I know I'm not alone here in wanting the physical singles market to continue, so how about this :

 

IMO the OCC should allow sales of physical products that include extra incentives to be chart-eligible.

 

Traditionally, any such 'sweeteners' have meant automatic disqualification, but the market is such a tiny proportion of the whole now, that it would not unduly distort the market.

 

Naturally, such free gifts would still not be permitted for download tracks.

Why are people so devastated with the death of the "physical" music market? I was under the impression that people bought music to listen to, not to look at the cover or play with stupid "free gifts".

 

Its time to move with the times people and I'm afraid downloads/ipods are killing CDs in the same way CDs killed cassette tape and cassette tape killed tape cartridges and tape cartridges killed etc, etc.........

Edited May 29, 200817 yr by Brutarn

Why are people so devastated with the death of the "physical" music market? I was under the impression that people bought music to listen to, not to look at the cover.

 

Its time to move with the times people and I'm afraid downloads/ipods are killing CDs in the same way CDs killed cassette tape and cassette tape killed tape cartridges and tape cartridges killed etc, etc.........

 

My main reason to be "devastated" is because no physical singles = no b-sides. It is very rare for a non-album, b-side track to be made downloadable. B-sides allow a band to be more experimental with what they produce. Of course this is not always true, especially with pop artists who prefer putting remixes on their physical singles. However with the types of bands I listen to B-sides are sometimes even better than album tracks.

 

And even if you mainly buy a single to listen to the music, if you are a real music fan it is always nice to have a new artwork or even a new picture of your favourite band. Download tracks are much more impersonal. They are ok for one-off download of a song you like, but if you are a fan of a certain band I think physical singles are much better.

Edited May 29, 200817 yr by NoiseAddict

Being a CD singles collector, I must say this digital era sucks :P The B-Sides, the video inside the CD single, all these things will cost more if you wanna buy them separately :mellow: Get a CD single with the main track, a remix, a B-Side and a video, at £2,99 ^_^ These 4 things separately, will cost a bit more... :P And yes, the cover was very important... I always liked to watch also the cover of the CD single -_- xox.

I do buy digital downloads, but I wil always want the CD Singles market to continue.

Even digital only releases get remixes aswell as it adds to the sales.

 

Also, i think physicals will be sold online for a long time at hmv.com and places.

 

The chart has been kinda dominated by downloads though which is a shame but i guess does reflect more of a true chart.

The chart has been kinda dominated by downloads though which is a shame but i guess does reflect more of a true chart.

Very true. I mean, when the Ting Tings got to #1, there was 4,000 physical sales and 36,000 downloads!

It is a shame that the physical market is dying, and HMV arent going to stock them forever. I've stopped buying singles now except for the lucky few aswell.

There's no point in saving the market. There's no demand any more and it's pointless to spend money making them!

Being a CD singles collector, I must say this digital era sucks :P The B-Sides, the video inside the CD single, all these things will cost more if you wanna buy them separately :mellow: Get a CD single with the main track, a remix, a B-Side and a video, at £2,99 ^_^ These 4 things separately, will cost a bit more... :P And yes, the cover was very important... I always liked to watch also the cover of the CD single -_- xox.

Most people don't want all of those though. I've probably bought an average of four singles a week this year on download, I've felt it necessary to want more than just the lead track three times. I don't care about remixes, b-sides or videos, I just want the track I know I like!

Being a CD singles collector, I must say this digital era sucks :P The B-Sides, the video inside the CD single, all these things will cost more if you wanna buy them separately :mellow: Get a CD single with the main track, a remix, a B-Side and a video, at £2,99 ^_^ These 4 things separately, will cost a bit more... :P And yes, the cover was very important... I always liked to watch also the cover of the CD single -_- xox.

 

CD single £2.99 (3 tracks + video)

 

Download off iTunes (A side - 79p, B side - 79p, Remix - 79p, Video - £1.29/£1.89) = £3.66/£4.26

 

CD single Wins!!! + you get to hold it with a REAL cover!!! :D

It is a shame that the physical market is dying, and HMV arent going to stock them forever. I've stoped buying singles now execpt for the lucky few aswell.

I read in the Times today (oh aren't I cultured :P) that HMV aren't going to stop selling CD singles anytime soon :cheer:

Apparently they are going to introduce "new generation" stores - whatever that means...but they said they will carry on stocking singles ^_^

I read in the Times today (oh aren't I cultured :P) that HMV aren't going to stop selling CD singles anytime soon :cheer:

Apparently they are going to introduce "new generation" stores - whatever that means...but they said they will carry on stocking singles ^_^

 

That will probably mean one store selling CD singles in London... <_<

I think the death of the physical single is still something that we have to accept

There's no point in saving the market. There's no demand any more and it's pointless to spend money making them!

 

Then why do HMV still stock vinyl singles...?

 

Also, not every music fan has/wants/can afford a computer.

 

CD single £2.99 (3 tracks + video)

 

Download off iTunes (A side - 79p, B side - 79p, Remix - 79p, Video - £1.29/£1.89) = £3.66/£4.26

 

CD single Wins!!! + you get to hold it with a REAL cover!!! :D

Or for what most people want:

 

CD Single: £1.99. Download: 79p. Download wins! :D

This has realy made me wanna go back to 1999 for some reason and today i brought:

 

Rihanna - Take A Bow

Madonna + Justin - 4 Minutes

Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights

Ashlee Simpson - Outta My Head

 

 

all as cd singles - i haven't brought that many singles for ages!

Being a CD singles collector, I must say this digital era sucks :P The B-Sides, the video inside the CD single, all these things will cost more if you wanna buy them separately :mellow: Get a CD single with the main track, a remix, a B-Side and a video, at £2,99 ^_^ These 4 things separately, will cost a bit more... :P And yes, the cover was very important... I always liked to watch also the cover of the CD single -_- xox.

 

There's also the issue of copy-protection - when you buy a CD single, it's not an issue.

 

Then why do HMV still stock vinyl singles...?

 

Also, not every music fan has/wants/can afford a computer.

Becuase it's still a niche market which has kept on growing this decade. The CD market is pretty much going the same way. It's now become a niche, it doesn't sell in mass numbers any more because it's not popular with the masses any more. The only people that still buy them are people without computers and purists who buy them for collection/nostalgia reasons.

Becuase it's still a niche market which has kept on growing this decade. The CD market is pretty much going the same way. It's now become a niche, it doesn't sell in mass numbers any more because it's not popular with the masses any more. The only people that still buy them are people without computers and purists who buy them for collection/nostaligia reasons.

 

I don't buy them for any of them reasons...i just buy them because:

 

A) I like to 'hold' my music so to speak

 

B) I don't like iTunes :P