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Topic: What am I supposed to do with all my CDs? (Read 16476 times) previous topic - next topic
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What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Hello everyone

I've finally got around to ripping and encoding my entire CD collection. Huge task! I'll never want to re-encode them (LAME MP3 V0 is good enough for me, even if it's not perfect). So I'll soon be left with boxes of thousands of CDs I will never want to even look at again. And I hate clutter!

So what are we supposed to do with our CDs? This is surely a problem many of you have faced?

Presumably we are legally required to keep them? Though how much needs to be kept? Just the discs? What if I film myself destroying them to prove I owned them and didn't re-sell them? A big part of me really wants to donate them to charity but I guess that's immoral if I keep the music, is it?

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #1 –
I've kept mine.  I do have multiple copies of my MP3s, but the CD is a non-lossy original back-up.


Selling, donating, or giving-away the CDs does violate the spirit of copyright law, and yes I'd agree it's immoral.  (But I've done it...  Although I've never uploaded & downloaded pirated music, I have given copies to friends & family.) 

Quote
What if I film myself destroying them to prove I owned them and didn't re-sell them?
I doubt you'll ever have to prove it, but I think that would be sufficient evidence if the RIAA ever suspected you if piracy can came after you.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #2 –
If  you donate your cd, after ripping them , I guess this would still be considered here as piracy.
You might search on the web, through flickr, or google image, how people recycle their cd.
Otherwise it's  a bit a pity, to throw cd , especially if they were expensive.
Have you at least scanned covers, booklets ?

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #3 –
The legality issue varies from one country to the next, but I would say that it is likely that whatever country you happen to be in, it would not be legal to sell or give away the originals while still possessing the files. I don't know of any legal issue with destroying the CDs, but would not want to have to prove that they had been destroyed.

Don't you think it is possible that some time in the future you might get tired of some of your music and never want to hear it again, or you are short on cash and want to legally sell off some of your collection? It might even turn out that something among them would be a rare collector's item worth a lot of money and worth selling? These could be reasons for saving the discs.

Over the years I have disposed of some CDs that I never should have bought in the first place (after deleting the files), but I must say that I sometimes regret throwing out my entire LP collection after I bought my first CD player. Some of those albums have never been reeissued as CD.


What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #4 –
After working my way through my collection, I moved the CDs and the liner notes to jewel sleeves and recycled the cases. That saved me a lot of room.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #5 –
Did you seriously buy _thousands_ of CDs only to rip them to a lossy format and consider doing away with them? That's just ridiculous.

Also, if you were from the same country as I, it'd be legal to do anything with them. It'd be legal to download music as well. Sadly, chances are you aren't.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #6 –
For many of my CDs that I don't care about that much, I have thrown out the cases and liner notes and added the CD to a spindle that I keep for that purpose, purely so that I have the right to keep the files. That way 100 CDs takes up very little room. I don't even worry that much about storage conditions since they will never be played again.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: zipr on
After working my way through my collection, I moved the CDs and the liner notes to jewel sleeves and recycled the cases. That saved me a lot of room.
I did the same with windowed paper sleeves. It's inexpensive and takes up far less space.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #8 –
whilst not legal, nothing can ever be done about people selling/passing on CDs after they've been ripped. it's just impossible to enforce.

there are even services here in the UK that offer to buy all your CDs. they certainly don't mention anything about people having to destroy their digital files if they sell to them. it might be in the small print somewhere but they advertise on tv and there is certainly no mention of it there. they pay a fraction of what the CD is worth though. i'm talking pennies. they just take advantage of people's laziness because they offer free postage or even arrange a courier to collect if you meet their minimum requirements. people can laugh at the value if they want by typing in the barcodes of a few cds @ musicmagpie.com

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Grand Dizzy on
So I'll soon be left with boxes of thousands of CDs I will never want to even look at again.

I love to just grab a CD to look at it and read the booklet... If you don't have that feeling, you can probably just throw them away I suppose.

Quote from: pdq on
but I would say that it is likely that whatever country you happen to be in, it would not be legal to sell or give away the originals while still possessing the files.

Hah, wrong. I know of one: The Netherlands. We have a law here called 'Thuiskopieregeling' or 'home copy regulation' which says that you can copy any CD you can get hold of, as long as you make the copy yourself. If someone lends me a CD, I can legally copy it and give back the original. I'm not allowed to give away the copy however, it is only legal for the person who made the copy. Same way for DVD's etc. We pay a fee for every blank CD/DVD we buy which is goes to a organisation that tries to divide it in a fair way among artists. The fee was 20 eurocent per blank CD, it has been decreased recently, but they've introduced fees for MP3-players and harddisks. Fees are listed here, see the table halfway the page, even if you don't speak Dutch I guess you'll be able to understand what the table says.

It's a horrible system and quite a lot of people here really hate it, mostly because of the fee on harddisks, smartphones, tables etc, but I've made use of it quite a lot in the past. The usual notices of 'copying is forbidden by law' etc. do not apply here.

EDIT: on the other hand, one upside of the system, it is clearly legal to rip CDs and copy them to your portable with this law. AFAIK it is pretty vague elsewhere in the world.
Music: sounds arranged such that they construct feelings.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #10 –
Quote from: ktf on
Quote from: pdq on
but I would say that it is likely that whatever country you happen to be in, it would not be legal to sell or give away the originals while still possessing the files.

Hah, wrong. I know of one: The Netherlands.

I am quite aware that there are exceptions, Germany as well, but I believe these are very much in the minority.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #12 –
I want to thank each person above for their reply. I found each reply really interesting and helpful. Thank you everyone

Not bothered about having a backup. If I lose it, I lose it. Not the end of the world.

Also I'm not particularly concerned about the law, or being prosecuted, I just have a strong conscience and want to be lawful (if that makes sense). Giving copies to my friends and family doesn't bother me in the slightest, I think that's completely fair. But I would feel bad about keeping a copy of a large number of CDs I've given to someone I don't even know.

On the other hand, I have so much music and don't spend much time listening to music, so each album is not actually likely to get played much by me.

In fact, I've just worked this out and I'm a bit embarrassed about this: I probably have well over 4,0000 CDs, perhaps around 5,700 hours of music. But I spend less than 10 minutes per day listening to music, so probably the most hours I will spend listening to music for the rest of my life will be 3,000 hours. This means I will probably never even hear each song once, let alone multiple times. Especially given that there will be NEW music to listen to during the course of my life! So really, if I'm not going to even hear half of the music even once, it doesn't feel all that immoral to pass them on.

Sorry I know this all sounds a bit crazy but I am quite unconventional

Quote from: zipr on
jewel sleeves

Quote from: pdq on
spindle

Quote from: Hotsoup on
windowed paper sleeves.

Quote from: Makaki on
Try one of those 100+ CD cases.

Brilliant suggestions! Thank you, all four of you.

Quote from: extrabigmehdi on
Otherwise it's  a bit a pity, to throw cd , especially if they were expensive.

I agree, I hate throwing things away which is probably the main reason I made this thread. I was raised by parents who remember the war days and I was taught never to waste. My family have always recycled everything (internally). So really hate to just throw a load of CDs on a tip.

Quote from: extrabigmehdi on
Otherwise it's  a bit a pity, to throw cd , especially if they were expensive.
Have you at least scanned covers, booklets ?

No, in an ideal world I would do but I just don't have the time so I have settled for using other people's scans of just the covers. I'm not really one to read through booklets anyway so I'm OK with this.

Quote from: ktf on
I love to just grab a CD to look at it and read the booklet... If you don't have that feeling, you can probably just throw them away I suppose.

Nope, I never do that.

Quote from: pdq on
Don't you think it is possible that some time in the future you might get tired of some of your music and never want to hear it again, or you are short on cash and want to legally sell off some of your collection?

That is a REALLY good point. I hadn't actually considered that one day I no longer even want my music any more, but knowing me that may actually be a possibility. I keep changing and "minimising" my life. I recently got rid of all my DVDs because I just don't watch them any more. This is a very strong reason for me to want to hold on the the CDs.

Quote from: marc2003 on
there are even services here in the UK that offer to buy all your CDs. they certainly don't mention anything about people having to destroy their digital files if they sell to them. it might be in the small print somewhere but they advertise on tv and there is certainly no mention of it there.

I live in the UK. I didn't know about Music Magpie. Legally, it all seems slightly dodgy. Their key selling point is "get rid of the clutter" rather than "get rid of music you no longer listen to". Hmmmm!

Quote from: d125q on
Did you seriously buy _thousands_ of CDs only to rip them to a lossy format and consider doing away with them? That's just ridiculous.

Well yes I've only ever bought CDs to rip. I have never even owned a CD player. I actually hate CD players, they kind of make me nervous since I am relying on a "live read" of the disc, whereas with a rip/encode I know I am hearing something that has already been successfully read and is not going to skip. And there's no moving parts

I should say I don't think I'm alone. MANY people pay lots of money for music with the specific intention of only using lossy files. I have never even owned a CD player. I rip/encode everything.

Second, I should say I didn't buy any of my CDs full price. I get all my CDs second hand at bargain prices. If I like a song, I've always waited a few years to get it cheap. I could never pay £15 for a CD. If that was the only way to buy music I would simply never buy any music. Happily!

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Grand Dizzy on
Quote from: marc2003 on
there are even services here in the UK that offer to buy all your CDs. they certainly don't mention anything about people having to destroy their digital files if they sell to them. it might be in the small print somewhere but they advertise on tv and there is certainly no mention of it there.
I live in the UK. I didn't know about Music Magpie. Legally, it all seems slightly dodgy. Their key selling point is "get rid of the clutter" rather than "get rid of music you no longer listen to". Hmmmm!
Legally, they would just use the defence that they are not facilitating infringement of copyright because people who sell to them should apprise themselves of the relevant laws beforehand. And, although I have no desire to defend any of the countless vulturesque business like this that have flourished since the credit crunch, they would have a point. As for your point about the wording, the two alternatives mean much the same thing. I do find it noteworthy that they push the freeing of space as a main point, rather than the amount of money they provide, for we can all see that the latter is modest, to say the least!

Quote
Quote from: d125q on
Did you seriously buy _thousands_ of CDs only to rip them to a lossy format and consider doing away with them? That's just ridiculous.
Well yes I've only ever bought CDs to rip. I have never even owned a CD player. I actually hate CD players, they kind of make me nervous since I am relying on a "live read" of the disc, whereas with a rip/encode I know I am hearing something that has already been successfully read and is not going to skip. And there's no moving parts

I should say I don't think I'm alone. MANY people pay lots of money for music with the specific intention of only using lossy files. I have never even owned a CD player. I rip/encode everything.
For anyone of this mindset, why not just buy lossy files from one of the various online retailers available? Once I moved to portable players, I made that switch for almost everything. It just seemed logical as the CDs were just wasting space after that point.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #14 –
How many CDs do you have?
I'd buy those storage cases and move them to it.
Perhaps you can let go of the jewel cases and it will save a lot of room.

It sounds weird to just get rid of CDs. I actually like them.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #15 –
Quote from: Grand Dizzy on
Quote from: d125q on
Did you seriously buy _thousands_ of CDs only to rip them to a lossy format and consider doing away with them? That's just ridiculous.

Well yes I've only ever bought CDs to rip. I have never even owned a CD player. I actually hate CD players, they kind of make me nervous since I am relying on a "live read" of the disc, whereas with a rip/encode I know I am hearing something that has already been successfully read and is not going to skip. And there's no moving parts

I should say I don't think I'm alone. MANY people pay lots of money for music with the specific intention of only using lossy files. I have never even owned a CD player. I rip/encode everything.

I think the point was that you are ripping your CDs to lossy files. If you are not going to keep the CDs then you really should be encoding to lossless. That way you can at any time reencode to any lossy or lossless format while keeping the original quality.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #16 –
Think of all the money you spent on those discs...
I know I would at least rip the music I really like to lossless before throwing everything away.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #17 –
Yeah, make a 1:1 lossless rip with CUE, Logs, etc.
Buy a case where you can safely store your CDs and put them away.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #18 –
And please sell your CD's if you decide to get rid of them. A very large portion of my CD collection is purchased from used CD shops. They are perfect for ripping lossless encodes and then storing the CD's away for hard backups.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #19 –
Quote from: ktf on
EDIT: on the other hand, one upside of the system, it is clearly legal to rip CDs and copy them to your portable with this law. AFAIK it is pretty vague elsewhere in the world.


i thought it was still illegal to rip your own cds in the UK but a quick google suggests the law was changed last year. rather amusingly, i found this government website which hasn't been updated...

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c...aq-type-mp3.htm

Quote
Can I copy a CD that I have purchased onto my MP3 Player?

No, this is not legal under UK law. There is no exception to copyright for the purpose of private copying.  Permission would be needed from the copyright owner.

There are number of legal download websites available to the public that allow you to download music onto your MP3 player.


of course i'll buy mp3 copies from a download store even though i already own the cd. 




What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #20 –
I keep them. I'm certainly not scanning every booklet that comes with each CDs  Plus they look nice on a display.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #21 –
Once again thank you to everyone

Quote from: krafty on
How many CDs do you have?

Slight typo above, I said I have well over 4,0000 CDs! Er, 4,000.  They're almost all singles compilations and mostly double, so physically it looks more like 2,000. I have very few albums by individual artists, I generally find album tracks rather poor. Hard enough to find singles I actually like!

Quote from: pdq on
If you are not going to keep the CDs then you really should be encoding to lossless. That way you can at any time reencode to any lossy or lossless format while keeping the original quality.

Thanks but I won't ever want to re-encode. LAME MP3 V0 is good enough for me. I used to be the kind of person who really obsessed over these things and having that lossless original was important. But those days have gone. I just stopped caring! If I can listen to it in good enough quality, that'll do me.

Quote from: db1989 on
Quote from: Grand Dizzy on
MANY people pay lots of money for music with the specific intention of only using lossy files. I have never even owned a CD player. I rip/encode everything.
For anyone of this mindset, why not just buy lossy files from one of the various online retailers available? Once I moved to portable players, I made that switch for almost everything. It just seemed logical as the CDs were just wasting space after that point.

Well first of all I don't really buy much music any more these days so where to buy from is no longer an issue. But back in the days when I was buying CDs regularly, you could only buy like 128kbps mp3s encoded with goodness knows what encoder. No way I was going near that. I think things must have improved over the years but I still feel weird about paying for something lossy, and something that someone else has encoded for me. My opinion always used to be that I would never buy lossy files, though I guess I've changed now.


Quote from: marc2003 on
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c...aq-type-mp3.htmof course i'll buy mp3 copies from a download store even though i already own the cd. 

That is unbelievable! I am shocked by that! So legally, I'm not allowed to add a CD to my PC music collection!

As I say, I have a strong moral conscience and try to be lawful. But there are times when the law is so outrageously stupid that I just want to say f*** the law.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #22 –
My advice, just sell them on Amazon, Discogs, etc., like many other people are doing. As well, has anyone ever been prosecuted for selling their CDs and retaining the files? Does the above mentioned supposed aspect of US IP law even really apply, if no one has ever been prosecuted for it?
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?  ;~)

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #23 –
So legally I can't copy a CD to my PC, make a backup, or listen on an mp3 player. The law is insane. They expect me to go out and buy a CD player and listen to CDs one at a time, without tags, like people did in times gone by? Ugh.

I have reached the conclusion that I really don't care what the law is. If they want to put me in jail for listening to my own music that I paid for, they can do that. Bring it on. I am just going to go entirely with my moral conscience, since the law no longer reflects morality. I definitely won't be destroying all my CDs because that just seems wrong. I'll keep them for now and follow my conscience as a Christian.

If the government want people to be lawful, they should make fair laws that people can reasonably follow. These laws make criminals of noble people.

What am I supposed to do with all my CDs?

Reply #24 –
^i did mention that the law was changed last year. it's just that website i found hadn't been updated. hopefully this will make you feel a little better. 

http://news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Cons...edom-68542.aspx

but yes, until last year we were all filthy criminals for ripping our cds. perhaps we should turn ourselves in for our past "crimes"?