Amazon Sound Sample Policy

[Chuck Nessa]

Why not strike up a deal with HDtracks to sell 24bit/96khz (or 192khz) downloads to your potential customers, then you will be offering a superior sounding product to what CDs can reproduce?

And how many of my potential customers will have the ability to listen to these files on something more sophisticated than their computer nomatter the quality of the digital files? What are the economics of such a deal?

Have you ever done this stuff or do you just read about it?

Edited August 2, 2012 by Chuck Nessa

[Shawn]

Have you ever done this stuff or do you just read about it?

Any computer with a modern soundcard has at least 24bit/96khz capability and can be easily plugged into a stereo system. My computer has been my primary stereo component for the past 4 years.

Most blu-ray players can read 24/96 wav files whether burned onto a DVD or a blank blu-ray.

I'm assuming you are probably mastering at 24 bit resolution and then dithering down to 16bit for your CDs, releasing the high res files requires no extra work because you are already starting with them in that resolution.

I'm not saying "stop making CDs", I'm just suggesting another possible market for your wares. Audiophiles and jazz fans share many of the same folk. You could sell these files directly from your website and not even bother going through a site like HDtracks.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Shawn

[sonnymax]

Why not strike up a deal with HDtracks to sell 24bit/96khz (or 192khz) downloads to your potential customers, then you will be offering a superior sounding product to what CDs can reproduce?

Why not indeed? 24/192 Music Downloads ...And Why They Make No Sense

[DIS]

Speaking for myself, I've discovered and purchased many an album through Amazon's audio samples. Many are historical rather than contemporary, so it looks like my discoveries and purchases will dwindle.

[David Ayers]

Why not strike up a deal with HDtracks to sell 24bit/96khz (or 192khz) downloads to your potential customers, then you will be offering a superior sounding product to what CDs can reproduce?

That might appeal to some folks, but not to me. Spending as much, and in some cases possibly more, for downloads compared to a physical product is counter-intuitive and makes little business sense.

Well, I don't think we should pretend that downloading or streaming make less sense than they do. Here is one way you save with downloads - you only need to purchase the product at the very point you want to listen to it. There is no stockpiling or collecting, you can access it anywhere via wi-fi or even via 3G. It's really a cheaper way to do things (and streaming of course even more so). The physical products resell for peanuts with very few exceptions and just sit in piles looking old-fashioned.

That said, the point of physical product is to maintain a certain identity and presence, mainly by framing or presenting the music via the text and artwork, and even by the commitment of the physical acts of procurement and filing and by the ritual act of playing. Maybe - but even Mosaic ditched the artwork decades ago and there is a trickle at least of d/l's released with digital booklet.

Mind you, Mosaic kept the 12 x 12 format even for CDs - how retro is that?

[sonnymax]

...That said, the point of physical product is to maintain a certain identity and presence, mainly by framing or presenting the music via the text and artwork, and even by the commitment of the physical acts of procurement and filing and by the ritual act of playing....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who used to spend an entire afternoon traveling from one record store to another, hunting for rare, oop cds, or just titles on a long "want list". I used to call them "CD safaris" - remember them, Kevin? Hell, I think I even met Kevin for the first time in the Boston Tower Records store, only to see him again an hour later in the other local Tower as we both rummaged through a stack of discounted Japanese BNs. During these quests, you'd inevitably see familiar faces of like-minded jazz fans, and run into local musicians, critics, and colorful characters. Sadly, those days are gone. I only go to one record store now, and that's Jacks. Everything's online, and mostly downloads. Oh well, I've still got my memories, as long as my memory holds out, that it.

[RDK]

...That said, the point of physical product is to maintain a certain identity and presence, mainly by framing or presenting the music via the text and artwork, and even by the commitment of the physical acts of procurement and filing and by the ritual act of playing....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who used to spend an entire afternoon traveling from one record store to another, hunting for rare, oop cds, or just titles on a long "want list". I used to call them "CD safaris" - remember them, Kevin? Hell, I think I even met Kevin for the first time in the Boston Tower Records store, only to see him again an hour later in the other local Tower as we both rummaged through a stack of discounted Japanese BNs. During these quests, you'd inevitably see familiar faces of like-minded jazz fans, and run into local musicians, critics, and colorful characters. Sadly, those days are gone. I only go to one record store now, and that's Jacks. Everything's online, and mostly downloads. Oh well, I've still got my memories, as long as my memory holds out, that it.

I have had many similar experiences and memories - and miss them too - but let's not forget that with this change comes new and different experiences. Twenty years ago I might have ran into familiar faces while record shopping; now I've made friends and talk about music on boards such as this - something that didn't exist twenty years ago. What was once a local experience has become, in many ways, international in scope. Not saying one is better than the other.

[paul secor]

...That said, the point of physical product is to maintain a certain identity and presence, mainly by framing or presenting the music via the text and artwork, and even by the commitment of the physical acts of procurement and filing and by the ritual act of playing....

I'm sure I'm not the only one who used to spend an entire afternoon traveling from one record store to another, hunting for rare, oop cds, or just titles on a long "want list". I used to call them "CD safaris" - remember them, Kevin? Hell, I think I even met Kevin for the first time in the Boston Tower Records store, only to see him again an hour later in the other local Tower as we both rummaged through a stack of discounted Japanese BNs. During these quests, you'd inevitably see familiar faces of like-minded jazz fans, and run into local musicians, critics, and colorful characters. Sadly, those days are gone. I only go to one record store now, and that's Jacks. Everything's online, and mostly downloads. Oh well, I've still got my memories, as long as my memory holds out, that it.

I have had many similar experiences and memories - and miss them too - but let's not forget that with this change comes new and different experiences. Twenty years ago I might have ran into familiar faces while record shopping; now I've made friends and talk about music on boards such as this - something that didn't exist twenty years ago. What was once a local experience has become, in many ways, international in scope. Not saying one is better than the other.

It would be nice if both experiences still existed, but things change - for better, for worse, and for things twixt the two.

Edited August 2, 2012 by paul secor

[Rooster_Ties]

Wasn't all that long ago, really, when on-line samples were fairly few and far between - or a least a new thing.

I distincly remember when Allmusic first starting making them available...

Backdoor into Allmusic Guide - W/ AUDIO-SAMPLES!! Goof-up, but I've still got the URL's!!! (2004)

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who used to spend an entire afternoon traveling from one record store to another, hunting for rare, oop cds, or just titles on a long "want list". I used to call them "CD safaris" - remember them, Kevin? Hell, I think I even met Kevin for the first time in the Boston Tower Records store, only to see him again an hour later in the other local Tower as we both rummaged through a stack of discounted Japanese BNs. During these quests, you'd inevitably see familiar faces of like-minded jazz fans, and run into local musicians, critics, and colorful characters. Sadly, those days are gone. I only go to one record store now, and that's Jacks. Everything's online, and mostly downloads. Oh well, I've still got my memories, as long as my memory holds out, that it.

Ah, I have fond memories of those CD Safaris. I met and interacted with a lot of great people at record stores in those days. But the writing is on the wall - I am one of a dying breed. Most people just don't buy physical product any more. My daughters certainly don't buy much these days and when they do, they rip it to mp3 and toss the CD on a shelf.

It's harder today, but I still "make the rounds". Sadly, the search radius has gotten much, much bigger. Like you, I spend a majority of my money on Saturday mornings at Jack's... but it's almost all on vinyl!

[papsrus]

It would be nice if Amazon allowed sellers to redirect customers offsite to listen to sound samples, where Amazon won't provide them.

I go offsite routinely anyways when no samples are available at Amazon.

[A Lark Ascending]

I spent 40 years of my life enjoying LP/CD safaris. But I'm a total download convert now.

I actually get no pleasure in CD shops anymore - can't be bothered to wade through acres of stuff I'm not interested in when the online search is so much easier to target. Still plenty of scope for the hunt there.

I still love a good safari through a book shop and have yet to adjust my mind to the idea of the Kindle. But I've no doubt in time I'll take the plunge there.