Tag: CD

Remember the days of watching big box retailers like a hawk to see if more shelf space was being given to Blu-ray or HD DVD? Yeah, epic times. Now, however, a new report is suggesting that Wal-Mart may be giving more of its packaged media space to Blu-ray Discs rather than music CDs. The reason? A 23-percent decline in CD sales during the first four weeks of Q4. Richard Greenfield, analyst with ...

With file sharing, the death of independent radio, and out of touch record labels, the music industry hasn't exactly been flourishing lately. CD sales are way down, and while online music sales are way up, they're not exactly filling the gap. Unsurprising, then, that coffee uber-franchise Starbucks is scrapping its foray into the music distribution business, focusing instead on what it does best: ...

Apple's iTunes Music Store, the leader in legal online music sales, overtook Best Buy to become the second largest music retailer in the country. Older music fans age 36 to 50 -- not teens -- are at the root of iTunes' growth, and iTunes now trails only Wal-Mart in music sales. The music market continues to reel under the changes to distribution brought on by the Web. NPD Group, a market ...

There's a small group of us who, in this digital world, has developed a fetish for all things analog. This obsession is particularly strong among musicians and music lovers. Vacuum tube amps, vintage synthesizers, and, of course vinyl records. Optimal Media Productions is appealing to this fascination with good ol' records by adding a little value and novelty to your average CD. The comapny's ...

In-dash CD players have been a staple of car audio for nearly two decades now. But, with CD sales declining and digital music sales soaring, it seems the in-car CD player is going the way of the cassette deck (and the 8-track before it). German car audio manufacturer Blaupunkt -- popular with the 'Pimp My Ride' set -- has ditched the CD player in its new Melbourne SD27 head unit in favor of a ...

Many of us have piles of cassettes laying around -- relics of days in which you expressed love by way of the mix tape and in which "stealing music" meant dubbing a friend's copy of 'Night Moves.' But, the rise of the digital revolution has relegated these magnetic mementos to storage bins under our beds. Sometimes, though, a little bit of nostalgia takes hold and listening to those old ...

When the CD was invented (25 years ago), it was sold as a replacement for audio cassettes and records not only because of its higher quality audio, but also because of its longevity. Unlike a cassette or LP, they told us, there's nothing that rubs against the CD as it plays, meaning -- in theory -- it could last forever. Turns out that's not so true. Web designer Dan Koster has discovered that 15% ...

The mighty CD has hit the quarter century mark. That flat, round optical disc that has brought us so much great (and terrible) music over the years, not to mention loads of software and video games. The format, originally developed by Sony and Phillips and intended to last 20 to 25 years, is still alive as it passes the upper stretch of its originally estimated lifespan. And though the CD has ...

It's no secret that the music industry is hurting. Bad press, easy-to-find free music, and a release calendar consistently filled with nominees for our most irritating song list have cost the major labels dearly. At the same time that the industry as a whole is being yanked down by plummeting CD sales, digital music sales have increased enough to make iTunes the number 3 music retailer behind ...

Every once in a while someone discovers a truly unexpected use of old technology. In this case, it turns out that inside a particular version of the original PlayStation (Version SCPH-1001/2 to be exact) sits a high-end audio CD player. A reader at Destructoid wrote in to tell the editors about his father's search for "the perfect sound." Among his father's very expensive audio toys was this ...

With CD sales continuing to barrel roll into oblivion, record companies are scrambling to come up with new sources of revenue. Warner Music Group is certainly one of those most affected, today announcing a $27 million second-quarter loss and 400 job cuts. In hopes of stopping the cash hemorrhage, Warner has launched a new online video unit, Den of Thieves. Lead by Jesse Ignjatovic from MTV and ...

Paper shredders are standard home office equipment these days, since making sure that all those credit card offers and bank statements are safe from trash-stalkers is always a good idea. But what about all your electronic data on CDs and DVDs from backups? Sure, you can try to crack or scratch the CDs, but a little peace of mind isn't such a bad thing when you have five years of tax records on ...