Compact discs are slipping

A coffee chain’s decision to stop selling CDs sounds like the death knell for the format

Is the compact disc era over as we know it? iStock Photo

The compact disc has had a good run, but now it’s coming to an end. The format for music CDs was agreed upon between Philips and Sony in 1979; its 120mm diameter apparently chosen because it would allow enough space for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. By the end of the 1980s, CDs had become the major distribution method for music, superseding vinyl records.

While online streaming and digital downloads are now the main way of purchasing music, CDs are still available – but not at Starbucks from the end of March. The US-owned cafe chain has long been a supporter of music on CD, playing songs from a diverse range of artists and selling an album of the week. But if you walk into a coffee shop now, most people are wearing earphones listening to their own music. While vinyl is making a comeback among music purists and hipsters, CDs have outlived their usefulness for both music and data storage. Once gone, we’re unlikely to see or hear of them again.