HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR CD

Current mood: FACTUAL
Category: FACTUAL Music

25 years ago the word's first compact disc was produced at a Philips factory in Germany, sparking a global music revolution.

Since then more than 200 billion CDs have been sold worldwide and despite the cult of downloading, the Cd remains the dominant format....

The CD was jointly developed by Philips and Sony.

Work on the format commenced in 1979 and targetted a disc which could hold an hour of audio. The capacity was extended to 74 minutes to accommodate a complete performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

The first CDs went on sale in November 1982

The first CD produced was The Visitors by Abba.

The early Cds were however mainly classical recordings.Classical music lovers were believed to be more affluent than pop and rock music fans, and Philips thought they would be more inclined to pay the price.

The first CD players cost 2,000 Dutch guilders, about £1,000 at today's rate, taking into account inflation.

"When Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau recorded one of the first CDs for Polygram we discovered that he was grunting and panting while playing. Before on vinyl you didn't hear that but on CD it was crystal clear," said Frank van den Berg, a former member of the Polygram CD development task force.

In the last 10 years CD sales have been dropping worldwide while digital download sales are rising rapidly.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), digital sales will account for a quarter of all worldwide music sales by 2010.

CD sales in the UK have dropped 10% in the first half of this year, while download purachses have increased by 50%

There are no accurate statistics on illegal downloads....

Currently listening : 21st Century Dub By Various Artists Release date: By 20 April, 1999

1:39 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Edi	Is it really happy? Once thought to last forever, now making it to its 25th but its days may be numbered too (the end of my yesterday's blog entry). Posted by Edi on August 17, 2007 - Friday at 3:35 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	I think that these days, if a piece of technology lasts more than 20 years it's doing pretty well... In terms of predictions: I reckon the Cd will make it to it's early 30's and then like Christ it will die (but probably not on any kind of cross...) Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 17, 2007 - Friday at 4:59 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Mog Hartley	When Cd's became available I swore I wouldn't buy them as I liked the big Cover you get with Vinyl. However eventually I bought Cd's. I've never bought a download and I don't think I ever will as I do like to have my purchased music in some sort of package and you can usually buy the CD cheaper than it costs to download it. I feel Downloads somehow make music feel a bit disposable. Although I do download shitloads of free or Illegal stuff. Posted by Mog Hartley on August 17, 2007 - Friday at 5:35 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :

I've never bought a download and I doubt I ever will. Musicians tend to perform better when they're starving so I figure it's better to let them starve...)) Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 17, 2007 - Friday at 5:50 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]