Some Market Reserch.

Phil Hardy · Post by **Phil Hardy** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:04 am

Hi guys,I have a dilema (so whats new?)
I have to ask you a Q?
What music format do you prefer and why?
I ask this as my dilema is this.
Do I put all my music up as MP3s and sell the tracks that way or do I sell burned copies (hard CDs) and send through the mail.
Some friend told my web tech guy to put a pile of downloadable MP3s on his site and sold nothing.
Do people still prefer CDs?
I want to get this stuff right as I know many of you want our music.I don't want to go down the produced CD road (factory printed),as we get overloaded with boxes of CDs.So MP3s would be good in theory but are they what you want?
Please let me know here or email me at phil@kerrywhistles.com
Your answers will have influence over other artists as well as myself.
Thankyou.
Phil.

khl · Post by **khl** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:30 am

I still like the CDs because I don't have the technology yet to carry the Mp3s to places other than my computer. Eventually I will, but for a time I'll bet many will continue to be in similar situations--still like the CDs.

I've seen the individual songs available on Tony Hinnigan's site. If I had the technology I might be able to buy these, then transfer them to my own CDs. What might be convenient as a buyer is to be able to pick a number of these and be able to order them on a CD. But that, of course, would probably mean lots of work for the seller.

Screeeech!!! · Post by **Screeeech!!!** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:31 am

I've MP3'd my whole music collection onto my hardrive and play everything from there. So for me MP3's are where it's at.

Crevan · Post by **Crevan** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:45 am

Screeeech!!! wrote:I've MP3'd my whole music collection onto my hardrive and play everything from there. So for me MP3's are where it's at.

I do the same thing. Personally, I would prefer it in MP3 form. However, I strongly believe the music would sell better on CD.

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:48 am

I am surprised that you are asking this but it's just proof of the new ways of getting music overcoming audiophile considerations. I prefer AIFF files because they SOUND better but people are getting used to the dumbed-down mp3 sound and it's too bad.
Thus I would always prefer to buy an AIFF version then make an mp3 at home for Ipod listening.
Hope I am getting your question correctly.

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:41 pm

Why not do both?

MP3 can be reasonable quality if you compromise on filesize - in fact some MP3s are indistinuishable to most human ears from CD quality. There are many settings in the average MP3 encoder software, and most users just go with the defaults, so no wonder they don't always get the best results...

I often convert good MP3s to .wav and then burn them to CD anyway.

Again, why not do both? Really, is there a reason you have to do one or the other exclusively?

scheky · Post by **scheky** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:56 pm

Honestly, I don't play CDs anymore. I own hundreds(I pay for what I like) of CDs, but they are all converted to MP3 now.

If it's not on my Ipod, I don't listen to it.

Jason Paul · Post by **Jason Paul** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:13 pm

Personally, I like CDs. Although I know there's the issue of storage space, I like having a physical item. I don't have to worry about an accident or a hard drive crash wiping out my CD collection.

I can make my CDs into MP3s if I want.

Jason

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:18 pm

I buy CDs.

I listen to MP3s.

The CDs get put away for safe keeping

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:32 pm

I do what Wanderer does then they go on my iPod and I carry around lots of CDs all the time but they all fit in my pocket. I would prefer CD because you don't get all the Liner Notes on just files.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:05 pm

I like old fashioned CDs. Just about the only time I simply listen to music is in the car (it distracts me from reading, computing, etc) so CDs are a lot easier. I like liner notes and pics too.

StewySmoot · Post by **StewySmoot** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:32 pm

I created a website for my friend, song-writer Dave Norris (link below) which has 30 sec MP3 samples and links to downloadable MP3s of selected tunes. It also has info on buying CDs. I realize that few people outside of Bluegrass might have heard of Dave, so I dont expect him to be a millionaire out of this venture, but he has had a few requests for CDs.
I am thinking of putting his stuff on CD baby which can either provide downloadables or CDs to see where the market is headed (I am not a entrepeneur, just doing this for the exercise).
I do know that Lolly Cross now has her tunes available on Napster which comes up on World...Contemporary Celtic Genre searches.

Personally, I like MP3s. If I have a choice between playing 20 CD tunes or 200 MP3s on one disc on my audio system, I prefer the latter.

ChaplainBlake · Post by **ChaplainBlake** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:42 pm

Phil,
I prefer to have the CD and use it as my hard copy archive. But, like many here, I listen mostly to MP3s and the like. If you use a high quality codec, like some artists are doing on their sites (the FLAC codec is the best...lossless compression), then the user can convert it to whatever format they choose and have the best sound possible. The only issue with the FLAC codec is that it takes up more webspace. But, for those who desire audiophile quality sound, it is the best way to go.

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:25 pm

Right now I'm not much into MP's, and prefer CD's. I do rip few CD's onto the computer now and then, but I don't like hogging up my memory with songs.

Caru · Post by **Caru** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:33 pm

I've had hard drives crash too often to trust any information to them alone. I'd prefer to buy a CD, then convert it to MP3 myself if I wanted it on the computer or player. That way I'd have a backup. (Or could you put a code with each CD that gave buyers access to download the MP3s as well? That should suit everyone, but means you'd still have the expense of shipping CDs.)