Thoughts
This is a page where I express my thoughts in more detail, sometimes leaving it open for you to discuss. Feel free to contact me about them if they've particularly hit a nerve.
If you want to catch up on previous thoughts on this page, then you may want to take a look at this lot:
Thoughts 4.21 to 4.30
Thoughts 4.11 to 4.20
Thoughts 4.01 to 4.10
Thoughts 2.21 to 3.07
Thoughts 2.11 to 2.20
Thoughts 2.01 to 2.10
Thought 4.31: 01 July 2008: The CD Single Is Dead, Long Live Seven Inches
Just a musing really but I couldn't help but notice that even some of the diehard record shops in the centre of Manchester are deeming it more and more fit to declare the single officially dead. Well, okay, not quite so true in terms of the seven inches of vinyl, as you can still pretty much get those and if anything, the stock of the ubiquitous vinyl has increased in stock locally over the last year or two. However, it seems to me that the CD single seems to be getting more and more difficult to find, get hold of and purchase, and indeed play.
Inevitably downloads have played their part, and the one silver lining is that there are at least enough people out there paying for single downloads now to at least give the record industry some much needed impetus and the major players far too much cash. When you consider that the overheads for a download single are inevitably much lower than the CD single (no shipping or packaging for one thing) you'd think that the consumer would pay less, and indeed be able in some cases to get some of the B-sides as well, except you can't. Which then means that the real diehard fans lose out anyway as they'll inevitably buy the single for those B-sides.
It's surprisingly the CD single that's taken the most knocks though. Lots of bands and artists along with their record companies seem more content to use the maximum three formats for a single to make it up with two seven inch singles and a mere one CD, rather than the opposite trend many years ago. And indeed most CD singles are just two track affairs now than three or four tracks as they used to be - meaning value for money also inevitably drops somewhat. But it also makes you somewhat wonder that the vinyl singles are being bought mainly by indie kid diehards who are keeping the format much more alive - and with some aplomb.
In this crazy world we live in, the consumer is really not impressed with the CD single as a format anymore because it doesn't give as much value as it used to (dance singles had 4 or 5 mixes on the same CD, and many of my favourite artists would make the CD single a 4 track affair) and for the price of the difference between the single and B-side, it's much more convenient for them to just download the track that they actually do want. But I can't help feeling that some record stores have accelerated this death because the profit margin on that is much lower than a CD album - which is where the real money seems to be these days.
So, the CD single seems dead, but the seven inch single seems to be staying alive rather nicely. As someone who still adores the latter format just as much, it's good to see that some music traditions are at least alive and not all the world is going completely digital obsessed, it's rather reassuring in an analogue kind of way.