CDs cost too fucking much

[Frackal]

How much does the average CD cost? I figure $14. For $14, you get a case, a paper jacket depicting the artist, and a CD. Which of these two mediums are most likely to be more difficult to manufacture? How much does it cost for the plastic and coating of a CD? I've found that the plastic in a CD costs less than 3 cents to press. So how the hell is the extra $6 justified??? The CD jacket? Couldn't be, most CDs I have only have a single piece of paper on the inside and the back. The case couldn't be what's costing us all the money, since the plastic in a CD case costs little more than the plastic in a CD. Take a look at these figures:

For 500 C40-49:59 "Ready for Retail" Cassette Tapes with J-card + 4 panels costs: $983.00

For 500 "Ready for Retail" Compact Discs with 4 panels and tray card costs: $1725.00

What justifies the difference in almost $800 in price? The truth is that the music industry is greedy. They can charge us anything they want for music because they have enough money to buy the rights to an artist. The price of CDs should have been drastically reduced by now, to at least the cost of a tape if not less, but it hasn't. That's why all the big shot executives shit a brick when people started distributing music in MP3 format over the internet. Finally, people could get out of their web of bullshit and only listen to music they wanted to listen to, at a user-established cost. Good I say, let them suffer. It's about time they got screwed like they've been screwing us for all these years.


http://maddox.xmission.com/musicindustry.html

 

[Taps]

What I find really odd, is that there's been no steep drop off in CD sales. It's been about 4 years since Napster made file-sharing front page news, yet artists are selling more albums than ever and the record companies are still making a lot of money. Didn't Sony Music have it's biggest year ever in '01 oe '02?

Personally, I havn't bought a CD in almost 6 years. Shit, it's easier just to download it and burn it, than it is to wast an hour going to the mall.

 

[collegiateLifter]

there were reports of illegal forms of collusion, ie price setting, goin on in the 90's by the big 5 that surfaced around 2000, although nothing bad really resulted for the rec company exec's

 

[WODIN]

Those big black round vinyl things we use to call albums, they'd run anywhere from 12 - 18 for an album and arond 25 - 50 for doubles or box sets.

14 for a cd....pffft! That's not a lot of money considering its been 20 years since albums existed.

 

[Manu]

How much does the average CD cost? I figure $14. For $14, you get a case, a paper jacket depicting the artist, and a CD. Which of these two mediums are most likely to be more difficult to manufacture? How much does it cost for the plastic and coating of a CD? I've found that the plastic in a CD costs less than 3 cents to press. So how the hell is the extra $6 justified??? The CD jacket? Couldn't be, most CDs I have only have a single piece of paper on the inside and the back. The case couldn't be what's costing us all the money, since the plastic in a CD case costs little more than the plastic in a CD. Take a look at these figures:

For 500 C40-49:59 "Ready for Retail" Cassette Tapes with J-card + 4 panels costs: $983.00

For 500 "Ready for Retail" Compact Discs with 4 panels and tray card costs: $1725.00

What justifies the difference in almost $800 in price? The truth is that the music industry is greedy. They can charge us anything they want for music because they have enough money to buy the rights to an artist. The price of CDs should have been drastically reduced by now, to at least the cost of a tape if not less, but it hasn't. That's why all the big shot executives shit a brick when people started distributing music in MP3 format over the internet. Finally, people could get out of their web of bullshit and only listen to music they wanted to listen to, at a user-established cost. Good I say, let them suffer. It's about time they got screwed like they've been screwing us for all these years.


http://maddox.xmission.com/musicindustry.html

Totally agree.
I'm not sure of the % the artist receives but i think it is a small %
of the cd price.

 

[endpoint]

CDs cost less the more you press. same with cover printing.once they have it set up it only costs paper.

for the price of 500 (that you quoted) you could get 1500-2000 fully packed CDs.

Major record labels would have their own printing plants and factories.....and that means even more cuts in price.

you are paying the label the promoter, the artist/s, the design the recording, the mastering, the pre/post production, the mixing, the engineer, the producer, the list goes on.

 

[Manu]

Prices in europe can be higher, at least in my country.
A cd costs around 18 euros or even a little more sometimes.

I'm glad kazaa exists

 

[Y_lifter]

Hell yea....
I buy mine used like new from EBAY or Amazon for like $5-7 + $2 shipping, and most are unopened.
Look how much a 50 CDR spindle costs and figure the rest is profit for the artist and mostly the label..

I'd buy more a lot more and from the store if they were under $10..

 

[b fold the truth]

Haven't bought a CD in such a long time...

B True

 

[Code]

Get a better job.
Or
Hit the High Seas, like the rest of the pirates.

 

[c-sharp minor]

For the record, (pun intended), Lp's used to cost $7.99 here.

CD's cost 20-25$ + 14% gst pst, unless you buy them the first month or so after they are first released. They then cost around 13-18$.

CD's are cheaper to produce than LP's. They day I first saw a cd it was DOUBLE the price of any LP.

It's a fucking scam. Download ALL your music. Fuck the record companies.

 

[Toozee]

Depending on the label and the artist's contract.
The actual artist cut from cd sales is on average about $1.00.
Sometimes as low as $.10. Many new artists practically get raped because of poor representation.
This is often the reason many new artists tour like there's no tomorrow. Even if they get a decent deal, they get more money from touring.

 

[c-sharp minor]

Depending on the label and the artist's contract.
The actual artist cut from cd sales is on average about $1.00.
Sometimes as low as $.10. Many new artists practically get raped because of poor representation.
This is often the reason many new artists tour like there's no tomorrow. Even if they get a decent deal, they get more money from touring.

I've toured for a living. Beats the hell out of working, I'll say that.

 

[circusgirl]

Buy the CD at the gig. Unless it's a major label outfit, the band will get more $$$ from that.

Most independent label bands I go and see tend to sell their CDs for around 10 UK pounds (16 dollars) as opposed to the 16 pounds (22 dollars) they cost in HMV.

Personally, I have a large collection of second hand cds I bought from ebay.

 

[gettinlarger]

I buy CDs all the time. But, I'm smart. I go to this place that sells used CDs, half (sometimes like 1/4) of the price of the new one. I also sell my CDs I don't listen to, and in turn, get more CDs. Word.

Or if I have a gift card or something to Best Buy, I'll use it on some CDs.

But, I also download them and burn them.

 

[The Whole F/N Show]

There's no reason CD's should cost more than a tape. Tapes are what $10 at the places that still sell them? What does a CD cost to make? Maybe $.25-1.00 for the CD, case, and paper. I know the discs don't cost jack because I've bought them as cheap as $.05 a blank disc.

 

[Nathan]

YOU cost too fucking much.

 

[Y_lifter]

YOU cost too fucking much.

I use this line on my wife all the time..

 

[Nathan]

I use this line on my wife all the time..

I don't have a wife because nobody loves me and for that I feel very strongly that I deserve monetary recompensation.

 

[Robert Jan]

yeah fuck record companies alright

 

[dawookie]

I use IRC on ADSL and get a full album d/l'd within 15 minutes most of the time.

I got sick of slow d/l's in kazaa and winmx and trying to find individual files..

...use www.ircspy.com to search for the stuff you are looking for and then d/l using mirc.

 

[Scottie2]

yeah its rediculous.. they are crying about all the sales they've lost due to pirating.. i know that if they cut the price in half, i'd start buying some again instead of burning.. no wait, i still wouldnt!

 

[c-sharp minor]

I use IRC on ADSL and get a full album d/l'd within 15 minutes most of the time.

I got sick of slow d/l's in kazaa and winmx and trying to find individual files..

...use www.ircspy.com to search for the stuff you are looking for and then d/l using mirc.

My speeds on Kazaa average around 150-300 k/sec.

 

[gettinlarger]

I use IRC on ADSL and get a full album d/l'd within 15 minutes most of the time.

I got sick of slow d/l's in kazaa and winmx and trying to find individual files..

...use www.ircspy.com to search for the stuff you are looking for and then d/l using mirc.

That's damn clever ...

 

[Whiskey]

I like how the record companies are wanting to sue individuals for stealing their music. Their music??? I thought it was the bands. I would like to see a list of bands that DO support free music trading on line. Just to see which ones aren't greedy. I bet you would see Bruce Springsteen.... but then again,who wants his music???

Whiskey

 

[dawookie]

I miss the days of records. Big huge covers with kick-ass artwork and full pictures of the band. $4.99 for cassette and $6.99 for the record. I could copy the LP from my friends on dolby tape, but i STILL wanted the actual record to oogle over. Ah, those were the days.

-= nav =-

At first, CD's were like this too, with the huge slim box that the cd's came in..

 

[endpoint]

I miss the days of records. Big huge covers with kick-ass artwork and full pictures of the band. $4.99 for cassette and $6.99 for the record. I could copy the LP from my friends on dolby tape, but i STILL wanted the actual record to oogle over. Ah, those were the days.

-= nav =-

they do stil make records. a lot of stuff is being re-issued and a lot of new recordings. a local record shop has a few hundred 12" and another few hundred 7" all brand spanking new, freshly pressed. Depends on the music (what style) i will buy a LP over a CD.

 

[Optimus B]

My speeds on Kazaa average around 150-300 k/sec.

holy shit, what kind of connection do you have?