CDs or MP3s

[sp1814]

I've had an iPod for a couple of years and in that time I've digitized all my CDs.

So all my CDs are on my hard drive, plus I have a backup on an offboard storage device. Additionally, I have most of these CDs on the hard drive of my old PC which I took out when I bought my new one.

So - here's the question...should I bite the bullet and sell off the original CDs?

[3Styler]

Personally, I wouldnt because, firstly the sound quailty from CDs is obviously way better than the mp3 files on your computer but more importantly album art is becoming more and more overlooked these days as noone buys the album anymore yet album art is just so special.  Anyway its way cooler to own an album just to have it sitting there on your shelf as a symbol of your music persona.  However i strongly recommend people other than myself to sell thier CDs (preferably to me) for a reduced price...

[sp1814]

3Styler,

My thoughts exactly. I have about 700 CDs and without wishing to sound shallow, they represent 20 years of collecting, and they're tangible evidence of my changing tastes.

However, I've not actually played a CD in two years now because I use my iPod as a 'home jukebox'. I've been questioning the point of having them other than as display material.

Thanks for your answer - I have a feeling that my CDs are here to stay...unless someone come up with a really strong reason not to keep them!

If they do, check out eBay!!! There'll be 700 CDs going ridiculously cheap!

[3Styler]

Yep you hang onto them, good for you.  Just out of interest, you're obviously a total music lover so what's your favourite album of all time?

[sp1814]

3Styler

Yep - I'm a have a pretty serious music habit. As for favourite album - that's a tricky one. My gut reaction would be to say 'Automatic For The People' by REM. But there are several that I would call 'close seconds' - Blondie's 'Parallel Lines', Ella Fitzgerald's 'The Incomparable Ella', Pet Shop Boys 'Behaviour', Alison Moyet's 'Hometime' and Stevie Wonder's 'Innervisions'.

And you?

[nicola_red]

No no no, don't sell them!  You'll regret it!  I've sold CDs in the past and actually ended up buying them back.

[3Styler]

Probably OK Computer, but also the Joshua Tree - U2 and Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits (cheating a bit because its a 'best of' album but i dont care) but yeh Automatic For the People would be up there along with them!

[nigidivitch]

Wouldn't selling the cd's mean that you'd be in breach of copyright laws as you would no longer have the right to hold a backup of the music?  You wouldn't want to break the law now would you?!!!  ;o)

[WaldoMcFroog]

Now that�s a very interesting question! As I understand it, the law permits you to make a �back up copy� of your music for your own use. Since the term �back up copy� is commonly understood to refer to a duplicate of the music for use in the event of the original becoming damaged. So, let�s say you make a duplicate of your CD for use on your I-Pod and while you are out, your home burns down, destroying the originals. The law has clearly authorised you to have a back up copy to use therefore it would seem fair that you could continue to use the copy without replacing the original. Would the law seriously contend that you had to hold onto the charred remains as proof of your right to hold a back up?

Moreover, if you buy an album � let�s say it is on vinyl � and look after it properly, there is no reason why you couldn�t play it for 30 years or more with no detriment to the sound quality (there�s probably some, but negligible for the purposes of this argument). Lots of people have done this. When you purchased the music, the publisher did not grant a time-limited license to listen to the music � it was granted in perpetuity. If you listened to that album every day for the rest of your life, the artist and publisher would have no legal argument to ask you pay again. Therefore, if you have purchased music, should you not be free to hold a copy of the music, regardless of format, in perpetuity?

I suspect the answer is not, though morally, it seems to me that you should. Does anyone know what you actually buy when you purchase an album? Is it the ephemera of �the music� or is it a medium that produces music � i.e. the grooves on vinyl, the pits in a CD, the zeroes and ones of digital? What is the exact nature of the legal contract you enter into? Kinda thinking out loud here, but would be interested to know the proper position.

[3Styler]

does anyone really care about copyright?

[Aquariel]

I too have all my CDs encoded (and burned to DVD-Rs) and rarely listen to the originals anymore, but I still would prefer to keep them - you can't beat having the original to look at from time to time!

3Styler - if you encode all your albums in lossless format - i.e. Monkey's Audio or FLAC - then you won't lose any sound quality at all!

[3Styler]

so wait a sec how does FLAC actually work? does that mean that you dont actually reduce the size of the music file? and if thats the case how do you put your music on an mp3 player?

[Aquariel]

FLAC works by compressing the data but not by reducing the quality, so it sounds identical to the original; obviously the file size is a lot bigger than mp3, so it's only useful if you are an audiophile who is obsessed with the perfect sound quality!

I believe some mp3 players do accept FLAC or Monkey's Audio as playable formats.

[sp1814]

3Styler,

How could I have forgotten OK Computer??? Yeah, that's up there too.

WaldoMcFroog - you make some really valid points there. Some of which I'd never even considered. I would've be surprised if legally I would not be allowed to sell the original, but I'd be okay if I hadn't made a copy.

However, it's a moot point now. I've decided (thanks to all your feedback) to keep all of the CDs. I'm moving house which originally prompted me to think about selling them...however, I'm just going to make sure the new place has a big attic.

The only ones that will go (to charity - my latest decision) will be the ones that both my partner and I have.

Thanks for all your feedback!