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Not mentioning that the effort that is put in a simple Best Of compilation isn't that much. I mean, all the tracks are already finished. ;-)



(not counting the second disc of 93-03 - just digging out Delik again might have been a lot of work, just to please one special member :D )

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There has been some talk about the cd format becoming commercially obsolete in the near future. The music business will probably change to a digital level, people purchase music song by song to their mobile phones (in a larger scale than now). Soon it will become too expensive for record companies to house traditional bands and stay competitive, studio costs are so huge. We are entering a time of no long-lasting superstars.



So the many 'best of' compilations is basically a record companies' way to cash in the last coins from the traditional music business model. 'Greatest Hits' collections from old superstars constantly get reprinted with a new cover and marketing.



And a little sidenote, it's interesting that many credible artists have released collections lately. Has the decision to do so been their or the record companies?

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This is something everyone's been observing where I work including te customers. soundertow I think it's a little of column A and a little of column B as far as record companies/artists are concerned. It's also the year's end and after a long economic slump, these Best Of's appear to be a surefire way of generating some money for the music industry in light of how much trouble they are in (loss of sales, the potential merging of record co. giants, etc.) We've sold so many of those Sheryl Crow cd's - a lot of those Best Of's do have a couple of bonuses to whet those customer's palettes and make it a better buy for the rather than a rehash of what's already in a collection.



The digital format is interesting but I wonder... if it's too little too late for record companies... I don't know if I like it but that's just personal opinion - I like going into a store and buying a cd, I like the whole package from sleeve to case and having something tangible sitting on my shelf - but the times they are a changin.

[swearing]

Digital format my ass! }:-@

[/swearing]



Sorry, but what is so great about internet sales for 0.99 $ per song when I get them in an only average quality, hearing artifacts of bad compression all over the place ? I want the best quality for my hard earned money, not some bits and bytes of which I am not even allowed to burn them to a CD-R to take them with me into my car stereo.



Mp3 makes great previews (or prehears ?) but for someone who's actually listening to the music rather than just consuming it, this is totally useless.

They're a great idea for someone who doesn't have half a clue which album to buy, so it's a good introduction to bands and of course you have to have new tracks to get loyal fans to buy

c-Row Escribi�:

[swearing]

Digital format my ass! }:-@

[/swearing]



Sorry, but what is so great about internet sales for 0.99 $ per song when I get them in an only average quality, hearing artifacts of bad compression all over the place ? I want the best quality for my hard earned money, not some bits and bytes of which I am not even allowed to burn them to a CD-R to take them with me into my car stereo.



Mp3 makes great previews (or prehears ?) but for someone who's actually listening to the music rather than just consuming it, this is totally useless.

I'd have to disagree there in the case of iTunes. I've yet to hear badly encoded audio from there. I've also yet to hear about people unable to burn music from there.



And in response to your earlier post about the little effort in putting together a Best Of. As far as I know, for the RHCP Best Of comp, they recorded 18 new tracks. I could be mistaken though...

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

I'd have to disagree there in the case of iTunes.

Yeah, now they are an exception. But hey, that's Apple. I had reasons for getting a PowerBook, you know ? 8)

c-Row Escribi�:

[swearing]

Digital format my ass! }:-@

[/swearing]



Sorry, but what is so great about internet sales for 0.99 $ per song when I get them in an only average quality, hearing artifacts of bad compression all over the place ? I want the best quality for my hard earned money, not some bits and bytes of which I am not even allowed to burn them to a CD-R to take them with me into my car stereo.



Mp3 makes great previews (or prehears ?) but for someone who's actually listening to the music rather than just consuming it, this is totally useless.

Agreed with GLAKO on the itunes option. I have yet to venture and invest in that route, I am old fashioned that way I guess! My brother has an ipod (as well as a very large music shelf at home) - he feels that buying music one song at a time -songs that he'll actually listen to more than once - is a better deal pricewise and lets him sample new music referred to by friends or whatever, without the risk of dropping a wad of cash on a cd he might hate. The ipod serves as a sort of compact jukebox and he can take it anywhere including his car and he loves it. We are all listeners when we hear something and consumers when we buy what we listen to - the digital format is just another option right now, really. As much as cassettes were an alternative to records. We'll just have to wait and see where this all takes us in the future.



But for now, I'd love to get my hands on one of those Super Audio components for the home but they are out of my price range. (actually everything's out of my price range, dang holidays!) I've heard that they are nothing short of incredible, an audiophile's dream. It'll also be interesting to hear if more and more artists release their records in 5.1.

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anType Escribi�:

Underworld, on the other hand.......

Is that album mixed? If not, that's the only place to get a CD version of Rez, isn't it?

chemicalfan Escribi�:

Is that album mixed? If not, that's the only place to get a CD version of Rez, isn't it?

I won't go into catalogue numbers and album details, but both JBO compilations (including the 2CD issue with My Mercury Mouth and Song To The Siren) and the Dirty Epic EP got the CD version of Rez. ;-)



Oh, and I got the 2nd disc of the Underworld best of - something seems to be mixed in the intro of Cowgirl that is not in the single version, but it sounds like it's out of place a bit. Don't know about the final album, though...

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anType Escribi�:

[illiterate nerd] What's this iTunes thing? Do they really provide top quality? [/illiterate nerd]

To give you an idea what this is all about, from Apple: http://www.apple.com/itunes/



The quality is very good though not tip top notch - still far better than taking those chances back in the day with Napster or dealing with Kazaa nowadays - not to mention the legalities involved. The music files are compressed, so you will lose some sound quality there, it's inevitable. The technology isn't quite there yet, almost but not quite. To be honest a lot of people cannot tell the difference, and many simply won't care... really, most people just want a couple songs and to get it over with and can't be fussed with some of the subtle nuances (as we know, the Chems music is full of them!) that some songs offer but are lost in the compression. Not everyone's sound junkies like we are! ;)



Here's just one of many reviews: http://www.msnbc.com...?0cv=TB10&cp1=1

I'd like to point out the biggest flaw of iTunes: no Chems (only WDIB)!



for anType:

iTunes is an music player application which was released in 2000, Mac-exclusive. The best music player app ever, now at version 4. Version 4 was released in April and with it launched the iTunes Music Store.

Many peopple believe all iTunes is is the Music Store because iTunes came for Windows on October 16th 2003 with the store built in and that was the most celebrated feature.



Unfortunately, the ITMS is currently only available to those with credit cards which have U.S. billing addresses (I love my grandparents), but I still recommend it the app just as a player.

I just saw this:



http://maccentral.ma...1/25/qtfairuse/

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I completely agree with c-row. All this internet downloading is ok but I want something I can put in my stereo. Cds are great as you can hold them in your hand and know that the tracks on there are yours and you can listen to them anytime. Also, going to a recordstore (imo) is much more interesting than sat at the pc waiting hours for a single track to finish downloading.

I don't trust my computer, every now and then it crashes and I am forced to lose everything.