Looks like CDs will be joining 8-tracks and cassette tapes at the flea market sooner than you think. The chief executive of one of the largest entertainment retailers in the United Kingdom has said that the shelf life of the compact disc is coming to an end.

According to Ultimate Guitar, Simon Fox of UK entertainment retailer HMV recently told The Sun that he believes the CD market will drop from it’s 2010 figure of $1.4-billion to $475-million by 2014. He also said that his chain of music stores will no longer stock compact discs by 2016. As for the immediate future of the Cd and his stores he said, “There will be a place for CDs, but it’s difficult to see out more than five years.”

The store will apparently try to keep it’s doors open by adding more mp3 players, headphones, and other music related tech to the shelves. A music store with no music sounds about as useful as a network calling itself Music Television and not having any music programming. Unfortunately for HMV, there is no way for them to make money off of pregnant teenagers and drunks from New Jersey.

Nothing new here (and the last comment was rather funny), but even if CDs are no longer available in 5 years I'll be playing catch-up forever trying to get various things I've missed over the years.
It's not like you can't find vinyl, cassettes or 8-tracks anymore.
But, my new music purchasing almost certainly will end when CDs are finished. Maybe I'll turn around and start buying digital music when I have no choice, but by that point I doubt I'll give a shit and I already have enough music to last a lifetime. Plus, if I need to hear live music I can still see a show.

The compact disc has been transitioning into a niche product for serious listeners and collectors for a while now. I really don't see a time that we won't be catered to. Vinyl has survived all these decades with just a tiny installed base. CDs will continue to be manufactured for as long as there's any kind of market for them. (And HMV will surely be dead and gone long before the CD is.)

Right on Linda!

Rick A.

I have long said that the biggest concern I have about compact discs going away in favor of digital distribution is that the album as an art form could become extinct. LP's, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, CD's....the medium changed, but the album format remained. I just don't know if the album format is going to survive if you get rid of physical media. Artists may offer a group of songs for download at a discounted price, but it just won't be the same as listening to an album from start to finish. Artists used to put together albums to be listened to in one sitting. I would really, really miss that experience. I mean, I love my mp3 player and listening to individual songs as much as anyone, but I still like listening to Sgt. Pepper or Physical Graffiti or Tommy in their entirety in front of my stereo system.

It's a short-attention span world ... we're just living in it!
Why listen to a whole album (CD) when you can just hear the "hit"?
Why listen to the hit when i-tunes gives you 30 seconds?
Music as blipverts...

I hope not. I'm fond of CD's.

I have a hunch that CD's will outlast chains such as HMV.

They will have to pry my CDs from my cold dead hands....

Simple math should fix this soon:

HMV=R.I.P.
CD+IMWAN=JOY

Thats the problem. All of the chains will either disappear (which has already happened) or just stop carrying CDs.
Yes, we will still be able to order some online (if they continue to be made) but shopping online will never match the fun of browsing a store like Tower. Those days are over and thats sad.

One thing I agree with the HMV guy as a retailer the CD is dead because the CDs are not selling in numbers that can pay the rent. Many major retailers in Australia have either stopped selling CDs in big numbers or have gone to Games, DVDs and Blu-Rays where the market is at the moment.
K-Mart here in Australia have 10% CDs compared to DVD/Blu-Ray and Gaming stuff.

I tried to sell CDs on-line for a while and struggled to sell them even at below my cost. So a retailer that sells them for a higher price than I was offering must find it tough.

As a medium for music the CD is the best way to hear music unless you prefer inferior MP3s.

I still buy a CD every 2 weeks or so as long as they continue to meet my needs musically and cost effectivness.