In 1982, when the BBC’s primetime technology show Tomorrow’s World did a segment on a new music format called the Compact Disc, the presenter skeptically asked “Whether there’s a market for it remains to be seen”. We all know what happened after that, but even in the early 1980s the advantages of CDs should have been clear: high-quality sound without quality degradation in a compact format. Oh, and you can even skip, shuffle and repeat songs, which in the pre-digital world really felt like the future
The compact disc turns 40 this year, and there are already signs that the format is poised for a mini revival. For the first time in 17 years, CD sales actually rose — by nearly 50 percent, according to the RIAA’s sales database.
Still far from peak form. In 2021, 46.6 million CDs were shipped in the US – up from nearly one billion in 2000. For context, those 46.6 million represented just four percent of total music revenue last year. Vinyl albums, by contrast, sold fewer units (39.7 million), but were more of a source of money for artists (seven percent of total revenue).
Some reports claim that the growth in CD sales is mostly due to mega-artists like Adele and BTS releasing new albums (top 30s alone account for two percent of total CD sales). But there are other potential – and more practical – contributing factors, including the pandemic.
“CD sales are picking up again now that retail stores are reopening and artists are back on tour. And while CDs have yet to experience the same type of revival as vinyl, the CD format remains a steady stream of revenue for independent artists,” Rob Bach, CD Baby’s COO told Engadget. They should know since one of their services is the production and distribution of CDs for indie bands.
Kevin Breuner, the company’s senior vice president of artist engagement and education, believes there is a growing appetite for CDs as souvenirs rather than just a way to play music. “Part of it is that streaming hasn’t replaced anything on the merch table… the appeal of a physical item like a CD is that it’s a piece of memorabilia in a live environment, something you can get signed by artists. Similarly, for artists, there is nothing to replace when a fan returns to the merch table to buy a CD or T-shirt; It has always been like this.”
There’s also the fact that what once seemed limiting to younger listeners—having to own a song if you wanted to hear it—now represents a different way to enjoy music. A good album is not just a collection of songs, but a structured experience to be enjoyed from start to finish. You can of course do this with streaming, but a CD requires getting up to change, Spotify is usually just a click away.
CDs released in Japan in October 1982. The format and playback hardware did not appear in the US and Europe until the following year. Adoption was relatively quick, and just two years later the first million-selling CD album – Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms – would cement the shiny disc’s popularity. By the early 1990s, with the help of ever smaller, affordable and even portable players, the CD was the de facto way to listen to music. And there is a reason.
In this new digital world, the CD format was consistent in a way that analog could never be. What became known as the “Red Book” standard – two-channel 16-bit PCM at 44.1 kHz – would be the predominant specification from then on. When someone said “it’s CD quality”, you could assume that’s what they meant.
This standard is considered the minimum requirement to be called “lossless” by today’s streaming services. Of course, how or what you record at 16-bit/44.1 does matter, but that’s a whole other story.
Jamal Saidi / Reuters
More important than all this, at least for labels and artists, is that the arrival of the CD means that they can resell us our entire music collection in the wonderful new format. The 90s were a good time for the music industry, at least until Sean and Sean came along.
There were other advantages to this new digital medium. And not just the aforementioned ability to skip/program/shuffle tracks. With CDs, you can hide bonus tracks in new ways that would otherwise be visible on a vinyl record or instantly found by anyone who left a cassette on.
Even more exciting? As computers became a more common feature in homes, artists and labels realized that you could combine completely different bonus media such as videos and karaoke versions – as found on some versions of Americana by The Offspring, for example.
Before we show you some ways you can enjoy/rediscover the joy of CDs, keep in mind that the experience was far from flawless.
Although it is more durable than vinyl, it is definitely possible to scratch a CD. When a record has a scratch, it’s almost charming. With the discs, it’s more like slowly walking through hell as they dig up the streets. If your disc has been damaged, it may also work in some players, but unfortunately, not in others. Many hours were wasted cleaning and reinserting a CD in the hope it would take.
Of course, many CD players only accept one disc, so you’ll be changing them often. If you knew someone who had every CD in the right jewelry box, that’s often a sign that that person wasn’t listening to their music enthusiastically or often enough (They might have been slightly organized, but where’s the fun in that). This “which disc is in which case” problem got even worse when someone decided that CD singles – one song you want and a few less good songs on one disc – were a good idea.
Not to mention the fragility of the boxes they came in. The hinges on the Jewel case would crack just by looking at them, while the center hubs (the part that holds the disc in place) would fall apart no matter how well you handled things. Mostly when moving or the aforementioned enthusiastic listening with friends.
Unlike other formats, the CD is unique in that it played a role in its own demise. With the advent of burning CDs, you can easily copy your friends’ album collection, print album covers, and even print round stickers with the CD cover on them. That’s how music was stolen for the brief period when CD burners and blank discs were available and online piracy wasn’t enforced. The CD was then effectively relegated to the role of external storage media before quietly fading into obscurity. Until now of course.
With these little challenges in mind, if you’re ready and willing to give the humble CD another spin, hmm, here are some recommendations, new and old, cheap and not so, to get you into the world of CDs.
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