re: Nobody buys CDs...
Correct, but there's an upsurge starting to happen. Goes in waves. Vinyl got a nice comeback, frankly, due to old fogeys now having money to burn and feeling nostalgic, and young people who don't know any better thinking it's cool to have a turntable and vinyl.
But...CDs, as the most economical physical media, which are way more reliable than vinyl or cassette, seem to be coming back in style. And I'm happy for that. I LOVE vinyl. But the cost is nuts for new vinyl today. And CDs are a way to get great sound, artwork, and a physical product. Looking forward to the pending resurgence. No hard proof here either, but I just get the sense from what I am seeing sold and talking to people. It's coming.
I noticed several years ago that CDs were definitely going out because my local Best Buy, after they rearranged the store, seemingly got rid of ALL CDs in store, and I think they only have a small amount of vinyl last time I looked (although they may not even have a music section anymore). My local FYE in my mall also significantly shrunk their CD section and it was replaced with tons of vinyl.
The vinyl resurgence of the 2010s definitely diminished the sales of CDs in many stores, even at places like Wal-Mart and Target, both of which carry more vinyl than CDs these days, especially since many pop artists are putting their albums on vinyl (and it's usually easy to do so because it seems like many pop albums are under the 40-45 minute range, so single LPs are easier to stock).
I grew up in the CD generation, through the late 80s and 90s, I got into music via CDs and had many portable CD players I brought with me to school and on trips through high school and college. Unless something is only available on vinyl or digital, I always get the CD first, and until they phase them out, I always will.
Tying this back into the LFNA releases, part of me is glad that the new versions of older YJR releases aren't too much different. I still haven't heard/read any comparisons between LFNA and YJR that say the remastering is any great improvement or not, and since I don't listen to them that often anyway, it saves me time and money from buying them again.
There is much less plastic used in digipacks so I think they are cheaper in production, but that's just my guess, I don't have any hard proof either.
I'd believe that. I'm sure a lot of companies are trying to phase out jewel cases because digipaks are more environmentally friendly. I personally prefer mediabooks with their hardcover style front and back and the glued-in booklet in the middle. If they arrive in pristine condition, they're so beautiful to look at and feel very premium, and generally still fit on most CD shelves.
-Marc.