lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,788
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Post by lidar2 on Jul 29, 2019 11:13:22 GMT
Thinking about it, what would be the downsides for BF if they decided they were going DL only at a predetermined date in the future?
There would be the one-off transitional costs - They would have to honour all existing pre-orders, but they would presumably stop taking pre-orders for CDs on new announcements, and set limits on the number of CDs for stuff already announced (like they did with Class) - They would have to sell off a lot of stock cheap, but they do that fairly regularly anyway - They might have to buy themselves out of a lease on their warehouse, but then maybe JHE owns the premises personally, or else maybe they could sub-let to someone else - Redundancy costs for warehouse staff
In terms of on-going business, after the one-off costs have been absorbed, what would the ongoing costs be? - They would lose one route to market, but would that mean losing the customers who buy CDs from Amazon, specialist shops etc.? or would those customers just start buying DL from BF or Audible - To compensate for the point above they may have to spend more on marketing to raise product awareness, but I would say most customers already find out about BF stuff from the internet, DWM, etc. so maybe not that much more - Would they lose customers who like the physical product and would simply stop buying? I can't see there being that many who would fall into that category - say if they got Ecclestone, Smith, Capaldi, or whatever story possibility makes your mouth water, would BF fans really not buy on principle just because it was DL only?
With regard to piracy, I don't think it would make much difference one way or another - I don't think it would make them more or less vulnerable, nor would it increase or decease it.
So I think BF are rapidly approaching a point where it makes sense to do it in terms of their business going forward. The only things holding them back would be the one-off costs, which can be managed/reduced, and their own innate conservatism and caution. In my own professional life I always find the killer question is - if you were starting from scratch with a totally free hand, how would you do it? And once you answer that question you can set your direction of travel, it's merely a question of planning and sorting out the practicalities.
That's just my take on it. I've probably overlooked loads of important things
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jul 29, 2019 11:28:21 GMT
I can't imagine there's anybody who feels like that but this is the internet so I'm probably wrong. I'm 100% DL for everything except Films (and the every decreasing number of TV shows I'm interested in that actually get blu-ray releases) and some PS4 games. But I don't do Streaming and make sure everything it backed up on hard-drives, even if it means doing some slightly dodgy things to get books and comics (that I've paid for) on there. I wouldn't say banished -- I wouldn't want to take the option away from anyone else -- but to me it's baffling that there's anybody under 70 left who still buys CDs. I can't even remember the last CD I bought. Or physical copy of a video game either, for that matter. The only physical media I buy anymore tend to be movies/TV seasons, and those only because the streaming services are so fickle with what they have available (especially here in Canada). Me. On the weekend. 2 cds and a blu ray. LOL.. I bought a book 2 weeks ago.
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Post by captainpugwash on Jul 29, 2019 12:22:41 GMT
Okay deep breath.
Physical only for me.
I may be in the minority, but at the end of the day it’s about money. I do NOT buy direct from BF as they are too expensive including their download price. If you shop around you can always find BF products ( new, not secondhand) cheaper. (Some here will point out the current companion chronicles sale which to be fair is the cheapest around but it is an end of line clearance rather than the norm)
So currently I am buying physical main range from my local brick store bookshop. If I order from their website and collect in their store it’s free delivery. I currently pay over 30% less then BF charge for the download. So I can get 4 main range cd stories for the cost of 3 main range downloads.
Now it’s my money and I can use it as I like, but personally I want to get the most for it. If others are willing to pay more for the same product that is their choice, although I think you are mad. It’s a consumer world we live in now and loyalty gets you nowhere.
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Post by vivdunstan on Jul 29, 2019 13:59:44 GMT
I’m mixed now, but still usually buy CDs because being in the UK the cost of downloads is just too high for me to contemplate unless it’s a sale.
At the moment I have Main Range and Torchwood single release subscriptions. I listen to them on my app, and decide if I’m keeping the audio. If not the CD goes on eBay, and it means I’ve enjoyed the audio for just usually £1 or £2. Versus a vastly higher price if I’d paid for download.
I also find boxsets retain their value very well, especially after the initial reduced price jumps highly. I can listen to and enjoy a boxset in my app, then decide I’ve finished with it, and sell on the sealed box on eBay for a profit. So no cost in the end for me listening.
I do think this is very UK versus rest of the world though, given the current pricing structures. If UK downloads were comparable to those in other countries I would be much more likely to switch to more downloads. Ditto if I was overseas and faced with the shipping charges. But I’m not, and downloads in the UK from Big Finish are obscenely costly. So unless it’s a sale I’ll usually buy CDs, then listen and decide carefully what to keep, and sell on if not keeping.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2019 18:18:33 GMT
It’s a consumer world we live in now and loyalty gets you nowhere. Yeah, I agree. My lesson has been learnt on that.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,788
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Post by lidar2 on Jul 29, 2019 18:40:55 GMT
I do think this is very UK versus rest of the world though, . Isn't everything nowadays? Memo to self - stop bringing brexit into everything
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mbt66
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,075
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Post by mbt66 on Jul 29, 2019 19:36:21 GMT
I was always a PPP (physical product purchaser).
But then earlier this year I got a new company car without a CD player, so I was basically forced down the iPod route. Fortunately, I quickly discovered how easy to use the Big Finish app is and the benefits of not taking CDs around with me.
It seems fairly obvious that Big Finish already want to go the Download only route, Take the recent The Legacy of Time boxset as a prime example. That was a very disappointing PPP.
The previous pleasure of visually consuming my audio purchase has gone.
The other thing I think is worth noting is that now listening on the iPod I find that suddenly there are so many other audio programmes available to me. As a consequence, I am now listening to less Big Finish than I did before.
I will certainly continue the PPP for my 4th Doctor collection, but I can see myself going download only for most everything else.
However, the danger is that I can also see myself buying less Big Finish in the future.
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Post by project37 on Jul 29, 2019 19:41:09 GMT
Marketing would be a huge challenge to solve. If they went download-only, they'd have to figure out an equivalent way of attracting new fans at conventions if they're not selling beautiful boxsets, etc. What would Big Finish Day look like without any CDs to sell/get signed? Maybe the answer is in smaller/limited runs? I know it's cost-effective to print greater batches, but what good is that if they're just sitting in warehouses waiting to be put on clearance years later? Time marches on; I agree with lidar2 that the move to a download-focused business is about "when" and not "if."
That said... BF media recently invested £I Million into a certain project?? Extremely wishful thinking on my part, but if they managed to create a direct streaming platform separate from Audible/Spotify (like Marvel Unlimited for comic books), I'd be first in line for a subscription.
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Post by barnabaslives on Jul 30, 2019 0:37:06 GMT
I am curious to find out if there is anyone who is 100% D/L only and who hope that physical product is banished - and the opposite. Those who are pure physical product etc.. Would be really interesting to find out "why".. I have always maintained and believe that both formats can co-exist. I'm 100% download except for items where downloads weren't offered. I certainly don't hope for physical product being dispensed with, I feel for anyone who's painstakingly built a collection of physical product and would like to continue. I hope they get to carry on as they're accustomed to if things will work out. I started with downloads mainly because by the time I'd talked myself into making a purchase, I'd be in the mood to hear the item right away and the download makes it all the way from the other side of the world in an hour, so it's the immediacy of downloads that was most attractive. I continued that way because downloads cost less, because of the lack of ability to upgrade previous d/l purchases into physical copy for the price difference, and because of the limited amount of physical space available in my environment.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Jul 30, 2019 12:55:15 GMT
I will always be a Physical item buyer. Especially when it comes to BF
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Post by frisby78 on Aug 1, 2019 8:58:19 GMT
Physical only for me when it comes to BF, music and film. I've never listened to a download and dont have access to the BF downloads. To be blunt I would stop collecting BF if the went DL only. Luckily I think that's a long way off.
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Post by Whovitt on Aug 1, 2019 11:13:01 GMT
I can't imagine there's anybody who feels like that but this is the internet so I'm probably wrong. I'm 100% DL for everything except Films (and the every decreasing number of TV shows I'm interested in that actually get blu-ray releases) and some PS4 games. But I don't do Streaming and make sure everything it backed up on hard-drives, even if it means doing some slightly dodgy things to get books and comics (that I've paid for) on there. I wouldn't say banished -- I wouldn't want to take the option away from anyone else -- but to me it's baffling that there's anybody under 70 left who still buys CDs. I can't even remember the last CD I bought. Or physical copy of a video game either, for that matter. The only physical media I buy anymore tend to be movies/TV seasons, and those only because the streaming services are so fickle with what they have available (especially here in Canada). I still buy physical copies of things for two reasons: 1) It's nice to know I actually have a copy of it to hand (I always keep things in a relatively good order); and 2) On days when I'm not feeling so great, it gives me a slight lift to see actually be able to *see* the things I have. It might sound a bit silly, but it's a nice reminder that even if things seem bad right now, I do have things that can make me feel better. Maybe I place a bit too much importance on material things, but if they help me get through the day is it really such a bad thing? So long as I'm sensible and don't buy so much stuff I end up under a mountain of debt, all's well In the case of Big Finish, there's a third reason I buy physical - that small jolt of excitement when there's something waiting in the mailbox. As a kid (about ten years ago ), I never got any mail, so ensuring that I will get mail (even if it costs me a bit more) means there's always an actual chance of receiving mail, which is always a nice feeling I suppose you could summarise that all as "It's all psychological really, he just likes shiny things"
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Post by number13 on Aug 1, 2019 11:40:01 GMT
I wouldn't say banished -- I wouldn't want to take the option away from anyone else -- but to me it's baffling that there's anybody under 70 left who still buys CDs. I can't even remember the last CD I bought. Or physical copy of a video game either, for that matter. The only physical media I buy anymore tend to be movies/TV seasons, and those only because the streaming services are so fickle with what they have available (especially here in Canada). I still buy physical copies of things for two reasons: 1) It's nice to know I actually have a copy of it to hand (I always keep things in a relatively good order); and 2) On days when I'm not feeling so great, it gives me a slight lift to see actually be able to *see* the things I have. It might sound a bit silly, but it's a nice reminder that even if things seem bad right now, I do have things that can make me feel better. Maybe I place a bit too much importance on material things, but if they help me get through the day is it really such a bad thing? So long as I'm sensible and don't buy so much stuff I end up under a mountain of debt, all's well In the case of Big Finish, there's a third reason I buy physical - that small jolt of excitement when there's something waiting in the mailbox. As a kid (about ten years ago ), I never got any mail, so ensuring that I will get mail (even if it costs me a bit more) means there's always an actual chance of receiving mail, which is always a nice feeling I suppose you could summarise that all as "It's all psychological really, he just likes shiny things"
On the above - I am well under 70 and I still buy CDs! I am in my 50s and as such I'm of 'Generation CD', having bought my first CD player in 1983/4 when they were ridiculously expensive and ridiculously heavy and the range of classical CDs was very small, but oh my the sound quality - and 35 years later I still have all those CDs and they sound just the same as they did when new, which if you grew up with instant-aging vinyl and hissy cassettes is still incredible.
So I fell in love with CDs when I was about 20 and I still only ever buy music that way (and DVD/blu-ray for TV/films). Streaming and DLs are extremely good and convenient but they are also ephemeral and if it's 'out there' on a server you don't control, imo it's nowhere. I'm happy to buy DL-only products like 'Transference' (downloaded today) but my first act is to copy them to a backup drive and burn them to a library disk.
Coincidentally, not only did we get 'Transference' today as a DL but I also received my sale copy of the 10DAs Vol 1 on CD and I have to say the latter was the more fun arrival. A new jiffybag/parcel from BF is always an event even if (as often happens) I've heard the DL before the CDs arrive.
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Post by Digi on Aug 1, 2019 12:02:16 GMT
Coincidentally, not only did we get 'Transference' today as a DL but I also received my sale copy of the 10DAs Vol 1 on CD and I have to say the latter was the more fun arrival. A new jiffybag/parcel from BF is always an event even if (as often happens) I've heard the DL before the CDs arrive. I have never heard "jiffybag" before this post, but now I want to use it in every sentence I possibly can
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Post by Whovitt on Aug 1, 2019 12:36:11 GMT
I still buy physical copies of things for two reasons: 1) It's nice to know I actually have a copy of it to hand (I always keep things in a relatively good order); and 2) On days when I'm not feeling so great, it gives me a slight lift to see actually be able to *see* the things I have. It might sound a bit silly, but it's a nice reminder that even if things seem bad right now, I do have things that can make me feel better. Maybe I place a bit too much importance on material things, but if they help me get through the day is it really such a bad thing? So long as I'm sensible and don't buy so much stuff I end up under a mountain of debt, all's well In the case of Big Finish, there's a third reason I buy physical - that small jolt of excitement when there's something waiting in the mailbox. As a kid (about ten years ago ), I never got any mail, so ensuring that I will get mail (even if it costs me a bit more) means there's always an actual chance of receiving mail, which is always a nice feeling I suppose you could summarise that all as "It's all psychological really, he just likes shiny things"
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Post by glutamodo on Aug 1, 2019 13:07:51 GMT
Some of my oldest (music) CDs ended up with "disc rot" and became unplayable. And that's a shame because early CDs had much better dynamic range than the crap they put out now, and "remasters" of old titles suffer from this.
Anyway, having early discs fail, kind of put the claim of "forever digital" to rest for me.
But with BF I've been download from my start. I did buy many on CD because that was the only way to get them.... but I think all of them except early Benny and Sapphire and Steel later acquired download versions.
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Post by number13 on Aug 1, 2019 13:09:14 GMT
Coincidentally, not only did we get 'Transference' today as a DL but I also received my sale copy of the 10DAs Vol 1 on CD and I have to say the latter was the more fun arrival. A new jiffybag/parcel from BF is always an event even if (as often happens) I've heard the DL before the CDs arrive. I have never heard "jiffybag" before this post, but now I want to use it in every sentence I possibly can
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Aug 2, 2019 12:39:07 GMT
I still buy physical copies of things for two reasons: 1) It's nice to know I actually have a copy of it to hand (I always keep things in a relatively good order); and 2) On days when I'm not feeling so great, it gives me a slight lift to see actually be able to *see* the things I have. It might sound a bit silly, but it's a nice reminder that even if things seem bad right now, I do have things that can make me feel better. Maybe I place a bit too much importance on material things, but if they help me get through the day is it really such a bad thing? So long as I'm sensible and don't buy so much stuff I end up under a mountain of debt, all's well In the case of Big Finish, there's a third reason I buy physical - that small jolt of excitement when there's something waiting in the mailbox. As a kid (about ten years ago ), I never got any mail, so ensuring that I will get mail (even if it costs me a bit more) means there's always an actual chance of receiving mail, which is always a nice feeling I suppose you could summarise that all as "It's all psychological really, he just likes shiny things"
On the above - I am well under 70 and I still buy CDs! I am in my 50s and as such I'm of 'Generation CD' Im 34 and it has to be CD/Vinyl/Books for me
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,788
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Post by lidar2 on Aug 2, 2019 13:09:48 GMT
On the above - I am well under 70 and I still buy CDs! I am in my 50s and as such I'm of 'Generation CD' Im 34 and it has to be CD/Vinyl/Books for me 42 and still proudly buying CDs and books, starting to question the wisdom of my preference for physical, but not yet ready to break the habit. Would not be devastated if BF took the decision out of my hands by going DL only.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Aug 2, 2019 16:45:39 GMT
I'm 38 and not only do I tend to buy CDs but I got quite annoyed last when I discovered somebody (nothing to do with BF) had released an album of actual music on download-only. I mean, if there's a download-only sale then great, I'll go for that, but at least give us the option!
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