I'm not very good at predictions. Nearly twenty years ago I did a "hi-fi system of the future" article for Stereophile, and only one of my
predictions came to pass. (I think.) So the following might be total bilge. But it's technically possible.
One-terabyte (1 TB) hard drives are becoming available at reasonable prices. Assuming the average CD is 500 MB, a terabyte could hold 2000 CDs -- 4000 with lossless compression.
Now imagine a 10 TB drive -- it could hold (gasp!) 40,000 CDs. That would be enough for a goodly chunk of the world's library of classical CDs. Should
100 TB drives become available, you could put just about every classical recording ever made on it (400,000 CDs).
I think this will happen. In about 10 years (perhaps sooner), you'll be able to buy a huge hard disk -- for $3000 to $5000 -- with just about every recording ever made on it. You'd pay $500 a year to keep it updated.
Of course, this might not be compatible with classical labels' business models. Would the annual fee, divided up among all current classical labels, be enough to keep them in business making new recordings? I don't know.
But the "mass quantities" business model _is_ spreading. Brilliant's success with their Mozart and Bach boxes (based on the principle that, if it's cheap enough, people will buy just about anything) has inspired EMI to release similar compilations, at budget prices.
PS: It's a shame MCA doesn't release all the Command Classics in a super-budget box. Of course, many were made on 35mm magnetic film, and the machines to play them might no longer exist.
On Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 7:33:41 AM UTC-7, William Sommerwerck wrote:
Now imagine a 10 TB drive -- it could hold (gasp!) 40,000 CDs. That would be
enough for a goodly chunk of the world's library of classical CDs.
I think this will happen. In about 10 years (perhaps sooner), you'll be able
to buy a huge hard disk
Interesting view of the past.
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