Janszoon

Yes, I think CD will be the last physical form of music. I don't see any reason anyone would come up with a new one.

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Psy-Fi

I've stopped buying CD's altogether, although I still occasionaly buy vinyl, play it, and enjoy owning it (though I don't buy nearly as much of it as I used to.)
I doubt CD's (or any other physical form of music) will ever be as collectible as vinyl (except for some rare titles/pressings.)
And I have noticed the music stores in my area are offering 25% to as much as 50% less for used CD's than just a year or two ago.
The last time I took some CD's to sell to one of my local music shops, the owner asked me if I was transfering my collection to hard drive.
I told him I was and he said it seems that most people are doing the same.
He told me CD sales were steadily dropping and vinyl was holding steady for the time being.
I just don't see the point of creating a new, physical form of music playback now that the age of hard drive and offsite data storage is here.

Zer0

I can see vinyl outlasting CDs, but they will be a niche medium just like they are now. There will always be a small amount of people with a passion for collecting physical music and vinyl is becoming the medium of choice for these folks rather than CD. I'm not sure how long this will last but I certainly can't see CDs becoming a cult format like vinyl.

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Plankton

I can envision some sort of packaged artwork with a download code somewhere on it that you could physically purchase from a retail store if it ever comes to CD's being phased out.

Although analog, and magnetic media are out, and CD is still a digital form, it's sad to watch all this going to the wayside. Like Vertigo said, I miss those days too.

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LoathsomePete

I know that with some vinyl copies, there will be download codes you can download the same album you just bought for your mp3 player when you're on the go, which I think is a really smart idea. I can definitely see vinyl outlasting CD's, I mean hell it's been around in one form or another for over a century. Bands will still continue to record and put out CD's, but I think they will become harder and harder to find as retail stores slowly start to phase out their collection, and if you want to buy a CD you'll either need to do so online, or at a live show, much like how it is now. I can definitely see some potential for USB devices, especially when they start to become common place in cars, although seeing as how aux ports are still pretty new, I doubt this will happen within the next decade.

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Norg

in the future music will come out from your thought the digtal chip in your body will let u scan from your eye digtal files and drag and drop them into the world ..so if u like u can share with other people or listen to it out in the open if u want

Zer0

Really, is this for definite?

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Norg

but before u can share your music with other people they have to pay $1.29 due to the chip being made by apple and them raping us LOL

Zer0

The day they integrate human thoughts and data bits will be the day the world implodes in on itself.

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Screen13

I can see the USB stick being something used more regularly within the next decade if they are marketed right and especially if the price of getting them in bulk goes down. Still, they can be very tricky to have around if one's not careful. One will have to get together a storage unit for a USB collection that will appeal to the music listener to solve a little bit of the collecting problem, one style for the home and another for the car. I feel it's more in use with the underground music community with some Mainstream releases hare and there, but there are advantages. At the very least, they should be a precursor to what will happen next for those who like to have some physical form for their music - who knows what will happen long after we're gone.

(Silly Trivia Note: I think there was an Indie company that released music on Floppy Disc. If someone would have made it trendy way back in the beginning days of computers, it would have been neat for a while!)

The CDs are more like Cassettes and 8-Track Tapes now - there are those who don't care to really upgrade now or stuck with a low speed internet that makes downloading a pain. Instead of having to deal with a munched tape, it's a scratched disc, but still with better sound than the Cass' boxed up fidelity. (Damn, the 8-Track was a great idea, but...). There's still a lot of Underground bands unleashing them (Empty CD-rs in bulk are very affordable, too), and that's what will keep it going for at least the next couple of generations in my view. I can see the mainstream weeding them out quicker, though.

Vinyl will be around for a while, but I can't seriously see it making that big of a comeback, although it will have a cult following. Every College area possibly has that Indie record store with regular customers who have to have their "College Indie Music LP/7' Single" kick fed. It's kind of special and still pretty damn cool. It's a tradition that should be around for a little while at least. As long there's great music pressed on the format, there will be an audience.


Another small bit of silly trivia...
Philco tried to introduce Mini-Singles that were like records or more like glorified sheets with sound (I have to more research on that). The Hip-Pocket Record players were one of those inventions that were cute until you played it in the car on a bumpy road with the mini-player in the seat next to you. You could get the discs in a way that could get candy. They were a very short-lived idea, from '68-'69. Nice try, but still FAIL...although not a mega-fail: they did pre-date the Red Box thing when all's said.