Can Good Packaging Save the Compact Disc? U2 Gives it a Shot

I like CD’s but still have a place in my heart for tape cassettes. Test.

Yeah – great points indeed Colin. The actual recording medium has always been incidental. Back when CDs were first introduced, there were many who believed the public would be reluctant to buy them instead of the tried and true vinyl record. Nope – people dropped vinyl in an instant when they saw a higher-quality, more durable format. And when – not “if” -- something better than digital downloads comes along people will snap it up as soon as it can be marketed at the right price and through the right channel. I like your idea of just selling a cool set of packaged stuff. I do, however, wonder if a band with much less fame and a lot smaller fan base could make the concept work though. Let’s face it, a megastar band like U2 could put their name on a piece of dirt and it’d be snapped up by at least few hundred thousand people. U2's fame and several-generations-wide fanbase gives them the power to choose whatever medium they feel like using.

I really think selling the CD is a non-issue. There are three real issues here; selling the music, selling the brand and most relevant to Packaging Digest readers, selling the package. Pictures, liner notes and collectibles will sell. Producing a CD/DVD to include is waste of time and money. All the consumer needs is an access code. If you are a candidate to buy the box set, chances are you have a good internet connection. For the cost of the package, it would even be cool to have, and cool as a marketing idea to have, a USB key-chain with the U2 insignia on it. A Fan will buy that.

Yeah, Rocky -- good point. I remember the buzz kill years ago when people found out that CDs aren't nearly as permanent as originally thought -- they degrade significantly after about ten years. But hey, like I said, one format is forever being replaced by another generally better one. It is interesting to see CDs fighting back in the form of creative packaging though. Perhaps that will be their enduring niche -- as a "deluxe" alternate to more popular formats.

They may have had something if hey produced a medium that would not scratch so easey. as is digital only dies if you loose a hard drive

Yeah, Sophia, I tend to agree. It's an interesting rhetorical question, but ultimately I think the CD is unavoidably the next dinosaur format. That said, that's the norm for the record industry –

You pose an interesting question. However, I still think the answer is no. The ship definitely has sailed on the music industry as we used to know it. Even with a powerhouse band such as U2, the CD/DVD pack that you show is only one of their delivery vehicles. (I think they have three versions in addition to digital, including the standard jewel-cased CD.) For the record (no pun intended!) my personal bias is toward the CD. I love looking at the liners/credits, etc. I typically use iTunes for single track downloading only. However, me thinks the CD is destined to follow its predecessors--vinyl, 8-track and cassette into the dusty shelves of small niche stores.