To I-Tunes or to buy a CD, that is the question

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wolfwill23

War Child
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Nov 2, 2000
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I can't make up my mind if I should download that album from I-Tunes or actually go to the store and purchase the CD. All of my other U2 CD's just lay around as I have them all on my computer.

Plus, if I download, I would be able to make my own CD with b-sides and Fast Cars, provided they are available.

What are you going to do?
 
As big of a supporter as I am of iTunes and Apple in general, I'd go for buying the CD. The audio quality will be much higher, you'll get the linear notes/all of the art, and have the satisfaction of physically buying the new U2 album. Plus, if you get the collectors edition, you get the 48 page book, DVD, the 4 acoustic tracks, and the CD itself with Fast Cars (according to Bono, anyway).

Plus, you can just as easily rip the CD on to your computer (perfectly legal, as long as you don't send anyone the files) and create your own custom CDs with it. You can even rip it at a higher bitrate (higher than 128Kbps AAC), so the audio quality will remain higher than what you'd purchase from the iTunes Music Store.

With that said, I'm looking very forward to purchasing the digital box set from the iTunes Music Store :)
 
FullonEdge2 said:
Everyone's gonna buy it. It just isn't right to only download it.

Only if you're downloading it for free ... iTunes doesn't count. That's the official way to download it and pay for the album.
 
Axver said:


Only if you're downloading it for free ... iTunes doesn't count. That's the official way to download it and pay for the album.


I still don't think it would be right to only download the album, even on Itunes. I don't know. Maybe I'm just not ready for the death of the CD. It seems like leaving music to the downloading factor cheapens the music. Music will become nothing more than manufactured crap if it's nowhere to be found on hard copies. :ohmy: I'm starting to sound like an old music traditionalist.
 
I am buying the collector's box and the bonus tracks I will download from iTunes. Then I make my mix with Toast and burn a copy for the car and headset. The collector's box will stay on the shelf with the rest of the collection. I am a geek that way, I guess. But I could never just get the iTunes tracks and not have the hard copy. I can't live without the other stuff - photos, lyrics, booklet, dvd, etc.
 
like gorman I really like itms. For everything non-u2 I purchase music off of itunes - it just is a really good site and I do plan on getting the digital box set from itms.
still for u2 releases I will be buying the collectors edition because I want all of the extra goodies that come along with it.

not to mention I think that itms will have some extra goodies that come along with the album that can olny be purchased by purchasing the whole album (bonus tracks like fast cars/mercy)
 
Gotta buy it. Have to have the booklet, standing in line with other people buying it, and you have much more flexibility if you buy it on CD, cause then you can rip it and make a whole new CD with fast cars if you want, take your cd in the car or to a friends, whatever. And then you can rip the songs anywhere from shitty 128kbps to lossless. There is no question. Buying is the only way for now, especially U2.
 
Something euphoric about walking into the record store and looking through the aisles for the letter U. There are only a few bands that each person really has an overwhelming feeling of Christmas with. You see the whole stack of new U2 albums, and you must decide on only one, even though you would feel better buying the whole stack to enlighten everyone with. You go to the cashier and you enjoy pulling your money out. You try to walk to your car with normality but are overcome with an unexpected anxiety that is telling you " Hurry!". You get in your car and unwrap the cd as if you were undressing your first love and the anticipation of those first musical notes is as bad as an alcoholics thirst for his first drink of the day. As the first passages unfold, you melt into a world of nothing but emotion and beauty.
 
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My steps will go something like this...

  • Order UK version of HTDAAB around the 16th
  • Buy CD/DVD version from Tower Records midnight sale
  • Purchase CD/DVD/Book version from Best Buy (cheaper + rewards program) on the 23rd
  • Purchase 5-10 more copies of CD/DVD as presents to friends/family
  • Order U2 iPod & iTunes
  • Order The Complete U2 through iTunes

Start planning for singles...
 
I personally like going to the store on the day of a U2 release and updating the people there that are 6 months behind on their U2 news and just seeing the flood of people to the new release section to go get the album....nothing really gives me a bigger thrill then that to see so many copies of the U2 CD going to the till at once...I get a lot of satisfaction out of it.

I will definatly be buying a regular edition and a collectors edition and not sure how I will get fast cars yet but I will.
 
I'd get the CD. You'll still be able to put them on your computer and do everything you would want to do with iTunes files.
 
CD's are much better quality than iTunes music store files... Having said that, it is rumored (not confirmed really that I've seen) that iTunes uses the master recordings to create their files. If that is so, then the 128 bitrate isn't that big of a problem because they are compressing the master recording, not the CD... People have said that iTunes files at 128 from the store are better quality than 128 ripped from your own CD.
 
Quick question, when someone buys the album on ITunes, that goes toward album sales right?
 
I think the new album may be the lesser of the new releases on the 23. I think this box set may blow all us fans away. 400 tracks is a huge amount of music. If you look at iTunes currently, they have all the albums (including the redundant "Best Ofs", and over 50 B-sides/mixes/singles/eps) and there are just over 200 tracks. This box has double the number of songs which can be found there.

I was glad to see a liner note-style "booklet" will be available as a .pdf file with the purchase of the box. Hopefully it will be more than just lyrics and photos.

I think we're going to get all the albums, including HTDAAB in the box (plus the B-sides associated with it already ie: Vertigo remix, Fast Cars, Neon Lights, etc) plus at least a representation of live tracks from all their major tours. Bono said during the ipod music event that demos would be on there. I'm hoping maybe the long-lost Joshua Tree ones will surface, plus who knows what else. I'm guessing some acoustic stuff, possibly the tracks from the HTDAAB DVD. I would be amazed if some of the Achtung Baby demos don't make it on as well. I think there's a good chance some of the early demos, from 80, might make it.

Either way, this will be over a day's worth of U2 (26 hours, I'm approximating, if each song is avg of 4 minutes). Over a gig of stuff. I just can't wait.

Additionally exciting is the idea that this stuff, these 400 tracks, will all be mastered. They will be quite simple to release on CD somewhere down the road as a traditional box (although not the "Complete U2" collection, as that would be 30 CDs worth of material). Someday, when the band finally calls it quits, there will be a LOT of material ready to put out as a line of vintage U2 collections.

Even cooler is that the will be releasing shows on the tour, although I am not clear from what I've read if it will be something loaded onto the ipod at the venue, or something that can be downloaded via iTunes.

So, again, I suggest that while the new album is great, the box set is something I've been waiting for for many many years. And now it's less than a week from being virtually real.
 
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