Vinyl has far better audio quality than a CD does. It is richer and and has more depth than digital. And today’s kids are finally noticing that, which is what I have been saying since CD’s first came out. AND Vinyl is making a big come back. So . . . Mr BJ can say what he wants, just as we can buy what we want thanks to Mr. Jobs. But the reemergence of vinyl may add another talking point for Jon.

Vinyl as a whole, sounded better, but was a ripoff.
CD’s were suppose to be cheaper because they were supposedly cheaper to make. Well that didn’t happen. They also are hollow in sound and can not carry the richness of vinyl.
The only real positive of digital music is that, as it has been said, we can buy what we want and not all that they want us to. I can remember if I got an album that had more than one good cut on it, I didn’t feel ripped off. Now that is not an issue. The issue is audio quality. And with iTunes offering higher quality, with an increased price, tells me that quality of sound will be the final argument.

There were times that Artists were selling a whole CD (or LP) with a price of a CD (or LP) with only ONE hit song.
Now they can not. People buy only the tracks they want.
This is what Steve Jobs allowed.
For Artists like I mentioned above it is—killing their music, an excuse.

But for high grade Artists, performers, musicians it’s not like that.
They were and are releasing albums that are hits by themselves (having more then 50% hit tracks in it).
Do you think if someone is buying Peter Gabriel’s “So” album just for “Sledgehammer”?? :)))))))))))))))

And we still print CDs, sell tracks in iTunes and if you can feel the taste of high quality you won’t hear mp3s with 64kpbs.

I think Mr Bon Jovi is mostly spot on. Even though he says “personally”, I think Steve Jobs is the poster child for all things digital.

As far as killing the music business? Absolutley. There are some artists who no longer tour or even release albums for sale in stores. They just go into the studio and release it on iTunes. That to me says that the music industry is dying. People would rather download a low quality single song whether illegal and free or by paying a few cents for it than have a CD to look at. As the author wrote, you get liner notes and pictures.

Not to mention the FACT that an mp3 no matter what bitrate, sounds inferior to a well recorded CD.

Jon is wrong, in my opinion.  Because of Jobs, and others, music’s become more available than ever before, and getting into the business of creating music is now more open than at any time in history.  The business has changed, however.

The destruction of the music “business” can be laid at the feet of the large record companies - probably as early as the 70’s.  The creative force that was the business of bringing music to the public became a contest between the various large companies to steal (or copy) talent from each other, rather than making an investment in developing new talent.  There are a number of reasons (too big a topic to tackle here) this became a focus, but it created a culture shift in the music business.  Then, in the early 80’s the shift to digital compact discs brought a real shift to convenience over quality, and, after consumers shifted to CDs by replacing their LPs, I believe the average listener began to spend less and less time listening to music at home.  We didn’t know why, necessarily, but listening to music as a life-style priority began to wane.

It’s the opinion of many musicians, as well as music lovers in the audiophile community, that digital recording/playback served to lessen the passion and pleasure felt while listening at home.  We began to depend less and less on listening for the pure joy of the experience.  On the “hardware” manufacturers’ side, we tried to create CD playback products that could sound more “analog-like.”  All the while, record collecting began losing its cultural importance as we became creatures of convenience.  Record retailers started going out of business, and we were forced to shop at book stores (!) and on line for music.  Concurrently, the big record companies were losing market share, and, importantly, their stranglehold on what we listened to.  Boutique audiophile labels sprang up, and today we have the opportunity to hear artists’ music on their own labels.  New, independent companies have brought new talent to the market.  And - the LP is becoming a force again! 

Various artists, famous and almost famous, are now demanding that vinyl LPs be a part of the product mix available to listeners around the world.  Music lovers, young and old, are buying vinyl and the machines to play it.  It’s fun again to go home, and make a night of listening to records!  There’s a visceral pleasure in opening an LP, and checking out the cover art - and reading the liner notes!  The large record labels have had little to do with this because the numbers aren’t there (yet) to support the bloated overheads of these top-heavy organizations. 

More than anyone else, Michael Fremer, a New York-based writer and vinyl junky, has proven that one person can make a difference in bringing an “old” technology back from the ashes.  His passion for music and how it sounds has driven him to crusade for a return to analog.  Thank you, Michael.

We’re at the beginning of an era of access that is unprecedented.  Digital is getting more “musical,” analog is re-emerging, young artists have more tools than ever to create their vision, and we’re able to access music more easily than ever before.  I’m optimistic that we’re on the verge of a new era of creativity and accessibility.  True, to make the big bucks, music stars will have to depend more and more on live appearances - but, is that really a bad thing?

By the way, my beautiful wife, Ann, really digs Bon Jovi.  Oh well - the boy can sing ...............

Analog is good. And Digital can be good, listen to a properly-mastered 24-bit 96 kHz (or 192 kHz) track and tell me it doesn’t sound great.  I grew up on analog, but I recognize that digital is now King.  Stop listening to poor-quality MP3s and start listening to high-quality digital and stop whining…

-RW-