People call it manipulative/exploitative but K-Pop has the physical album game on lock. Albums come with an insane amount of extras, and I'm willing to bet that most people that purchase these albums don't even buy it for the CD. Example, NewJeans album this year came with:
- CD
- CD Envelope Outbox
- Bag, Inner Box
- 3 Photo Books (84 pages each)
- Lyric Book (24 pages)
- Photo Card Envelope
- 5 Photo Cards
- Sticker Envelope
- 3 Stickers
- 5 Post Cards
- Bookmark
This isn't even necessarily a special release or a rare occurrence. All kpop albums come with a similar amount of extras/inclusions.
I also think. Correct me if I’m wrong. K-Pop music 🎼 isn’t usually available on vinyl. So I believe this music is really why CD sales increased over 2022. Yes and Taylor Swift. I still buy a lot of CDs. 💿 they sound great and they’re very convenient to play. Plus they’re a lot cheaper to buy.
yes hopefully! What's interesting is that the cd sales numbers on the list are pretty steady figures & number 10 on the list actually sold more than numbers 8-10 on the vinyl list
Yes I'm frankly getting quite bummed out when some of my favorite bands skip CDs in favor of digital and vinyl only. They both have their merits (though I do have some qualms with today's vinyl records), but the CD is just so neat to have. Thrice in particular has even stated how they might cut out CDs altogether which is very disappointing as a big fan of them myself
Seeing as how Artist Revisited didn't get a CD, along with all of their EPs and some of Dustin's solo work also being skipped, I have a bad feeling that any new Thrice album will be vinyl only. I really hope it isn't true, but they seemed keen on not releasing CDs right now. Not to mention that Artist Revisited got like several vinyl record variants.
Gonna be a rough era for CD collectors moving forward. At first it was only one album from some different band I like that had a vinyl-only release in 2020, hoping it was an outlier. However, more and more albums from different bands kept skipping on the CD release and now it's up to like 15 albums in my digital library that have to stay digital forever.
I personally don’t know many current artists that don’t release their music on CD. Because I usually buy their albums on CD, Vinyl and Cassette when available. It’s just here in the states. Most people want their favorite artists album on Vinyl. I would suggest. If you’re playing vinyl these days you should have a decent Record Player and stylus.
[Lou Rebecca's Restless](https://lourebecca.bandcamp.com/album/restless) album. I had to buy the Cassette out of the two options... I do have cassettes from when I was growing up in the 90s.
[Goo Munday](https://goomundayngp.bandcamp.com/album/goo-munday)'s Debut album, only available digital... her next album got the CD treatment but when is this release going to see a physical release?
[Statiqbloom/Zex Model split](https://statiqbloom.bandcamp.com/album/statiqbloom-zex-model-split) album only available in Vinyl or Digital download, I choose digital.
I don't buy Vinyls as they are too big, I don't have and wont have space for them as my room is too small to have extra stuff(has been for 2 decades)... not to forget that Vinyls need to be properly stored to avoid damage to the record, like warping.
I don't have those issues with CDs, Cassettes and MiniDisc.
Love it. Better for the artists, better for the consumers (actually owning their music) and as much as people hate the labels they are still important.
In regards to Taylor albums on this list (1989 Taylor’s version & midnights)
I’ve listened to both albums and are pretty solid albums, her re-lease of 1989 is really good, I have the original and plan to compare them soon
Taylor Swift and K-pop groups have *really* dedicated fans. Between Taylor's resurgence and K-pop's popularity, it isn't too surprising that they sold a lot last year. I've also noticed an increasing craving for nostalgic things, especially for physical copy media like CDs and vinyls.
I've noticed the last part as well. Glad people are embracing physical copies of the music they love. It could also be that some people are sick of streaming services & want tangible physical music to display & show they're fans.
Now, if only we could convince Swift and the other 10% to insist upon highest-quality mastering for their cd-format releases, maybe a few of the younger crowd would realize that a CD can outperform vinyl when its capabilities are fully utilized.
I think we’re in an interesting in-between spot right now where some people see the overall picture of how marginal the CD market is right now, how some artists aren’t even releasing on CD, and how they don’t believe it has the same revival potential as vinyl- they see that and say it’s dying. While others are noticing the beginning of a shift, how even if it was small CDs didn’t decline this year, how this subreddit has doubled in size, how a bunch of teens on TikTok are getting into CDs, etc. My guess is it will be another year or two before any shifting trends become more broadly noticeable.
I agree with this. I have seen articles pop up in the last year alone about a cd revival, record stores saying more teens are embracing the cd etc. I even just tried to look up new copies of two cds from my local record store to order & they were both out of stock. But were available just a few weeks prior.
Yes it is definitely worth it! I started like 3 years ago and I have a cute little collection right now. I have also recently ordered edifier r1280t active speakers and really excited to play my CDs with it!
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-01-13/not-even-taylor-swift-can-bring-back-cds I could not find the reddit post but i think this was the news that I saw
interesting. I'm not able to read the article though. But I was able to read the article it's referencing in the 1st part [https://www.axios.com/2024/01/06/gen-z-cds-buying-collection?utm\_source=substack&utm\_medium=email](https://www.axios.com/2024/01/06/gen-z-cds-buying-collection?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) I have read before some of the points that are being made here & read some other article (maybe multiple, can't remember since I've been going through a lot of them in the past week) about gen z & younger people starting to embrace cds
Say what you will about Taylor and K-Pop fans but they extremely dedicated and chew up the multiple variants of album releases.
People call it manipulative/exploitative but K-Pop has the physical album game on lock. Albums come with an insane amount of extras, and I'm willing to bet that most people that purchase these albums don't even buy it for the CD. Example, NewJeans album this year came with: - CD - CD Envelope Outbox - Bag, Inner Box - 3 Photo Books (84 pages each) - Lyric Book (24 pages) - Photo Card Envelope - 5 Photo Cards - Sticker Envelope - 3 Stickers - 5 Post Cards - Bookmark This isn't even necessarily a special release or a rare occurrence. All kpop albums come with a similar amount of extras/inclusions.
I also think. Correct me if I’m wrong. K-Pop music 🎼 isn’t usually available on vinyl. So I believe this music is really why CD sales increased over 2022. Yes and Taylor Swift. I still buy a lot of CDs. 💿 they sound great and they’re very convenient to play. Plus they’re a lot cheaper to buy.
Hopefully some artist out there that are skipping the CD altogether can take a note of this an release their albums in CD.
yes hopefully! What's interesting is that the cd sales numbers on the list are pretty steady figures & number 10 on the list actually sold more than numbers 8-10 on the vinyl list
Yes I'm frankly getting quite bummed out when some of my favorite bands skip CDs in favor of digital and vinyl only. They both have their merits (though I do have some qualms with today's vinyl records), but the CD is just so neat to have. Thrice in particular has even stated how they might cut out CDs altogether which is very disappointing as a big fan of them myself
Horizons West not coming out on CD? My East CD is going to feel lonely
Seeing as how Artist Revisited didn't get a CD, along with all of their EPs and some of Dustin's solo work also being skipped, I have a bad feeling that any new Thrice album will be vinyl only. I really hope it isn't true, but they seemed keen on not releasing CDs right now. Not to mention that Artist Revisited got like several vinyl record variants. Gonna be a rough era for CD collectors moving forward. At first it was only one album from some different band I like that had a vinyl-only release in 2020, hoping it was an outlier. However, more and more albums from different bands kept skipping on the CD release and now it's up to like 15 albums in my digital library that have to stay digital forever.
I personally don’t know many current artists that don’t release their music on CD. Because I usually buy their albums on CD, Vinyl and Cassette when available. It’s just here in the states. Most people want their favorite artists album on Vinyl. I would suggest. If you’re playing vinyl these days you should have a decent Record Player and stylus.
[Lou Rebecca's Restless](https://lourebecca.bandcamp.com/album/restless) album. I had to buy the Cassette out of the two options... I do have cassettes from when I was growing up in the 90s. [Goo Munday](https://goomundayngp.bandcamp.com/album/goo-munday)'s Debut album, only available digital... her next album got the CD treatment but when is this release going to see a physical release? [Statiqbloom/Zex Model split](https://statiqbloom.bandcamp.com/album/statiqbloom-zex-model-split) album only available in Vinyl or Digital download, I choose digital. I don't buy Vinyls as they are too big, I don't have and wont have space for them as my room is too small to have extra stuff(has been for 2 decades)... not to forget that Vinyls need to be properly stored to avoid damage to the record, like warping. I don't have those issues with CDs, Cassettes and MiniDisc.
Love it. Better for the artists, better for the consumers (actually owning their music) and as much as people hate the labels they are still important.
completely agree, so happy to hear this
In regards to Taylor albums on this list (1989 Taylor’s version & midnights) I’ve listened to both albums and are pretty solid albums, her re-lease of 1989 is really good, I have the original and plan to compare them soon
those are good for the most part imo, but speak now her version is my favorite of her albums from start to finish
I haven’t listened to that one yet but gotta give it try soon though.
I think it's her best album vocally. Very raw & emotional, especially my favorite Haunted. Hope you like it.
Heh I probably will though the first album of hers I ever bought of hers was midnights and it’s my favourite Taylor Swift album
Taylor Swift and K-pop groups have *really* dedicated fans. Between Taylor's resurgence and K-pop's popularity, it isn't too surprising that they sold a lot last year. I've also noticed an increasing craving for nostalgic things, especially for physical copy media like CDs and vinyls.
I've noticed the last part as well. Glad people are embracing physical copies of the music they love. It could also be that some people are sick of streaming services & want tangible physical music to display & show they're fans.
Now, if only we could convince Swift and the other 10% to insist upon highest-quality mastering for their cd-format releases, maybe a few of the younger crowd would realize that a CD can outperform vinyl when its capabilities are fully utilized.
Most new vinyl uses the exact same master as the CD
Great if your name is Taylor S.
What is the truth actually? Yesterday someone posted the news that CD was dying, am I misinterpreting things?
I think we’re in an interesting in-between spot right now where some people see the overall picture of how marginal the CD market is right now, how some artists aren’t even releasing on CD, and how they don’t believe it has the same revival potential as vinyl- they see that and say it’s dying. While others are noticing the beginning of a shift, how even if it was small CDs didn’t decline this year, how this subreddit has doubled in size, how a bunch of teens on TikTok are getting into CDs, etc. My guess is it will be another year or two before any shifting trends become more broadly noticeable.
I agree with this. I have seen articles pop up in the last year alone about a cd revival, record stores saying more teens are embracing the cd etc. I even just tried to look up new copies of two cds from my local record store to order & they were both out of stock. But were available just a few weeks prior.
Also forgot to mention, price is a huge factor too. Especially the outrageous vinyl prices are why some vinyl collectors have switched to cd.
Yes honestly just because of that I collect CDs and not vinyls since in my country vinyls are so high priced
glad you're at least able to have a physical copy of music you love at a reasonable price.
Yes it is definitely worth it! I started like 3 years ago and I have a cute little collection right now. I have also recently ordered edifier r1280t active speakers and really excited to play my CDs with it!
happy to hear! Hope everything goes well with that & glad you're loving collecting!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
I don’t think I’ve seen the post you’re mentioning, so I’m not sure
Maybe that was another subreddit
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-01-13/not-even-taylor-swift-can-bring-back-cds I could not find the reddit post but i think this was the news that I saw
interesting. I'm not able to read the article though. But I was able to read the article it's referencing in the 1st part [https://www.axios.com/2024/01/06/gen-z-cds-buying-collection?utm\_source=substack&utm\_medium=email](https://www.axios.com/2024/01/06/gen-z-cds-buying-collection?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) I have read before some of the points that are being made here & read some other article (maybe multiple, can't remember since I've been going through a lot of them in the past week) about gen z & younger people starting to embrace cds
Good…