Ableton co-founder Robert Henke thinks we should bring back CDs

The Lounge General Discussion
#21

It was calculated that if you listen to an album more than 27 times on a streaming service, physical media is better. Revised numbers say 5 hours streaming equals the plastic used, vinyl record is said to be 17 hours

I have albums over 50 year old or older, even way back to some 78’s that are really old, even without my listening added to the playtime I’m sure they have gotten way more than 17 listens

Since cds have been abandoned more, more iffy shelf life and perhaps more of a chance to be discarded, vinyl holds up well long term

Streaming is HUGE and doing more damage overall

This may decrease a small degree with more electronic efficiency but use will also probably go up by then

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#22

Might as well utilize lossless audio files if there’s no tangible difference :slight_smile:

But also including full end to end lifespan of production, distribution, sales, etc etc.

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#23

I’m not sure ‘interesting ‘ is the word I’d use. Factual perhaps …

#24

Okay then

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#25

I believe the only sustainable way would be to listen only live , unplugged music. Ah !

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#26

Emphasis on vinyl’s unsustainability is a red herring given the unsustainable nature of so much of human activity in far greater numbers than vinyl produces. It sounds like CDs still don’t have the archival potential of vinyl either. Far more important is making mobile phones sustainable.

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#27

Yeah, I also wish this didn’t set responsibility for recycling and sustainability to the consumer over all the other drastic forms of pollution and destruction.

Sure it’s worth considering, but analysis focusing ultimate blame on consumers is just displacement of the failures of industry at world-scale.

Reminds me a bit of how the fossil fuel industry created a “carbon credit” economy to further abstract the harm they do.

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#28

For sure, I agree that laws should be changed for corporations instead of forcing the blame onto individuals and their recycling habits etc. But we’re getting into wider topics here.

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#29

There’s an old proverb that says: “Some CD me now, Some CD me later, Some may even CD me in the future”. And what that means is nothing.

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#30

The next overused effect: CD Sim

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#31

This is the bingo of this whole discussion IMO. I’m not convinced plastic in a landfill is more harmful than a global network of redundant heat pumps.

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#33

They have it on SLSK…

#34

Exactly

#35

I do like that booklets are/were a norm of CDs. One of my favorites is the venomous little microfiction from the Mountain Goats’ “Tallahassee”

Some vinyl get released with booklets too, but this seems to be less common.

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#37

Just wanted to remind everyone that Europe is hitting 40 degrees … keep your vinyl cool.

Someone somewhere is going to sell a chill out cabinet purely to put vinyl in. ( basically a painted fridge with 200% price hike )

Actually … sounds like a good idea , I could be rich !!!

1 Like
#39

The “point” for you is purely aesthetic: the art and the heft and the analog-goodness of vinyl. But he says pretty clearly that CDs sound better than vinyl, and he’s absolutely correct about that. I’ve been thinking about digging my old 250-disc changer our and loading it up from old rare discs I have that are not available streaming.

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#40

hell yes. It’s up to governments to FORCE corporations to adopt better practices and not just shame consumers for not recycling enough.

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#41

Man cave ?

#42

Had no idea how involved the CD manufacturing process was until I saw this.

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#43

I have a folder dedicated to vinyl samples I pull off records I buy. The sonic difference is so, so good and obvious. I hope vinyl sticks around for quite a while.

1 Like