Like Apple music and Spotify and vinyl making

a return I will say personally. Well, I I have

listened to I've you know, I've been growing

my music collection since What was it? Probably

2001 when I finally started taking it seriously

like I've been growing my music collection for

almost 20 years and Buying CDs every now and

then but obviously I when I buy the CD I would

rip it right to my iTunes library And I would

never listen to the CD again Yeah, pretty much

that's all I did with all of my CD catalog is

rip them into my computer now I will say when

I had my g6 though It has six disc CD changer

in it and I was listen I would actually listen

to CDs in that car because it didn't have the

Ability to play mp3s see I didn't have my avail

even though it was a like really bare -bones

car It had the auxiliary input for no it actually

didn't have that it had a mp3 cd player okay,

I know I could sit there and burn an mp3 CD right

and I could load it up with as many like albums

as I could fit on that that CD so that was kind

of nice Think I remember I think I may have been

able to do that with a g6, but I never did because

I remember Back when that first became a thing

burning an mp3 CD like it wasn't Reliable Well

some instances some players would not play them

right and so that were that was where it's like

I'm not even gonna waste my time burning one

CD to see if it even works I'd rather just Like

at least I'm sure other music players did this

too, right? But I would just go in iTunes and

I would build like a playlist of like a hundred

songs And I would say burn it to a CD and it

would be like, okay, you need to get six CDs

Because it's gonna put you know, it's it's not

gonna make an mp3 disc It's gonna burn it out

as an actual audio CD But it's it already tells

you how many discs you're gonna need and it automatically

divides up the right number of songs to go on

each disc and tells you when to You know eject

the disc put in a new one. It just continues

burning the playlist for you um And that and

that's how I did it, you know, uh, but like I

said, you typically if I bought a bought one

if I bought an album I would just rip it right

into my jukebox my Into itunes and I would never

I would never mess with the cd again um, and

I especially don't now because The the cars I

have now they've all got Bluetooth in them USB

ports in them. There's like a dozen ways to connect

You know an audio device. I will say this though

my new truck I'm surprised that my new truck

has a CD player in it still really Yes, what

year is it? It's a 2018. That's funny because

my my 2016 equinox doesn't have one. So look

I My wife, my wife has a 2017 Acadia and she

doesn't have a CD player. Like I, and we have

the same. Well, I know the SUVs, they, back when

I worked with the car a lot, the 2016s were the

first year that cars, a lot of the cars and the

SUVs did not have them. Although the trucks and

the big SUVs like your Suburbans, your Tahos

and your Traverses all had CD players. See and

I remember like I worked at when I worked at

Best Buy I remember like Someone like a couple

of customers came in and said my car doesn't

have a CD player in it anymore And I was like

that's kind of weird because like I at the time

I was driving a 2014 volt and that of course

had a CD player in it But it was it was really

interesting that they were coming in and saying

that their car didn't they bought a new car didn't

have a cd player and I just thought that was

kind of interesting so like when my dad in 2016

he got a 2017 sierra and he didn't think he had

a cd player in it okay he went two years without

thinking he had a cd player in it until i bought

my truck and i texted him i sent him a picture

and i said holy cow there's a cd player in here

is it in the dash underneath the stereo system

Yeah, you like you can't see it like there's

you you don't see it. Yeah, that's that's where

it's at on my 2013 equinox Yeah, it's like and

it's not even like you it's really weird like

didn't even think like I still don't have my

CDs in my car and in the truck like I You know,

I don't even I didn't even think that it would

come with a CD player Like I didn't even I didn't

purposely seek it out I just wanted something

that had carplay in it so that it would just

work with my iPhone Like because that's what

I was expecting and then of course there it is

CD player and it's like I'm never gonna use that

The funny thing is is when I used to work at

the car lot people would buy the equinoxes because

sales people were selling them and the Malibu's

and the the impalas and they didn't have CD players

and so customers were complaining left and right

about it and We're almost you know the the sales

people are almost losing sales and they're like

hold on just a minute so like they came over

to me and asked me about it and I was like You

can get them these little form factor flash drives.

Don't get them the regular flash drives. Get

them the ones that are like literally a nub that

you plug into the USB port in the center console.

I said, because otherwise you'll snap them off

when you do it. And so I had a nice little side

gig going for a while where salespeople would

bring me the CDs and I would do up to like 25

CDs or something for a customer and rip them

on. I had an old uh what was it like a a windows

xp computer which was like basically non -usable

other than just basic use and so what i did is

i connected it to the internet so i could plug

in these people's cds and media player would

grab all the track information and i would write

it directly to the flash drive okay and uh for

these customers and then i would just charge

the salespeople like a fee for doing it And then

the customers will get their get a flash drive

with their CDs on it so they can play in the

car Yeah, like I when I got my volt I tried doing

that like I got I bought a 64 gigabyte Memory

stick because that's what how big my my library

was at the time And I put it all on there and

of course it would It worked, but then I was

like there's way too many songs here for me to

ever You know cuz I I could get the songs on

there, but my playlists didn't go So it was like

I can get the album I can get the artist But

I can't get like a custom -made playlist unless

I build it in the car and I'm like that's never

going to happen so eventually that that idea

just went out the you know went out the window,

but So the other side conversation here right

with the with the passage of the CD, okay I was

having this conversation with my dad and I think

you said off air that you know You just kind

of had the conversation with your wife about

formats that we've seen come and go. I think,

like, I wasn't there. I mean, VHS and Betamax

kind of they took off. This is going to look

really bad on my part, but they were a thing

before the 80s, right? Or did they start in the

80s? I think Betamax started in the 80s. Wasn't

VHS like the late 70s, though? Let me see when

VHS came out. VHS came out in Japan in the early

1970s and released in the late 1970s. Yeah, 1977

in the United States is when that came out. And

then Betamax came out... It was developed by

Sony and was released in Japan in 1975. So it

was kind of like basically the whole thing between

Like HD DVD and blu -ray kind of that. Yeah.

Yes was kind of the difference between Betamax

and VHS Right. So like I like so I've been around

for We've been around for the most part for we

saw VHS come and go. Yeah Betamax come and go

cassette. Well, we weren't around for when cassettes

arrived, but we saw them go CDs they they hung

around for a long time. I Betamax not Betamax

mini disc. Yeah, we had we had What was it? There

was well like There was laser disc too. Yeah

laser disc, which is the precursor to DVD Which

that came out in Kind of 78 that became popular

in the 90s right I were going to Grand video

and grand blank and they had a laserdisc section

that looked like your record section mm -hmm

at a record store you would flip through the

Looking for the movie that you wanted. I always

thought have you ever watched a movie on laserdisc

no I I have once my my friend was house -sitting

and they had a laserdisc collection and I don't

know why but we we decided to watch Battlefield

Earth on laserdisc which isn't that John Travolta

yeah it's like the Scientology movie that's funny

yeah we I don't think we made it all the way

through it the laserdisc was neat because you

could You would eventually the movie would stop

and you'd have to flip it over Really going yeah,

so it was like a audio cassette Or a record yeah,

like how you would oh, that's interesting Yeah,

yeah, so it's and then of course, you know then

came, you know DVDs and I can't Okay, I am I

think I am shocked that DVDs are still around

I'm shocked that they're still around when you

have something as awesome as blu -ray, but I

know that they're super cheap That and that is

what keeps them around and I know that like like

you go to certain stores like I don't even know

Well like most stores sell them you can get like

you can dig through a bin for like five dollars

a piece Right exactly. That's why the DVDs like

that That's why DVD sticks around is because

they're it's like five dollars for for a movie

and a lot of people don't It's just weird to

me right like I feel like that's the the video

transition from DVD to blu -ray I feel like it's

been the most grueling and I feel like that transition

is never going to be complete before digital

takes over No, I don't think so either. I think

we'll end up seeing the the phasing out of blu

-ray too at that point. Do you think Do you think

DVD will stick around? Even after blu -ray is

surpassed by streaming services Or do you think

DVD will go away, Blu -ray will become cheap

and streaming services will prevail? There's

no timeline where streaming services don't prevail.

Yeah, I think that we're gonna see Blu -ray as

the ultimate go -to before streaming destroys

everything else. I think we're heading towards

that shift where it's gonna be Blu -ray and UHD,

kind of like how it's DVD and Blu -ray right

now. Yep. And then I think we'll see it all disappear

completely after that. Yeah, I think, honestly,

I think the CD, the going of the CD might be

the first, you know, the death knell of the physical

media. But think about it this way. Up until,

even now, you can still buy, like, Mean it's

getting very scarce now, but you could still

buy up to a couple years ago CD player like boomboxes

with cassette players in them. Yeah, and now

like I just bought my boys a for Christmas a

CD player because the CD player that I gave That

we use for the longest time in their room was

one I got when I was 10 years old back in the

90s and it had a cassette player and a CD player

and you know a remote control for it and so I

bought them for Christmas a CD player that came

with you know play CDs but I can also plug in

a flash drive okay and play mp3s and because

that was a big thing because it was more of a

pain to go grab multiple CDs and especially when

my kids like take them out and scratch them right

when I can put this form factor USB And plug

it in and have all these folders on there of

things to choose from So it's much easier for

choosing audio stuff for like when they're going

to bed and whatnot Hey, man, it's just it's It'll

be I will say it'll be interesting to walk into

a best But I would like to say it'll be interesting

to walk into a best buy or a target and not see

a CD section But as it is when I walk in those

stores right now, I'm not going in there for

those things So I don't really seem anyway anymore

since that most of them have revamped all their

sections to focus on individual companies products

That but I feel like the CD section along with

like movies and games. They've still got their

shelving like carved out At least I know that

the best buys usually do and I know target has

an entire CD section you know like It's it's

kind of it's like CDs and movies, but it's there

But like I said, I don't even that's not what

I go there for so usually I just walk by them

I don't even really realize like how big or small

said section is So I can't say I'm too surprised

by this given that you know the rise of streaming

services, but what this does do though is like

It's another side topic maybe for a future time,

which is like subscription services You know

or like the pros and cons of a subscription service

and because I remember back in the back when

iTunes first launched You know it was and you

had the zoom zoom tried The the subscription

music service first, right? Yeah, and it was

they got blasted because and it was called exploding

media remember where it's like if you You know

it you the music that you want to listen to that's

yours as long as you keep paying the subscription

But the second you stop it the copyright on it

or the the DRM on it locks you out Like you don't

actually own that music and I remember that being

like the huge divisive thing with the war between

the Zune and the iPod Which is the iPod is always

music that you bought you owned it. It was yours

And the zoom tried a subscription service and

it's it's interesting to see everything Just

slowly transitioning to a subscription service

for like a like an all -you -can -eat kind of

thing And that I mean that's a topic for another

time, but that's just I feel like that'd be something

interesting to to discuss in the future Yeah,

I mean that would be kind of cool to see what

what People think about that as well. Just because

and what services do you subscribe to? Yeah,

if any at all so But I do you have anything else

you want to add on the CD? No, I mean it's just

funny kind of going through it because it's like

my son he he barely knows like He calls all discs

DVDs Which is which is funny I think my parents

do that too, but that's kind of like everyone

calling or like Everyone that is like my parents

age or older are calling video games Nintendo

That is true. That is true. I can kind of see

that It's funny because I explained to my son

because we were there's this this book that they

have and I think I may have brought this up at

a past point at some point, but it's got pictures

of like a telephone that's got a cord and It's

got a picture of of a VHS tape and a big tube

TV and a VCR and he's like, what are those? And

like, I've had to explain it to him. I'm like,

you know those DVDs that are upstairs? And he's

like, yeah. And he's like, I said, you know,

that's what I grew up on. They were tapes, big

old clunky tapes. And you had to rewind them

and do the tracking. And I was like, it wasn't

fun. It all goes back to. That scene in Back

to the Future 2 where he's at the arcade and

the kids go you have to use your hands So it's

you know It's just the next logical progression

of technology I Will say maybe I already said

this already in the in in the in this episode

But I will say whenever I've thought about going

to buy a CD I've thought about going and buying

the record Instead Now having said that I don't

own a record player yet, I have two records one

is a video game soundtrack and One my wife just

inherited. It's a John Lennon Okay record. I

don't know which one it is though. So any audio

files out there. Don't blast me for that one.

I just find it interesting that records have

made a comeback it But at the same time, I find

it really cool because I feel like the record

was always like the holy grail of audio. Yeah,

like you hear about it. You hear about the record

being the holy grail of audio. And I feel like

it's something that I just missed out on. Because

I came up with the records I remember were like

the little Fisher Price record players. OK, not

not like real music. Yeah. But I came up with

cassettes and CDs, and I tried to get into super

audio CDs, which were supposed to be like the

the true successor to the record. But I haven't

actually listened to an album on a record like

I would. So like like I said, like any time I

thought about going to buy a CD, I like I'd rather

just go buy the record just to have it and then

down the road, get a record player because I

could buy the record and turn around and subscribe

to the album on Apple Music. You know But anyways,

let us know what you think in the comments Like

what? Is the death of the CD gonna impact you

in some major way? Do you not want to see it

go? Are you gonna be sad? Are you gonna be happy

to see it go? Does it do you even care? Let us

know about what some of your favorite formats

were that have come and gone And for a future

topic also, let us know what you think of subscription

services like the you know even if it's just

like what do you think of netflix or or hulu

or spotify like do you subscribe to any of them

do you like any of them do you like the idea

of never actually owning your content um let

us let us know all that in the in the comments

on geekcastradio .com or on the facebook on the

facebook page or you can let me know Twitter

using the hashtag let's say altered CDs altered

CD I suppose I got this week guys you can let

me know at booth ninja 81 Steve and my Twitter

is at SCP 21 and you can also hit up the show

itself using at altered geek. So until next time,

get altered geeky with the altered geeks.