Is there such thing as a £100 note? I've never seen one myself.

Not quite dead yet. I still buy CDs _for_ digital music: I buy the CD and immediately rip it. It may cost a couple dollars more than on iTunes, but I'd rather do that than have crummy-quality, proprietary, DRMmed digital music.

I still buy CDs, for me it doesn't feel real unless I have the actual product in my hands when I pay for something. Sure you can download a song off of iTunes for a buck, but you won't get the great cover and CD art that come along with it. Besides at least with CDs you can always rip the songs and place them on your mp3 player. iTunes fairplay can kiss my @$$

Mind you, I use CDs regularly to rip music onto my computer, but as I'm still doing this that counts as "regularly". When I purchase music, my medium of choice is still CDs for this reason. But if the music industry really thinks the medium is dead, maybe they'll lower prices.

I can dream.

why do so many people buy music online? It is free everywhere. If i want to support a band I buy the CD.

Looked it up on Wikipedia, and there are indeed £100 notes, but only in Scotland and Norther Ireland..
My bad, your good

cds are old news

its all about DVD audio and SACD. i have a hard time paying $15-22 for a old school cd. if it was that same price for the quality of dvd audio or SACD, i wouldnt mind at all.

too bad minidisk died before it was alive. i liked the idea of a media that doesnt scratch.

Me, I buy CDs, rip them to mp3, and then "share" the music by giving the CD to somebody else.

Personally, I don't listen to music off of CDs much at all anymore. But I still buy music in CD form and then rip them to use on the iPod, computer, etc. I tried the iTunes store for a while but quickly got irritated by the DRM restrictions (like not being able to play the songs sitting on my hard drive through a networked TiVo or XBOX360.)

These days I view CDs as packaging for music. Until online stores sell uncompressed music, I buy CDs and rip them into both Apple Lossless and MP3. Then the disc goes into storage.

untill i can get 100MB a song .wav files for download CD's are my way to go. I want DVD Audio or SACD's anyway. CD's sound like crap

The poll was poorly written, there are more choices than what was offered.

I would have liked:
1. Yes, I've completely abandoned physical discs

2. No, I still use DRM'd CDs regularly

3. No, I still use Non-DRM'd REDBOOK CD's regularly. <-- THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN MY CHOICE!

4. Meh, I'm somewhere in between on the matter

I think CDs are still viable for those that don't have a high speed connection that want their music. Also, it's great for those that don't have an mp3 player. The only issues that I have with them are the Fort Knox jewel cases that they come in, which I toss in favor of my binder, and the fragility of the medium (scratches yo!). In the rare case I do purchase a CD, usually on a road trip, I'll rip it and then have fun playing target practice.

For music, perhaps CD's are going the way of the dinosaur. However, still #1 medium for retail software distribution.

CD's sound fine. If they sounded like crap noone would buy them. I personally rip them to digital audio, and play MP3-CD's in my car. At home I just use the computer and MP3 files.

I still burn to cd for my mother, it was hard enough getting her to switch to cds

wow.. at 1PM today, the poll is a virtual split 33 - 33 - 33. That is quite the statistical abnormality. If your Gizmodo audience, who typically consists of more early adopters then a more general demographic, is split on the demise of the CD, perhaps the CD is doing better then we all thought.

I voted for the third option and here is why.

I do not use CD's. When i buy a CD, it comes out of the packaging once, and that is to rip it to my computer. Then it is stored in my closet.

I have found over the years that if i have the packaging/actual CD, there is a stronger connection with the music. It makes it more real for me. Kinda weird, but i cant imagine not having CD's.

Oh and not to mention iTunes/all other download services have shitty quality stuff. Where am i going to get my 320kbps MP3's or my lossless audio from?

well, this morning I downloaded 2 free songs from iTunes and this afternoon i bought Led Zeppelin Remasters so that puts me directly in the middle.

The thing is, I like buying CDs (especially from non-corporation stores). It makes me feel good. You know, that whole reward system thing in the head; and downloading something that in may ways could be seen as imaginary doesn't fulfill that in the same way. Also, the experience of going to a store and interacting with someone who knows what they're talking about is priceless. I found out about one of my favorite bands by going to the record shop and asking "what's good?", the guy went around a pulled out a few albums to play samples of. You can't get that from iTunes or napster, especially considering the crap that's constantly on the top 10 billboard list (and consequentially on the top 10 most recommended songs/albums on iTunes).

I also like _having_ physical media, it's sort of a comfort layer. Knowing that my music is /right there/ not "oh it's somewhere on a platter somewhere in my computer." Not to mention many CDs have neat packaging.

That said I never actually use CDs. Everything is ripped onto my computer and/or iPod. Convenience FTW.

I wonder if the media exec was referring to the "demise" in terms of the CD as a music delivery medium, or a general digital data medium.

I think that the era of buying music on a CD is over, but CD's are still very functional as a cheap (and therefore disposable) digital media storage technology.

I use CDs to burn music/video for my friends, or take files with me for a one-time use. I don't see flash drives taking the CD's place (completely), yet.

I wonder if EMI's CEO will

I wonder if EMI's CEO will put his money where his mouth is and stop selling CDs, then.

@rictorgadget

Good point man. This poll is pretty nuts. Just buy CDs you morons. Shut up about the DRM already.

I think he's jumping the gun a little but we are definitely heading toward a media free distribution model. I still see seven to ten years before we see the CD disappear.

Like other posters, I still buy CDs. I buy them because I don't like the loss of dynamics that you get with MP3s. Hearing is a subjective thing and so if it sounds OK to you don't assume that other people can't differentiate between encodings.

I moved a couple of months ago and my 1000 or so CDs are still in boxes. They wont come out until I have the drive space to rip them in Apple Lossless. After that the store bought discs will be traded in and the burned live shows (4/5 of the bulk) will be freely given away.

Until I can download a Non-DRM encumbered lossless audio file of equivalent or higher quality than redbook CD's, that I am _also_ able to resell if I want to, then I will continue to buy CD's as my primary source of music.

I suppose this post assumes that the pricing structure of everything stays the same as it is now. I do download the free DRM encumbered music from the iTMS.

I started buying music from the iTunes Music Store a lot when it first came out. But when I couldn't edit tracks (You know for that one that has 3 minutes of silence on the end of it, or whatever) or play them on other devices, etc. I went back to buying CD's. I'll stay with the least DRM-ed format from here on out.

Plus try buying real imports (not American re-releases of foreign artists) on iTMS or Amazon. Not going to happen.

I use CDs all the time, not just for music, but to give to my friends if they need something, most my friends dont know crap about computers so I burn them kinda like a disc of need to have apps. Burn speeds are fast and CDs have a decent life span. I think I use the CD more than ever.

That EMI CEO is about right, however, the various CD majors probably said the same thing about vinyls when the CD format came out. The only difference is that we're moving to electronic distribution instead of an other physical format. Perhaps some companies are having trouble changing their mentality but as long as people buy music and find the format convenient, the means of distribution don't matter.

I'm not quite ready to invest in a new head unit for my ancient Grand Cherokee. The 10-disc changer is enough right now. Like you, jeffw, I also rip everything, and the CD goes into storage. Then I'll burn what I want to CD for travel.

Every time I try to play my CDs the needle just skips right off the disc.

Hey, why the mentions of REDBOOK CDs? Does that mean you avoid 75 minute CDs because they are not to REDBOOK spec? Just wondering what you guys are trying to say...

"I have found over the years that if i have the packaging/actual CD, there is a stronger connection with the music. It makes it more real for me. Kinda weird, but i cant imagine not having CD's."

totally agree with you, man. even when i, say, rip a CD from a friend, if i like it enough, i will totally buy it. if it's just 'meh' i'll delete it from my hard drive.
there is a strange vibe about the concept of the "album"; one song after another meticulously arranged and tracked and mixed and put into the order that makes the album the album. the idea of buying singular songs from an album is kind of disturbing, imo. getting intimate with an album-- such that at the end of each song you anticipate the start of the next, moving along like chapters of a good novel, drawing you in, taking you through peaks and valleys, each track a new insight into whoever is playing or DJing or singing-- is what i love about music. and because of that, i hope the CD doesn't die. like i said, there's some tangibleness to knowing that i legitimately own the CD-- even if it's tucked away in my binder, or on the shelf-- that i don't get otherwise.

unless of course we're talking about dance music. downloading singles is the exception.

"How else could I get the latest trance beats?"

check out beatport and juno records. tons of awesome trance and other dance music on there for downloading.

lots of trance DJs (and otherwise) have turned digital. many use a couple pioneer CDJs in addition to the standard technics 1200 setup, as well as programs like ableton live, and serato. sasha, in particular, has a really nice digital DJ setup.

It's worth remembering that EMI also predicted that the vinyl LP wouldn't catch on, and kept pressing 78s. They predicted the compact cassette wouldn't catch on. And they were also the last major record label to start releasing CDs.

Anyhow... I've bought albums online that were available in FLAC format, and I'll buy MP3s if they're available and significantly cheaper than the CD, but usually I still end up having to buy the CD.

I buy CDs, but only to rip them, like many people have said above me.

However, the thing that strikes me the most about CD is their lack of versatility. When I plug my Creative Zen into my car, I can play video, mp3s, .wav, and all of varying quality. With the CD, it's 16 bit 44.1Hz no matter what. That bothers me when I can put mp3s on a disc and have 14 albums worth of music on one disc, and listen all day long, but when I drive a rental (three weeks with a car in the shop...ugh) all I get is 72 minutes of music...no fun at all.

Still buyin' CDs to rip them DRM-free into iTunes. I've got over 14,000 tracks, and haven't bought a thing from the iTunes store (or any other DRM-laden source).

I'd like my music to be valid on ANY playback device I purchase in the future, thank you.

Everyone has already said it. But I want to talk this morning (excedrin really works at making one chatty), so let's repeat it!

A. CDs are a great lossless format for distributing audio. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a UPS truck full of CDs purchase from a discount music retailer.

B. The CD standard is not encumbered by DRM.

C. CDs can be bought 'used' and therefore at a lower price per song then iTMS or other online outlets. See items A and B for why buying used is worth it.

These advantages outweigh almost any other way to get music except for getting MP3s for free.

If iTMS wants to get me away from CDs then they should offer songs at either ridiculous MP3 bitrates (320Kbips) or in flac format for about one dollar a song (no DRM please). Then I am on board. Are you listening makers of SuperCDs and DVD-audio?

I recently saw Pearl Jam. Three days later I authorized $15 from my credit card and bought the flac files of the very same concert from the 10 Club. Went to bed, woke up to a hdd full of new songs. That was easily the most satisfying online purchase of music I have made to date. And it happens to have all of the advantages of CDs.

allofmp3.com

Buy vinyl, steal digital.

I recently let my ipod at my sister's house in Oregon... My car has a 6 CD changer in it... So I have dusted off some old gems from the late 90's that were burned on my Sony 16x external CD Writer that I purchased for $400 in '99.

... I was so badass back then.

Now, I buy downloads for almost everything (I am a lazy, impulse shopper married to a lazier, more impulsive shopper).

I buy cds from artists at shows, from cheapo discs and the like, and for underground hip-hop (which is still not distributed widely digitally), if I happen to be in a mom-and-pop that sells them.

Sure, the quality is better on cds, but I am lazy and impulsive and listen to most music on the pod in my car, on a plane, etc., so digital is it.

I never actually listen to CDs anymore, but they're still my preferred format for purchasing. When non-lossy, non-DRMed downloads are available (legally), I might reconsider.

If I like an artist, I will buy the CD. It is the ultimate backup. If I want one or two songs, I will pay to download them from iTunes.

I bought a CD once this year, and after figuring out that the CD wasn't as good as i thought it was, I wished I had just downloaded it.

The vast majority of my music on the ipod is mp3s, but I do buy the CDs of the artists that I truly truly like and rip them to FLAC and mp3, then I never touch the CD again. Like many have said, I feel a stronger connection if I own the physical media its on than just having some intangible digital files.

If you know the right place to shop (YourMusic.com), you can get CDs for $5.99 each with free shipping. Why pay $10 for crummy-sounding 128Kbps DRM-enabled files?

i prefer to buy cds but then rip them and listen to them digitally.

as said, quality is better, no drm and if you shop in the right places it's not any more expensive.

CD's should be dead.

We should be listening to music in Uber Hi-Fidelity on Blu-Ray Dic.

"i prefer to buy cds but then rip them and listen to them digitally."

CDs are a digital format. the compressed files on your computer are just a crappier digital format.

I'm still buying audio CD's. I do have a hifi rig to play them, so I don't see the need for a cheap and crappy mp3 player.

Besides, you should all go out and listen to Sony Super Audio CD. It might actually convince the hifi purists among you to finally dump vinyl...

EMI is dead... (if only...)

I stll buy CDs and rip to MP3 in iTunes which is good enough for most day-to-day listening, given that you can usually get CDs on promotional prices reasonably close to the iTunes price. if iTunes (or other stores) sold for a significantly lower price (to go with the lower bit rate, lack of physical media etc) then I might reconsider. Course, that just means the media companies will put the prices of CDs up :-(