Selling Audio CDs vs free downloads … the thinking

In the previous post, I stated that I was not afraid to sell little plastic discs just when the entertainment industry is starting to move towards paid downloads. Given that all downloads are still free, I had a few expressions of aghast. So I thought I would qualify my thinking.

1. The concept of the ‘album’. I postulate that a carefully chosen set of tunes, played in order, has more value than playing a series of ‘singles’ in a row. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and a little plastic disc can present a set of tunes as a whole.
2. Ease of use. Most people who want to listen to surround sound are not _yet_ ready to hook up their computer to their surround sound system. Throwing a disc into your DVD player is far easier. I reckon this might last 2 or 3 years.
3. The phsyical object. With a real-life album, you get a physical object, you get a booklet, you get some graphics, you might get a surprise gift, and you also get something that you could never get through a download (and if you know what that is please email me)
4. The satisfaction of being ‘officially’ published. What self-respecting producer/recorder does not want to be officially published in DVD (or Audio CD) form? There is cache involved in official publishing.
5. New room in the Audio CD space. As mainstream music distribution moves away from publishing DVD/CDs that is leaving room for the small publishers/players to fill in (that’s Anatoli’s point, I think its a good one).