CDs appear to be having a resurgence.
asserted
CDs → appear → resurgence
John Lewis said searches for CD players are up 96% since July, while another report on trends in music and film this year found that CD sales are up 16%.
asserted
sales → say → music
With this in mind, we asked music fans why they favour discs over other formats, and if it is a new preference or a lifetime habit.
asserted
it → ask → formats
Andrew Wales, 67, from London, owns “well over 10,000” CDs.
asserted
Wales → own → CDs
“My wife’s very considerate,” he says over the phone.
asserted
he → ’ → phone
“There’s quite a few in this room where I’m speaking.”
asserted
I → ’ → room
They have also spilt into the next bedroom and into the corridor.
asserted
They → spill → corridor
“I don’t need Spotify,” says Wales.
asserted
Wales → need → Spotify
“The fact is, I like listening to music and I have always preferred owning it in a physical form.
asserted
I → like → form
The [size of the] CD format allows me to own the number I own despite living in a two-bedroom flat and not a country mansion, so that’s another bonus.”
asserted
that → allow → flat
Much of the classical music Wales buys and listens to is available only on CD.
asserted
Wales → buy → CD
“I bought my first CD in 1991 – John Scofield, Meant to Be – around the same time that I bought my first CD player.
asserted
I → buy → player
LPs were becoming increasingly shoddy, both in terms of pressing and presentation, and their limitations meant that often or not songs or tracks were included on the CD release, but not on LP.
asserted
songs → become → LP
There are still cases where that happens today.”
asserted
that → be → ?
That said, Wales also owns “about 2,000 LPs”, “a few hundred cassettes” and an increasing number of Blu-rays.
asserted
Wales → say → rays
“I’m not always wedded to a single format.”
asserted
I → wed → format
‘After having a baby, our records were too bulky and inconvenient’
asserted
records → have → baby
Unlike Wales, Gabriela Crowley, 32, from San Jose, California, started listening to CDs only over the last year.
asserted
Crowley → start → year
“Growing up, my parents had a tonne of them,” she says.
asserted
she → grow → them
“My dad played them in the car and everywhere.
asserted
dad → play → car
And then he got an iPod.
asserted
he → get → iPod
By the time I was like 18, everything had started to shift away from physical media.”
asserted
everything → start → media
Her return to physical records started with the vinyl trend a few years ago.
asserted
return → start → trend
“I met my husband, who also had a large record collection, and we enjoyed that hobby together for a while.
asserted
we → meet → while
But after having a baby, we found we really weren’t listening to our records much any more – they were too bulky and inconvenient.
asserted
they → have → records
My father-in-law gave us one of his old CD players and now we use that every day.”
asserted
we → give → that
A CD collection helps with the “paradox of choice” that streaming brings, she says.
asserted
she → help → that
“Instead of being paralysed by the endless options, you become more intimately familiar with what you have.
asserted
you → paralyse → what
I find it a much more satisfying way to engage with music.
asserted
it → find → music
Plus, no autoplay or AI-generated playlists are being forced on me.”
asserted
autoplay → generate → me
‘I buy CDs directly from the bands’
asserted
I → buy → bands
“I bought my first CD in 1988 and have been collecting ever since,” says Neil Cumming, 53, from Gloucester.
asserted
Cumming → buy → Gloucester
“I have several hundred of them.
asserted
I → have → them
Cumming buys CDs mostly to support musicians.
asserted
Cumming → buy → musicians
“I like a lot of small indie and folk bands, who are not making a lot of money.
asserted
who → like → money
I buy CDs directly from them when I can, which means they get a bigger share of my money than they would if I streamed their music.
asserted
I → buy → music
“And it means I own the CD for ever,” he says.
asserted
he → mean → ever
“Streaming means you are basically renting the music, and it can disappear from the streaming sites.
asserted
it → mean → sites
I enjoy the ritual of selecting a CD and putting it in the machine – it is a nicer experience than just pressing play on an app.”
asserted
it → enjoy → app
Not that he’s anti-streaming.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
