Surplus CDs

[Ilja]

Hi, I'm not sure this fits better in this forum or the other, but I'm sure Alan will be able to transplant is should it be necessary.


The (first world) problem is this: I have quite a few CDs, most of them with works by the "unsung". Nowadays, I try to purchase only downloads as I play all my music using a computer, and never had much love for CDs as objects to begin with. However, every now and then I come up against releases that are not available digitally, or only after an interval (CPO and Acte Préalable, for instance) and I'm forced to buy another disc, which I immediately rip and then put in the attic.


Therefore: is there any institution you know of who would be interested in receiving thes CDs? I'd really be glad to be rid of them, but I'm obviously not going to throw them away or bring them to a thrift show (which would amount to the same thing). But I'd like to offer them to someone or something that can give them a purpose - they cost me enough.

[TerraEpon]

Well, technically it's piracy if you no longer posses the CD but still keep around the digital files. Just something to consider depending on your feelings on that.

[Mark Thomas]

Doesn't that depend on the legal jurisdiction? I've no idea, though, how the law applies in the Netherlands. That said, I think the key is the word "technically". Practically it doesn't matter, surely? As to institutions which might welcome CD collections, the answer used to be public libraries, but in the UK they don't want to know nowadays.

[Gareth Vaughan]

There is no law against ripping a CD to your own hard drive (or cloud storage) if it is for your own private consumption. Nor is there any law against giving away one's CDs, irrespective of whether you have copied them or not (in any case, who is to know?). It might be illegal if Ilja were to sell his unwanted CDs having copied them - but, again, who is to know what he has done with their content privately?
The really important question is how can Ilja put them to best use, rather than throwing them away. Public libraries may not want them but the music department libraries of universities (those with flourishing music depts.) may be grateful for them, or music colleges: the RCM or Guildhall School of Music & Drama, perhaps.

[Santo Neuenwelt]

Although we have a large library of chamber music CDs, we are always interested in obtaining chamber music CDs of the unsungs. If you have a list, we would be interested to see it with a view to obtaining some...

[matesic]

Pretty soon the oceans will be stiff with discarded CDs. I'm in the midst of ripping all mine - 1200 down and a similar number to follow, very largely mainstream material. I'm not sure what charity shops do with all the junk CDs that seem to hang around for months or years but quality classical discs still seem to disappear from their shelves quite quickly so that's where mine will be going.

[Mark Thomas]

I'm in the midst of ripping all mine

Me too - I've got as far as K. I've yet to decide what to do with them once the job's done, but I'll probably give UC members "first dibs" before I think about what to do with those that remain.

[Alan Howe]

I simply don't have the time to rip them all, so my collection will continue to grow...

[Gareth Vaughan]

I'm in the same boat, Alan.

[kolaboy]

Having in the last three months experienced the death of two external hard drives I can say I'm glad to have kept all my cds - and vinyl albums as well. Ultimately, this virtual existence doesn't seem to exist.

[Mark Thomas]

Double backups, one off-site, are the answer.

[Ilja]

Between the two backups, the cloud, and Spotify, I don't worry too much about that (and if real digital armageddon bursts loose I have other things to worry about than the question whether I can find Herzogenberg's 2nd Symphony, I suppose).


Santo, could you DM me your email address? Although the bulk of it is orchestral, I'll gladly donate the chamber music CDs to you.


I had tried the local library of course, but they weren't interested. To be fair, there is a fairly extensive national inter-library system for CDs that covers almost everything under the sun, so I can understand why they were reluctant. But I hadn't considered the conservatories, and I'll send them an e-mail.

[matesic]

It appears there are recycling centres that accept CDs. As a very last ditch, art works

[Hector]

You could list them on this site and see if anyone wants any of them? Might involve a lot of posting & not sure if folk can pay you for postage without Piracy whoo haa. Anyway, just a thought.

[matesic]

Surely the law can't prohibit a person from selling their own property, even if they have already copied its content (legitimately)?