Re: Beer Budget CD Release Strategy as an Alternative to The WayIt's Normally Done

[andy butler <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk>]

Rick Walker wrote:

> 
> I keep noticing that it always seems to be musicians and golden ear 
> audiophiles  who tweak out about the
> way a record is recorded.
> 
> Most people just hear music..................................You know 
> this is the case because
> the MP3 is rapidly supplanting the CD as the coin of the realm  and CDs 
> sound vastly better
> than MP3s.
> 

For most people, familiar music sounds good enough on mp3.
It seems that the vast majority of music consumption is
based on hearing something easily recognised, and it's
the familiarity which is appreciated. In this
case mp3 is presumably "close enough".
The same phenomenon can be heard with function bands,
they play their covers with enough accuracy to be easily
recognisable, and hence fulfil their function.

I'd be guessing though, that with new and unfamiliar music
the reproduction quality becomes more significant, as people
will (hopefully) be listening as well as hearing.

I'd 100% agree with you, most people I meet have no idea 
that their missing anything from their mp3's (or from 
the "sound enharncements" provided by i-pod/i-tunes).
I wouldn't however deduce from this that creators of
new music don't need to worry about sound quality,
I expect that the unfamiliar needs to sound good to
be convincing.

andy butler