What are your thoughts on

The "foam" tray in the eco-friendly cds?
I just found the Best of Rick James [go ahead and laugh. He was a freaking pioneer!] at a pawn shop in this format. At first I thought someone had just made their own case, until I looked further into it. Personally, if they issued ALL new cd-format releases like this, I am sure we could get used to it. But, it was definately funky [yes, I meant that as a horrid pun] at first sight/touch.

This is what I found after checking into it:

Quote :

The 20th Century Masters series is the best-selling single-artist line in music history and is being re-released by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) in its ground-breaking, environmentally-friendly packaging format. A first for the music industry, the standard package (both sleeve and tray) will be completely paper-recyclable, continuing the company's long-standing commitment to being "green."

To further reduce the amount of paper in the Eco-Pack, the CD booklet will no longer be offered. Official liner notes are easily accessible on the Internet at http://www.ilovethatsong.com/green.

UMe is the first North American music company to replace the traditional jewel case with recycled paperboard sleeves and the plastic tray with trays made from PaperFoam, a new packaging technology from Shorewood Packaging, a business of International Paper, that is paper-recyclable and biodegradable. Shorewood Packaging is the first North American packaging supplier to produce disc trays from PaperFoam.

If this has already been discussed, please forgive my lack of using the search function. I never said I was a great example...

that eco friendly packaging contributes much more positives to the world than Rick James ever did.

in all seriousness, i don't like the fact that notes, lyrics, etc are only online. the entire packaging is one of the main things that entices people to still buy physical releases rather than digital.

Yeah, taking away liner notes and inserts from a CD and sticking them on the net takes away the whole purpose of buying a hard copy of an album...I appreciate manufacturers wanting to be eco friendly though, we need more of that sort of thing.

Stender wrote:

Yeah, taking away liner notes and inserts from a CD and sticking them on the net takes away the whole purpose of buying a hard copy of an album...I appreciate manufacturers wanting to be eco friendly though, we need more of that sort of thing.

What he said. The reason I buy CD's is because of the booklet and other things that come with it.

Definately a good point. But, what if it is just another Rick James retrospective?

Quote :

in all seriousness, i don't like the fact that notes, lyrics, etc are only online. the entire packaging is one of the main things that entices people to still buy physical releases rather than digital.

Or Cannibal Corpse?

Quote :

Yeah, taking away liner notes and inserts from a CD and sticking them on the net takes away the whole purpose of buying a hard copy of an album...I appreciate manufacturers wanting to be eco friendly though, we need more of that sort of thing.

Or The Accused?

Quote :

What he said. The reason I buy CD's is because of the booklet and other things that come with it.

Or The Raspberries?

Do ya really care about the liner notes? Don't ya already know all about those bands?

I don't really like those cardboard cupholder things...

I agree they suck, I like the liner notes,lyrics,etc.

UNCLE SAXON wrote:

Definately a good point. But, what if it is just another Rick James retrospective?

Quote :

in all seriousness, i don't like the fact that notes, lyrics, etc are only online. the entire packaging is one of the main things that entices people to still buy physical releases rather than digital.

Or Cannibal Corpse?

regardless of the band... does not the packaging encourage the money spent? seriously, if the bands album can be purchased digitally. the bands liner notes, lyrics & hq artwork can be downloaded online, where's the motivation to purchase the physical release? especially if all the digital downloads are band & record company approved. it's much cheaper to print out your own copy DIY.

doesn't matter if i already know what the band is about or not... is it something that still holds value later? is it something that still inspires collection? truth be told, no. since the internet is infinite.

personally, i think that cd collections is a thing of enormous value. i think that the selection to purchase from is dwindling & that has nothing to do with the enviromental aspect of cds. it's economic totally. i think that cds are completely invisable in the grand scheme of the enviroment, & that the enviromental aspects of eliminating the collecters value will only hurt, not help the industry.

people who care about packaging will not bother with digital anything. people who care about digital will still not bother with lyrics, liners, art, etc... as they already have the copy of the track they heard. it's a trend.

Quote :

people who care about packaging will not bother with digital anything

Thats how i feel with the exception of out of print albums.

mc666 wrote:

UNCLE SAXON wrote:

Definately a good point. But, what if it is just another Rick James retrospective?

Quote :

in all seriousness, i don't like the fact that notes, lyrics, etc are only online. the entire packaging is one of the main things that entices people to still buy physical releases rather than digital.

Or Cannibal Corpse?

regardless of the band... does not the packaging encourage the money spent? seriously, if the bands album can be purchased digitally. the bands liner notes, lyrics & hq artwork can be downloaded online, where's the motivation to purchase the physical release? especially if all the digital downloads are band & record company approved. it's much cheaper to print out your own copy DIY.

doesn't matter if i already know what the band is about or not... is it something that still holds value later? is it something that still inspires collection? truth be told, no. since the internet is infinite.

personally, i think that cd collections is a thing of enormous value. i think that the selection to purchase from is dwindling & that has nothing to do with the enviromental aspect of cds. it's economic totally. i think that cds are completely invisable in the grand scheme of the enviroment, & that the enviromental aspects of eliminating the collecters value will only hurt, not help the industry.

people who care about packaging will not bother with digital anything. people who care about digital will still not bother with lyrics, liners, art, etc... as they already have the copy of the track they heard. it's a trend.

Excellent post MC666 and I agree 100%

mc666 wrote:

UNCLE SAXON wrote:

Definately a good point. But, what if it is just another Rick James retrospective?

Quote :

in all seriousness, i don't like the fact that notes, lyrics, etc are only online. the entire packaging is one of the main things that entices people to still buy physical releases rather than digital.

Or Cannibal Corpse?

regardless of the band... does not the packaging encourage the money spent? seriously, if the bands album can be purchased digitally. the bands liner notes, lyrics & hq artwork can be downloaded online, where's the motivation to purchase the physical release? especially if all the digital downloads are band & record company approved. it's much cheaper to print out your own copy DIY.

doesn't matter if i already know what the band is about or not... is it something that still holds value later? is it something that still inspires collection? truth be told, no. since the internet is infinite.

personally, i think that cd collections is a thing of enormous value. i think that the selection to purchase from is dwindling & that has nothing to do with the enviromental aspect of cds. it's economic totally. i think that cds are completely invisable in the grand scheme of the enviroment, & that the enviromental aspects of eliminating the collecters value will only hurt, not help the industry.

people who care about packaging will not bother with digital anything. people who care about digital will still not bother with lyrics, liners, art, etc... as they already have the copy of the track they heard. it's a trend.

Well said!

I'm not all that familiar with those new eco-packs. I've seen them in the racks, but never purchased one. The only ones I can remember seeing are only compilation albums or re-releases of old albums, mostly for bands I either have already or don't care about. Has anyone seen these eco-packs for a new release?

But I too am like the others here. I want the whole package (booklet, lyrics, artwork, etc.). I'm always a little bummed out when I buy a cd, either new or used, and the insert is done half-assed and cheap.

I agree with most of us - I want the WHOLE package, that is why I buy Cd's, otherwise I would just buy EVERYTHING on itunes!!!!

The eco package is like sex with a condom - you get the "product" but not the full feeling!!!!

mc666 wrote:

UNCLE SAXON wrote:

Definately a good point. But, what if it is just another Rick James retrospective?

Quote :

in all seriousness, i don't like the fact that notes, lyrics, etc are only online. the entire packaging is one of the main things that entices people to still buy physical releases rather than digital.

Or Cannibal Corpse?

regardless of the band... does not the packaging encourage the money spent? seriously, if the bands album can be purchased digitally. the bands liner notes, lyrics & hq artwork can be downloaded online, where's the motivation to purchase the physical release? especially if all the digital downloads are band & record company approved. it's much cheaper to print out your own copy DIY.

doesn't matter if i already know what the band is about or not... is it something that still holds value later? is it something that still inspires collection? truth be told, no. since the internet is infinite.

personally, i think that cd collections is a thing of enormous value. i think that the selection to purchase from is dwindling & that has nothing to do with the enviromental aspect of cds. it's economic totally. i think that cds are completely invisable in the grand scheme of the enviroment, & that the enviromental aspects of eliminating the collecters value will only hurt, not help the industry.

people who care about packaging will not bother with digital anything. people who care about digital will still not bother with lyrics, liners, art, etc... as they already have the copy of the track they heard. it's a trend.

That might be your longest post in the last year. I am proud!

And, yeah. From what I have seen, the eco-paks have stayed relatively in the cheap "best of" catagory. But I agree with the rest of you. I sure would not purchase this format for new releases or re-issues of classic albums. But, then again, I only buy about 5 new cds a year anyways.

I don't think much about anything afterall, I am a drummer

One good aspect perhaps is that if you were out camping you'd have something to wipe with, just a thought.

Laterz

James B. wrote:

I don't think much about anything afterall, I am a drummer

One good aspect perhaps is that if you were out camping you'd have something to wipe with, just a thought.

Laterz

I hear you drummers are the Rodney Dangerfield's of music - get no respect!

This kind of packaging works well for "best of" and other types of compilations since most of those that purchase these type of cds are not looking for any in-depth info about the artist or the tracks therein. They just want to hear the artists most famous songs and thats it.

For regular releases however, I think we should be given a choice in the kind of packaging we can purchase. The trend of releasing super-deluxe versions in both cd and vinyl formats proves that people are willing to purchase better packaged editions.

they suck, along with digipaks, give me a freckin jewel case.

Not being one who buys into this living green BS, this burns my hide. It's bad enough I have people telling me I'm evil because I drive my car or don't use squiggly bulbs, now their attacking one of my favorite things. LEAVE CDs ALONE! They're great they way they are.

"Living Green BS". haha. Time will tell, my brother. But in reality, it really does not take that much of an effort to help out on an individual basis. Don't let the radicals get you down. Just be logical and you will still do this planet [and your childrens' planet] a world of good. [and they will never know...hahahahahahahahaha...]

DallasBlack wrote:

squiggly bulbs

New band name!!!! Hurry up and copyright it.

I understand where DB is coming from. Out here on the left coast they can make you feel guilty for breathing. Wouldn't a better approach be a more reasonable one, especially when the dirt eaters go to their protests in smoke spewing VW's? I'm for doing what I can, I even have the squiggly bulbs, but dang, people got to live.

I don't think that they would go through with this eco-friendly stuff, because, like many people have mentioned already, it takes away the value of collecting the CD. If all the linear notes are online, and not in the palm of your hands, what IS stopping from just downloading the music? People who buy CD's are buying them for the personal aspect of them.

xyz wrote:

Stender wrote:

Yeah, taking away liner notes and inserts from a CD and sticking them on the net takes away the whole purpose of buying a hard copy of an album...I appreciate manufacturers wanting to be eco friendly though, we need more of that sort of thing.

What he said. The reason I buy CD's is because of the booklet and other things that come with it.

Echo. It's all a part of the master plan to make us all give up on tangible packaging and buy online. Bwahaha!!!

UNCLE SAXON wrote:

"Living Green BS". haha. Time will tell, my brother. But in reality, it really does not take that much of an effort to help out on an individual basis. Don't let the radicals get you down. Just be logical and you will still do this planet [and your childrens' planet] a world of good. [and they will never know...hahahahahahahahaha...]

Oh, I'm all for a clean planet. I love camping and nature and hate like hell to see trash everywhere. I believe that we can do better at keeping the planet clean but I don't believe that my driving has anything to do with hurricanes in Flordia or hot weather in the summer. I have no problem with people doing what they think is right (within reason of course) but the constant preaching gets annoying.