Music CD Liner Notes Should be Published Online
If sales of music downloads are greater than sales of physical CDs, why don’t we have access to the CD liner notes online? I think CD liner notes are important and provide good information to the purchaser of music.
My recent online conversation with Bobby Sanabria regarding a couple of songs in his recent Latin Jazz CD release “Tito Puente Masterworks Live” is a point in case.
In our conversation, the maestro Bobby Sanabria explained why he included a few songs I mentioned in my review of his work.
Note: check out the blog “Bobby Sanabria Provides History of Tito Puente Songs”.
In an ideal world (and what I mean by that is perhaps a goal to which artists and the music industry should be aiming) the CD liners would provide more information about the material in the CD.
In the particular case of “Tito Puente Masterworks Live”, a brief paragraph explaining each song would be a music fan’s dream realized. So when you download the music from iTunes or Zune Marketplace, Amazon, Descarga, or wherever, you also get a file with the CD liner notes indicating the musicians who participated in the album, recording studio, when it was recorded, producer, etc, etc.
Music Explanation in Liner Notes Not New Concept
Adding some explanation about the music to the album package is not a new concept. I remember well that an LP of “Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorkino”, which was a double LP cover that you could open like a book, contained explanations for each song. Of course (you may say), a double album cover has plenty of “real estate” to write on. Good point!
CD liners don’t have this much space unless you want to add a booklet, which would increase the cost per unit and that is not a good thing. Here’s where technology comes in to provide another advantage.
Publish Music Album Liner Notes Online
CD liner notes could be published online. This will benefit not only the majority of people who purchase music online for download but also those buying physical media. Artists can add as much information as they want online, and the physical CD Liner notes could have a link to the website with the expanded liner notes.
There you go…no added costs to physical CDs for adding more information online, and everyone gets access to it. The site could be an additional page on the artist’s website. Or if the artist doesn’t have one then in the music label site. The same information can be put in a file for those downloading the music and/or the customer would simply get a link on the download site to tell him/her where to go for the liner notes.
What do you think of this solution? Wouldn’t you want to have access to liner notes online?
I agree. I refuse to buy music on-line without liner notes. I use iTunes to preview music I’d like to buy and then go purchase elsewhere. How could any self respecting music lover buy music without liner notes? The real question is, why doesn’t the music industry see this? Maybe people that feel the way I do are in the minority. And as such, it’s just not as profitable for iTunes and others to provide liner notes. “Follow the money.”
I don’t get how it seems to be such a non-issue. Your article has been out there since 5/19 and no comments before this one? BTW, the required e-mail may not be helping. I put a fake one in. Who would knowingly publish thier email, even one setup for spam on a web-site?
Still, great post and I wish you well. Do you know any software that makes it easy to scan liner notes and import that and make it part of the iTunes imported songs? Such that the scanned liner notes would be associated to the CD imported?
Hi Randall,
Thanks for your comments. You ask a good question on why isn’t there more push to get liner notes published online. I must think that record labels will not do it until they are pushed to do so. I mean, why bother with extra work? They don’t see customers (and I suppose) or musicians requesting they be available online. They need to start thinking of music as a service (an experience) rather then just a product. The minimal effort of publishing online the liner notes already done for the physical CD, can bring more customer satisfaction, and therefore, more loyal fans. Loyal fans will tend to BUY rather then PIRATE the music.
Also, good point about the site “Comments” requiring an email address. I was oblivious of this. I quickly went into the site settings and it seems that the “requirment” for email on comments is off, but I went in and it says that its required. So I’ll keep checking on this to see how I can turn that to optional.
Keep those comments coming!
I have thousands of CDs and hundreds of LPs I have digitized and boxed. This morning I was listening to a classical piece and I wanted to know more about the text being sung. I realized I no longer had access to liner notes and immediately went in to mourning and then got angry. I came across your blog while looking for some miraculous solution. I’ll stop my descarga here, but I have decided to stop digitizing until I find a way to keep the liner notes, too. Tengo las orejas que arden. I’ll keep on looking for something that works, but for those of us who like genres not in the mainstream of Pop-landia, I have found nothing.
Juan Carlos, I hear you! With most of the music sales coming from downloads, it’s beyond me why the music industry is offering liner note online. Technically, this is one of the easiest things to do! Just post a PDF of the liner notes, and done!
Let’s keep pushing for it!
Saludos!
I now take the booklets out of the jewel box after I digitize them and keep them in my office at home where I listen to music. In alphabetical order. The naked cases (and CDs) go in boxes in my garage. This is particularly important for me for the classical, world, and jazz. It will come when buy the music directly from iTunes. The old stuff you have se jode.
Pa’lante,
JC