Thinking about selling my CD collection = MP3

I am selling them.

Gretsch6120, are you really sure that you want to sell all your CDs for MP3? Sounds like something you might regret down the road. 1500 CDs don't take that much space to store (unlike 1500 LPs).

Are you keeping a lossless version around on harddrive in addition to MP3? I would make sure to do at least that. Upgrades to your system or changes in your listening behaviour might reveal some of the flaws in MP3. Its good to have at least a full version around.

Good luck!

Rene

what about the time when we all flouted the copyright law of making copy versions on a cassette deck (to play them in the car) of our favourite LP's. Fine so far in a copyright perspective, but when the LP was no longer playable and we dumped it, what then?

I ripped my CD's to MP3 some time back. Now doing the whole thing over again & ripping to FLAC file format. Even at my advanced age (58), my ears can hear the difference between an Mp3 and a FLAC. Now almost stopped using my CD player too as streaming all from my computer via a Slimdevices Transporter.

Think twice before selling! The MP3 files ain't as good as that which you are selling!!

Dan

>Think twice before selling! The MP3 files ain't as good as that which you are selling!!<

After reading this whole thread, I don't think sound quality ever entered into the picture.

Oz

I have to be very honest, listening to my iPod through my Jolida 302b / Tyler Acoustic Ref. Monitors sounds damn good!Going back and forth between my iPod an Joida CDP, there is not much difference. Also, it is pretty exciting to have all my music in one small pack that I can bring anywhere and hook up to any source. So far I have 11,600 songs stored on my 80gig iPod. I still have more CDs to rip to my computer / iPod, I have plenty of storage space left. BTW, I still have some CDs left for sale.

Maybe you already sold your CD's, but you could have considered getting them ripped to lossless FLAC at a cost of about 1.20$/CD. Then you have everything. Sell your CD's, but still have full audio quality backed up to DVDs in the event that you buy a system capable of showing the difference between lossy and lossless file format. Ok, there is the issue of having your music and selling it, but that's a whole different discussion. Check for eg, https://secure.slimdevices.com/order/ripping.cgi

Dan

what about ripping the cd's and then donating the originals to a library. you take a tax write off but you have not sold them.

is this legal

I went through the same debate with my 4K cd collection. I decided not to sell them for several reasons:

1. Even though I have a RAID, it is still not 100$ failsafe so in case of a catastrophy, I still have my originals

2. Encoding technology may change in the future so I want to have the originals

3. I just like the idea of having the CDs I can see and touch vs the virtual music that only exists in the realm of 0's and 1's (i.e. the matrix!)

4. I am a bit sentimental about my CDs. I have been collecting music for over 20 years and there are a lot of memories tied to each CD.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Bianchi, if you have a lot of time to waste, go here and see how widely opinions vary on this topic. I don't think there will be an answer unless it is tested in the courts.

Again, it's a little disheartening seeing so many supposed music lovers who don't even think twice about contributing to the widespread screwing of recording musicians (this applies particularly to those who aren't selling out arenas and selling millions of albums). As far as I'm concerned we all need to do everything we can to get the artists that we like paid, or else the labels are going to stop supporting good, original music all together in favor of groups that have a proven track record of making tons of money. I hear people complain daily about the lack of quality music and anything but cookie cutter bands coming from the big labels, and the reason why we got here is because the types of artists we like aren't making money for the labels (which means the artists REALLY aren't making money). This is really much more of an ethical question than a legal one. The cops aren't going to bust down your door for ripping your CDs and then selling the originals, but you're not exactly helping the artists or our cause either.

If you bought the cd, it is yours. Copying it for resale is unlawful. Copying it for personal use is not. Copying it for personal use and then deciding to sell the cd, seems to me a gray area.

I think that RIAA has created a red herring about the artists. Mainly it is the record companies wanting to get more money through selling more cds.

I would not sell my cds as I think MP3 is crap and someday you might come to agree. Your kids grow up too fast and come to appreciate your music.

The RIAA has NOT created a red herring about artists. It's true that the record labels make the vast majority of the money from each CD sale, but the fact is that artists need CD sales that much more in order to make money. As I said above, if a CD fails to sell enough copies to recoup all of the costs associated with recording, manufacturing, and marketing the album, an artist can end up OWING the record company money at the end of the day. Furthermore, every time a label takes a risk on an artist who isn't just a rehash of all the other drivel on the market (in other words supports an artist that is more likely to be an audiophile favorite), they're less likely to take any more chances if the venture doesn't pan out. Like any other BUSINESS, the recording industry is all about profit, and if you don't put your dollars behind your opinion and tastes, you're going to see yourself under, or god forbid un-represented in the market. The only way we can really effectively shape the course of the recording industry is by buying what we like. Nobody is going to release the records you want to hear unless there's a sizable market, and unless you're happy with limited release, overpriced audiophile pressings as your only source of your favorite music (which will also go away if not supported), you should be doing all that you can to speak your mind through your purchases.

Again, please don't do more to dilute the market and devalue what brings us all to this forum and others like it - music - by selling your CDs but retaining the music that they hold. Would you want someone purchasing whatever product or service you offer, and then selling it while retaining a duplicate?

My lay opinion is with Neil. If he sold the copy he'd be in trouble. The CD belongs to him and he can sell it if he likes. Have you considered going to law scholl?

Copying it for personal use and then deciding to sell the cd, seems to me a gray area.

Yes very gray. If you search around (see my link above) you'll see all kinds of opinions.

A. You pay $15 for a new CD, keep a copy, and sell the original for $5.

B. Somebody else pays $15 for a new CD and sells you a copy for $10.

In both cases the end result is exactly the same:

...you have a copy and are out $10
...the other person has the original and is out $5.

yet some feel that A is OK and B is wrong.

I don't see how A and B are any different. In both cases two copies of the recording are out there and only one has been paid for. The artist hasn't been compensated fairly, and hasn't been properly credited in either case.

I think the polnt is that people will pay nothing if they can. Copywrite laws have found a temporary solution of one copy for your self or in other areas for personal use.

I don't know how this willl be resolved but clearly the cat is out of the bag for the old format. Digital can easily be copied and electronically transmitted. No law is going to stop this from happening and no amount of ethical argument will solve this. I think the record companies are dead. How the artists will make a living seem very uncertain.

Here is an interesting point of view as reported by http://blogs.reuters.com/2006/12/04/media-leaders-were-ipod-crazy-too/:

"I like music. I have iPods everywhere. I had the whole bunch of (the Warner music collection) files put on before we sold it."

--Richard Parsons, CEO & Chairman, Time Warner Inc.

If its OK to keep the digital copies and sell the company... ;)