Some People (Leonard Cohen Fans) Still Buy CDs, Even Online

[Goldin]

The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.

ALEXIS MADRIGAL
Some People (i.e. Leonard Cohen Fans) Still Buy CDs, Even Online
FEB 8 2012, 1:44 PM ET



As a tech writer, it is a good thing to remind myself that my habits are alien to most people in America. Not only do I pay for all my music, but I do it via the subscription service, Rdio, not Spotify or Pandora, or I get vinyl.

Meanwhile, out in America, there are people buying CDs. Even when these people go on to the Internet to buy music, they order the CDs and have them delivered. Billboard's latest numbers provide a perfect snapshot of the wide gulf in music purchasing behavior between (presumably) young and old. Fans of Lana Del Rey, whose album debuted at #2, one notch above Leonard Cohen's first studio album in eight years, bought downloadable music or a CD in a store. Cohen's fans were spread across brick-and-mortar retailers, downloads, and Internet CD sales.

Thirty-five percent of Cohen's new album's sales came from physical albums sold via Internet retailers. To compare, only 1% of Del Rey's first-week physical CD sales came from Internet sellers. On the other hand, 74% of Del Rey's sales were downloads, while digital sales represented 30% for Cohen.

I can understand brick-and-mortar purchases; I love a good music store as much as the next nerd. I can understand buying music for download: it's nearly instantaneous and usually a bit cheaper. But that last group, the big green slice of Leonard Cohen's pie. I do not understand them at all. Perhaps they are audiophiles who value the tiny difference between CD-quality and near-CD quality. Or perhaps they have dial-up modems that make downloading music difficult.

Whoever they might be, their consumption preference reminds us to think about the technologies that people actually use, rather than the ones they might use at some point in the future.

[Goldin]

Ah, DrHGuy has already written about it: http://1heckofaguy.com/2012/02/09/heres ... cohen-cds/
OK, new rule: firstly check my LC feed, secondly - LC tag @ tumblr

[notdarkyet]

that's kind of a stupid assumption about people who buy CDs online. i still buy CDs for audio quality (i have some nice headphones), but i order online because amazon, ebay, etc. are the cheapest places of new CDs and i don't have to drive out to the suburbs looking for a Best Buy. i mean, it was 8.99 or amazon, so why would i drive to chain store and pay more?

-justin

[Robocop]

I bought the CD, only after downloading for free, a better sounding Flac version 16/44 of the CD from some random web site.

We wanted to read the notes mainly and I thought it may sound better than the download. Surprise surprise!

If they ever decide to offer it in 24/96 or 192 high res download I'm into it, at whatever the cost.

I'm into better sound so will probably have to settle with ripped Blueray audio tracks of which there is only one available at the moment "Songs for the Road".

[scocoh]

--

[Stranger]

Condescending piece.

[ksargent]

I bought my copy from a brick and mortar, but I continue to buy physical CD's online. Often, I can get a CD for a lower price than the digital version. I rip most of my CDs into iTunes for portable listening, but I still think that physical CDs give better sound assuming one is listening on a decent audio system. Plus - I can copy them into any digital format that I need to.

Ken

[Jonnie Falafel]

For me it's bricks and mortar every time. I love record shops & bookshops run by people with an enthusiasm for the products they sell... turned of by the huge corporate operations who syphon money off to tax havens and don't think artists should be paid for their work.