It is Walmart's loss - I used to go to Best Buy once a week to buy CD's (and in the process purchase something I didn't need), I have not stepped into Best Buy in 6 months - stupid marketing decision. There was really nothing in the Walmart bins that I was interested in, and even their online was not only poorly created, difficult to use, but had no selection. I now buy all my CD's online (amazon, amoeba, elusive, acoustic sounds), purchased 3 today. It is good news for the local record stores that are packed now - and not with old people, young people - and most of them are browsing CD's. Many kids can hear the difference between an MP3 and a well recorded record. The CD's are much cheaper than the vinyl alternatives - you need a pretty good system to make a record sound better than a CD - most youngsters don't have $50K to blow on a system. New SACD's are coming out every week - it is a good time to be a music lover.
What a sad world we now live in.......
What a sad world.....
Had to go to our local Wal-Mart for something for the wife and thought would check out CD,s while here.
Could not find them so asked where to be told they had decided to stop selling them in-store.
In fact the whole electronics section looked bare and desolate.
Pretty sure a sign of the buy online times we now live in.
Had to go to our local Wal-Mart for something for the wife and thought would check out CD,s while here.
Could not find them so asked where to be told they had decided to stop selling them in-store.
In fact the whole electronics section looked bare and desolate.
Pretty sure a sign of the buy online times we now live in.
128 responses Add your response
@glupson, you’re last post (at 8:14pm on 05-16) supports my argument that the even the people who were at one time buying their Garth Brooks CD’s at Walmart are just not buying or listening to albums anymore. Is it that they just don’t care that much about music anymore, or don’t hear anything new they like enough to spend ten bucks on, or would rather spend that ten bucks on something else, or work such long hours that they would rather plop down in front of the large-screen TV than listen to music? I expect that out of my 66 and 68-year old sisters, but I know for a fact that none of their kids or grandkids care all that much about music either. It is my opinion that the couple of generations for whom music was the foremost art form and cultural center was a temporary fluke. My parents and their friends and relatives also weren’t music consumers the way my friends and I were. As for the music currently being made, while that which you or I may consider cool is still alive on the cult level, it is only Hip Hop/Rap/Dance music that the vast majority of younger music consumers seem to care enough about to support financially. Will that music have remained relevant to it’s buyers when they have reached our current ages (a pole on that range would be interesting!), the way music from the (50’s for some)/60’s/70’s/80’s/90’s/(name your decade ;-) has for us? Michael Fremer regularly talks about how those who get their music via streaming, owning no physical media, will end up with nothing. Holding a physical object that contains music is a completely different thing than holding a remote control. Like Brian Wilson, I just wasn’t made for these times ;-( . Or I lived too long already. I’m starting to feel like Rip Van Winkle may have. It must be doubly so for our comrade @schubert, from whom we rarely hear anymore. |
I just got rid of my TIDAL. Had to get over my FOMA—oh no, I might not have access to everything! So less about the $20/month, more about getting more intimate with the hundreds of lps I own. I came to terms with the fact that having access to infinite music didn’t bring me more musical pleasure. And my NAIM streamer gives me all the free HD stations in the world, so I can still get exposed to new music. |
bdp24, I think that all you mentioned together is the reason for CD sales decline. Probably with another thing or two. Times have evolved and, regardless of what anyone (hinting at your mention of Michael Fremer) feels and thinks, CDs and records do not fit into an iPhone. That is the dealbreaker. Those who grew up with some physical media may feel it is important to actually have it, but newer generations do not have that feeling.They do not have emotional attachment to these things. Similar approach is slowly getting into car ownership these days. "Michael Fremer regularly talks about how those who get their music via streaming, owning no physical media, will end up with nothing." Well, very "wise" statement that is slightly out of touch with reality. Even a physical one. What happens when there is fire, earthquake, burglary, basically anything that disturbs perfection of the environment, in "physically-inclined" home? Owner is easily left with, depending on the luck, nothing. 17-year-old who streams hip-hop on her phone is left with exactly same music as the day before. Ok, burglary is probably fine. What would a burglar do with heavy load of objects of close-to-no-value to majority of potential customers? Records, and CDs, are not even worth stealing these days, no matter how much a small group of people may cherish them. As far as Walmart goes, I put those few things out, and mentioned Garth Brooks, as a response to implied statement that Walmart never mattered in music (sales) and that people shopping there were not interested in music. Apparently, they were. It is just that they are not anymore. |
My 30-40 year old adult children and step children all love listening to music. Two are pretty fair musicians. But their entire peer group doesn't own a decent piece of audio gear at all. They download individual songs and maybe most of an album once in a while to their phones and tablets but spend far more on concert tickets, video games and alcohol than on any physical media. As a result, no cds in Best Buy, Walmart, etc and even Amazon tells you that many of their cds for sale are burned upon demand/purchase. When entire generations don't need a category of merchandise, only fools would persist in stocking it... |
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While out of town for 3 weeks, I had a new experience After using Soundmagic 11 earphone with Dell Laptop for 1 week, I found that they are quite listenable with internet streaming music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tctk3Uy1w5s Violin sounds natural without too much overtone. Orchestra sound also balanced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSFIHTjc74I With this kind of highend demo music, this one work well with natural details. Now I can understand why most young people including my adult children are happy with low end sound. Actually they do not sound bad unless I pay too much attention to details and soundstage. You do not need high end audio system to enjoy music. High End audio is already doomed. If you go to high end show, it is difficult to find people below 40 years old. Thomas |
@inna Are you ok? Not trying to put you on the spot but your words go beyond the usual “I miss the good old days” (which were not all that great BTW) that is far too often spoken here on Audiogon by a few. The bitterness communicated was probably unintentional but nonetheless worrisome. Everyone and every thing must change. Even those who resist change are in a constant state of change, please don’t miss out on the opportunities that surround each of us every day. Distribution methods and channels of distribution have changed radically in the past and will continue to do so. Always have and always will. Why the angst? |
There are CDs in urban, country stores and perhaps Walmart. For example, I have seen in Michigan off the beaten path cities with stores that sell and rent DVDs and Blu-ray’s, CDs. Yes, it’s a business model that drives commerce to sell mainstream products but invariably the business model to stop selling CDs at Walmart is probably moreso in the major cities or outskirts and probably has to do with the fact that yes, streaming is gaining popularity due to easy accessibility to high speed streaming formats in those areas. While, out in the country, we don’t get high speed internet, we get Dish, satellite or a phone plan with unlimited streaming at that data rate the carrier offers, plus the expense to go with it. Depending on where you are, your SOL for reliable internet or phone. There have been inroads in bringing point to point towers with supposed high speed bandwidth, 10-20mbps, give me a break, but that’s sparse, and expensive for the majority of folks who live in the country. Just because it’s a thing in the city, it’s not a thing in the country, where some technology is slow to creep in. So, my retirement home in Michigan has to be close to a transmission line with at least 200mbps...that’s what I told my wife, haha. I think there is a correlation between the availability of streaming and the sales of CD, therefore, Walmart is cutting products at locations where the sales of those products are null. Personnaly, I am agree with the OP, I am hanging on to my physical formats, 7500 records strong, 1100 CDs strong. I don’t have time to rip CDs, but spend time listening. That being said, I am looking at this Auralic streaming/Dac device that will propel me into the streaming century, that’s another conversation on another thread, perhaps. |
The last time I looked at data, the entire world sales (the dollar value) of recorded music is about 1/4 of what it was at the peak. This is the case despite people buying and accessing much more music than ever before. Theft through file sharing has changed the economic model such that music must be sold very cheaply to compete with stealing. That means streaming, people buying rights to single tracks vs. albums, etc. Physical media that costs a lot to produce is particularly non-competitive in this era. So, to me, what is regrettable about the decline of physical media is not so much the loss of the particular medium, but, the conditions that cause the loss. This loss of revenue to file sharing means that artists, in particular, are getting far less money and only mega-stars continue to rake it in. Most other artists are worse off than they used to be. |
I’ll stick with Cd’s and LP’s thanks. I like the look, feel, and sound of physical media, but that is just me. I dont like the modern way of listening. It’s just as easy for me to get off my lazy ass and put in a cd or a record....and I personally think it sounds better.....plus I like looking at my collection and reading the cd inserts and the album covers 😁. Oh well I’m old hahahaha.....I still buy pre-recorded cassettes! My Aiwa AD F770 works like brand new and I bought it new in 1983. I do own a DAC, but it's still in the box lol. |
In the comedy movie Bridesmaids, the main female character keeps driving by a cop she dated trying to get his attention by doing goofy things in the car. The funniest one was when she drives by sitting low in the car with Hispanic rap music playing on the radio. That scenes has been removed from the movie. I guess it offended some people. What a world. |
Don't be sad about this. Be sad that your tax dollars pay Walmart employees' salaries since the walton kids need to keep their 140+ billion dollars and make us all pay welfare support (taxes) to their employees because the Walton's are way too poor to pay them living wages. They might have to give up the title of "richest family in the USA" if they say, put in a billion each to provide pay equal to the work, a word they are not familiar with having popped out of the right crotch. BUT, you can visit Bentonville, AK anytime--a real hotspot of activity, of course--to see the billions in paintings that they put in their "museum" there. A way to have expensive stuff and not pay taxes on it? HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT?? THAT should make you sad, but hey, the music is all that counts, said Nero.(another myth, like trickle down). Whatever. |
My CD player in my car broke down a few months back. The dealer wanted $2000 to replace it (!!). its an older Bose system that for the car sounds very good. It also has a Cassette player, remember those?! So i went to my basement found a couple of boxes full of cassettes and am happily listening to those. My point is Listening to the Music is what is important. The media is relatively unimportant. don't get me wrong, I am audiophile and will perform any magic to make the sound of my system better but at the end of the day its the Music that matters. I am sure there will be a lot of responses now to my words here from those who have not been sufficiently caffeinated yet......haha |
A paper released last year ( https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3285436 ) determined that the average "free" time most working Americans have is around 2.5 hours per day. Here are some of the things I like to do (in their general order of preference): Hang out with my family. Hang out with my friends. Play guitar or piano. Play with my dogs. Go to concerts. Read. Go for a walk. Ride my bike. Listen to my stereo. Watch TV. If I give each activity equal time (I don't), then that only gives me 1.5 - 2 hours a week to listen to my stereo. That sounds about right. Sometimes, on a rainy day I will listen more, some weeks will go by and I don't listen at all. Tidal has been a boon for me. I can listen to new music, old music, and music that I never would think of "buying." For the most part my CD's just sit there. I have about about 300 records. I average about 2-3 records a month. I still enjoy buying them and messing with the turntable (I have a "one-in, one out" policy with new records to keep my collection manageable, but there are some in there that I haven't listened to for over 40 years). Slowly I am winnowing down my 500 CD collection to just those that are collectible or un-available on Tidal or Idagio. It makes no sense to keep these; it would take me ten years to listen to them all (only if I excluded listening to everything else, which I won't do - I enjoy discovering new music too much). So I could care less about not finding CDs in Walmart. In fact, I could care less about going to Walmart at all. If I feel the need, we have three independant record stores in town; I'll get my record buying fix there. |
@uberwaltz Don't you live in the UK? All my friends in England still buy and listen to CDs as their primary source of music. Of course sales have dropped drastically, but all the stats being quoted on this thread are for US only. I get your point and maybe selling CDs in UK retail shops is no longer profitable. Sales have dropped worldwide, but in Japan there is a huge CD market. |
I count myself as being truly blessed at this stage of life as I can find usually 5 to 6 hours A DAY to listen to my music and usually do. Now honestly I am not that bothered whether WalMart or Best Buy or Target etc stop selling any type of music period! From a sense of where I normally go to buy my media. It just so happened I was in WalMart for another reason entirely when this unfolded. But as a general downward spiral picture of todays culture and buying mentality it still saddens me, call me an old fart, not going to change my mind on that score. Unfortunately the internet has made some of this shift towards online everything all too easy and commonplace. Go watch a movie called "The City of Ember". Yes I know all doom and gloom , misery guts I am. |
Lowrider. Nope been here in the USA since 2000 my friend. I escaped the UK! Actually they are probably as happy about it as I am.... lol. But that is a good point as to differing mentalities in different countries, including buying habits and listening habits. Heck I know one of my old friends back in the UK still watches VHS movies as he had a huge collection of them and bought 3 or 4 top quality decks to keep playing them on. I do not even see VHS movies for sale on flea markets here any longer! |
Did they stop selling dial telephones and Elcassettes as well? Don't knock dial telephones - at least they work in a power failure when land lines don't and after cells run out of juice. I still buy CDs to rip to my server and keep them as safe back-ups, but I guess the same thing happens with downloading - unless your digital backup crashes, gets stolen, or corrupted. All of my buying is new/used online at prices that generally beat any retail source quite handily. Ironic that while the CD is now on the way out, vinyl LPs seem to be actually increasing share a bit - and they are a 'safe' storage medium. |
With the right equipment, and not necessarily the most expensive, you cannot beat or duplicate analog sound reproduction, ie LP’s. There is just something inherently special and warm about playing a well recorded record. I mostly own and play older original copies of 1950’s and 60’s records, a lot of them bought on both Ebay and local thrift stores. Some of these records were scores and virtually unplayed, while others were a bit of a disappointment . In general, with a proper turntable and cartridge etc I think my records sound better than any download or streaming medium. I probably continue to buy at least a half dozen or more records every month, even though I say no more, enuff etc....lol. I will also buy a cd or 2 or 3 when I see something I dont have. I grab these mostly from yes...my local Walmart! They still have a pretty decent selection for the time being. If I dont find what I need at Walmart, I buy on Amazon or Ebay. Right now I play my records on a pro-ject the classic sb using a hana el low output mc, playing through a pro-ject tube box ds. A great combo for not an outrageous amount of money. |
@larry5729: What I don't like about streaming is the "verification" problem - particularly of data sourced from analog tape. What generation was used for the data conversion? The master tape, the second copy, the third copy ... ? Analog tape is certainly prone to degradation by making multiple copies! Digital recording, no! I tend to favor recordings from the pre-digital era (before 1978). |
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It's about how they run their business. In today's world, much of business is moving online. So many retailers going out of business. But, those who embrace an understand the new reality are doing well. Best Buy, for example almost went the way of the dinosaur. But, adjustments in their marketing model have helped them come back strong. Walmart is a bit of a dinosaur. They are trying, but don't really get it. Also, if you shop online with Walmart, be careful about security. My credit card was copied and stolen, and I can track it back to only one place because I don't shop with this particular card very often. It was at Walmart. The brick and Mortar store. I will never shop with them online due to this, and the fact that the sellers are not actually Walmart. |
May I remind some folks of fiat currencies where with the flick of a pen, countries can be made bankrupt or with the flick of a pen, be made flush. Economies are manipulated by the few, under the cloak of security and secrecy. Historical records can do the same. Hard copy is critical. The same can go for the social and cultural avenues. the only way the new can be sure it is on real footing is to have the had copy record of the old. The council of Nicaea (there were two, actually) was all about the problem of hardcopy getting in the way of the desire to re-write the world as a new thing in a new way, in the form of advantage of the few in power in the given moment. When all the representatives of the different Christian sects arrived at the council to debate what to do..after having been asked to being their best and finest hardcopies..those hardcopies were confiscated. Hardcopy is, in the final analysis...everything. No sane man trusts the impermanence and fluidity of the internet, cloud storage, hard drives, etc... when it comes to knowing your history..and making sure the ills of the past do not repeat and that those who are rotten to the core, to do not alter the record in their favour. We see it now in the purging of Facebook, google and so on. Danger Will Robinson, danger. The motions are careful and inch by inch small, but the cumulative danger is sure, real, directed, consistent, relentless.. and ...immense. Human life and change itself lives and exists only in the extremes and edges of humanity, and has nothing to do with the unchanging and essentially dead middle masses of compliance. The problem for oligarchy is that corralling and creating commodities out of humanity is the only way to assure their maintenance of power and control. So they go after the very edges of humanity with unrelenting force and will. Gotta get that fence around it. Of course the middle does not understand any of this. So they (the middle of the IQ and societal curve) comply, stay ’safe’ and ostracize the edges of humanity...and thus kill their own future. Ie, if there is a hell, it looks a lot like this. It only stands to reason that a sane, experienced, intelligent, and observant person.... does not trust the door and potential/problems/issues of similar scope and shape...in the world of music. |
Recently in Munich I ventured in to the Saturn Electronics store opposite OlympiaPlatz Mall. Down the back right hand of the store was a treasure of cd’s dvd’s Blu rays and uhd movies. It was an absolute treasure trove. I immediately invested €200 and loved the finds there. The original Bohemian Rhapsody live concert ColdPlay box set etc. Unique experience today! Attending Munich HighEnd Show suddenly became worthwhile 🤗 |
What’s really “sad” is what passes for a hit song. This is the “Golden Age?” For convenience you mean? Has there been a legitimate hit record since the late 80’s? Am I the only one who hasn’t watched the Grammys in 30 years because the music or artists can’t sing or write a hit record? Is this generation deaf at recognizing a “hit” record? And I never step foot in Walmart. They don’t support their employees with a living wage much less healthcare. Why anyone supports them is part of what’s wrong with the world. Vinyl rules anyway. CD had a 40 year run. Vinyl never went anywhere. Get off my lawn! |
No coltrane1....you are not alone. Most music made today imo sucks! I'll take the old standards any day. Most new pressings suck too, you cant beat the older vinyl, those engineers knew what they were doing back then and they seemed to care. Unless you buy from say acoustic sounds or what have you, then for the most part you can score a decent sounding reissue etc.... |
I'm playing at least one Doris Day album (LP) per night for five nights as a tribute to "The Girl Next Door." She sounds terrific, especially on the "Day by Day" album. It's the kind of mono recording that has you wondering ... who needs stereo? Did someone mention something about streaming? :-) Frank |
"Teo-audio" apparently lacks the mental authority to understand how modern technology can enrich one's enjoyment of music. Rather than trying to come up with a unified theory of the end of the world, I might advise a subscription to Tidal and listening to some music he/she has never heard before. I understand that not all of us have the IQ to fully understand the marvels of technology, but even intellectually challenged individuals such as "Teo-audio" are capable of making an emotional connection to music well conceived, recorded, and played back. |
