How much would you pay SOMEONE ELSE to RIP your CD's?

TONEPUB · « **on:** 11 Feb 2009, 05:51 pm »

Just curious, I keep getting correspondence from Moondog Digital and he wants me to write a big article about his RIP service, which costs anywhere from $1.50 per disc to $4.00 per disc (!) for his premium service.

Also, I kind of thought that doing all the work and customizing the album art, etc., was part of the hobby aspect of this.

I know we've written about some fairly expensive hardware in the past, but I think this is really crazy. I just can't fathom someone with 2500 CD's paying someone 10 grand just to RIP their collection, and take the chance that they won't get their CD's back in the proper order, etc, etc.

I put about 1800 CD's on my McIntosh MS750 in pretty short order, every time I sat down to watch an episode of 24, I just grabbed a pile of discs and it was done before I knew it, just a little multitasking.

Not to mention the shipping and insurance AND trying to convince Fed EX that you want 40 thousand dollars for the boxes containing your CD's that they've lost or damaged.

Your thoughts, gang?

maxwalrath · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:01 pm »

That's way too pricey for me, and there are others who will do it for cheaper, although they may not have as solid a marketing campaign as Moondog. If you search around here there are people willing to do it for way less. I've considered using a service such as this, and with my 500 CD's I'd maybe consider paying $3-400. No way would I ever think about $750-$2K.

What holds me back from using a service like this is I'll want to digitize any new CD's I come across or borrow from friends, so I'll have to learn how to do it anyway.

Also, 500 CD's really isn't very many. Truthfully, I would only use the service if it wouldn't break the bank to borrow every CD I could get my hands on from everyone I know to get copied.

bunnyma357 · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:02 pm »

I would think in the .25 - .50 per disc range would be reasonable, but still more than I'd spend. Another concern I'd have, is after a vendor has ripped a copy of the CD for one client, they'd keep the files, so when another client wants one ripped all they have to do is transfer already ripped files from one hard drive to another. Seems like with all the loudness wars stuff, you might end up with a different mastering version than the one you own.

Seems like it might be a valuable service for people who would hire a company to build their audio and music networking systems, rather than the hobbyists that read a magazine like yours.

Jim C

BradJudy · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:03 pm »

Well, this service charges $1-2 per CD - http://www.musicshifter.com/packages.php

If you have the money to own 2000+ CDs and nice audio equipment, then you probably value your time more than it would cost to have someone else rip your CDs. And I don't think that the process and doing things like album art are a hobby item for most people.

nathanm · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:06 pm »

My CD's what? Data? I wouldn't pay anything, for all I know the shifty bastard might make off with my music for himself and start dancing and air guitaring to MY songs! The nerve of some people.

WilliamL · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:12 pm »

There are a few people on the board that will rip for approx .75 cents per CD. Look up "Tirade", I think he still does it. He did a pretty good job on my collection.

Cheers,
wl

TONEPUB · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:12 pm »

I'm inclined to agree with Bunnyman...

With so many different mastered versions out there and the audiophile crowd being really picky,
I'd be very curious about this aspect...

Good responses.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:17 pm »

I suppose if somebody had an real excess of money and a real shortage of time it would be worth it. But if we were to stereotype this potential customer as being fairly wealthy, then it's entirely feasible he's got a collection of 5,000, maybe 10,000 CDs?? For the premium service you're now looking at $40,000 to rip and tag his collection.

If I had two or three of these type of customers a year I'd quit my day job and do this for a living. I think my 'area' would be all of North America. An added bonus to the customer is that I'd personally pick up his collection from his front door to avoid fear a shipping company would damage anything. When the ripping is completed, I'd personally deliver his collection back on his shelfs (in alphabetical order of course).
When I've reshelved the discs and installed the harddrive in his system, I'd take him out to dinner.

For that kind of money, yea........ Amen Brother, bring it on.
Bob

Jon L · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:27 pm »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 11 Feb 2009, 05:51 pm

$1.50 per disc to $4.00 per disc (!) for his premium service.

That's ludicrous.

I ripped many hundreds of my CD's, and it's not as daunting as it seems. For those about to embark on this task, here are my suggestions:

1. Pick out a few dozen CD's you listen to most, and rip these first. You would be surprised how little % of your collection you actually listen to. That is, until you become a PC audiophile and have instant access to all of it!

2. Don't try to build Rome in one day. It's totally OK to go through this process over long periods of weeks or months. Don't start ripping every CD in alphabetical order. I used to sit down and listen to music, and during the course of the evening, rip a few CD's without getting anxious.

If you rip your favorite CD's first and get to the less-listened-to CD's later, you won't feel as anxious to "finish" your task.

sts9fan · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:30 pm »

They should pay you because you know they are stealing it! Prove to me I did not pay you to take what I payed for.

dweekie · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:54 pm »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 11 Feb 2009, 05:51 pm

I put about 1800 CD's on my McIntosh MS750 in pretty short order, every time I sat down to watch an episode of 24, I just grabbed a pile of discs and it was done before I knew it, just a little multitasking.

I do have to say that 24 is highly addictive, and I get so many little repetetive chores done with it on (along other tv shows on dvd) that would otherwise bore me out of my mind to do.......

As for paying to rip cds, I think we as an online crowd are generally computer literate enough to figure it out rather easily. The older crowd that does not really use computers in the manner that we do may be inclined to pay for such a service. It's not too different from taking a computer to Best Buy and paying $40 an hour to have something very basic performed. At the same time, I don't think the TonePub audience really falls into that category of computer ignorance.......

maxwalrath · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 06:57 pm »

Quote from: dweekie on 11 Feb 2009, 06:54 pm

At the same time, I don't think the TonePub audience really falls into that category of computer ignorance.......

This is probably spot on.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:00 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 11 Feb 2009, 06:17 pm

I suppose if somebody had an real excess of money and a real shortage of time it would be worth it. But if we were to stereotype this potential customer as being fairly wealthy, then it's entirely feasible he's got a collection of 5,000, maybe 10,000 CDs?? For the premium service you're now looking at $40,000 to rip and tag his collection.

If I had two or three of these type of customers a year I'd quit my day job and do this for a living. I think my 'area' would be all of North America. An added bonus to the customer is that I'd personally pick up his collection from his front door to avoid fear a shipping company would damage anything. When the ripping is completed, I'd personally deliver his collection back on his shelfs (in alphabetical order of course).
When I've reshelved the discs and installed the harddrive in his system, I'd take him out to dinner.

For that kind of money, yea........ Amen Brother, bring it on.
Bob

Now that's value....

And yes, we've found that our core audience is 25-45, so pretty savvy computer users
in our crowd, just like you guys.

mcullinan · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:04 pm »

I would pay $0.00 dollars for a ripping service. How hard is it to stick a cd in the disk drive and have itunes rip it automatically. If you have had your arms and legs amputated in a terrible bird feeding frenzy, then perhaps I would think about 2 cents per disk.
Mike

Bigfish · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:08 pm »

I read Jeff's original post and kind of broke out laughing. You ship the service your CDs and an external hard drive where they will store your music, you pay them a fee to rip the CDs and pay shipping charges back to you. For approximately the cost to rip 4 or 5 CDs I could purchase another new CD or 2 used ones. My answer to the original question: How much would you pay Someone Else to Rip your CD's? Nothing!!

Ken

satfrat · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:09 pm »

Quote from: nathanm on 11 Feb 2009, 06:06 pm

My CD's what? Data? I wouldn't pay anything, for all I know the shifty bastard might make off with my music for himself and start dancing and air guitaring to MY songs! The nerve of some people.

I'm with Nathan on this one, with all that's available out there to simply do it yourself, I'm at a loss to understand how someone could be so damn lazy not to do it youself?

My answer to your question is $0!

If you folks want to spend money, do it on music and maintain your own damn library, hell that's half the funny of computer audio as it is.

Cheers,
Robin

saisunil · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:20 pm »

I could self-employ myself ripping my own CDs and put those saving to justify my next audio purchase

On the other hand, if I was in business of ripping CDs - I cannot see how I could sustain a business model for 25 cents a CD. If someone sent me 100 CDs that would be $25 only

To each their own, some people will spend money to buy time and it would be worth every penny for them.

Peace and Love

maxwalrath · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:20 pm »

Navigating WAV / FLAC, deciding which is the best way to rip, actually setting it up, etc., can be daunting. It seemed like a big issue a few years back because having compressed files was a necessity.

With storage prices coming down, I'm fairly certain that whenever I make the switch it will be with Apple Lossless, which I wouldn't pay anyone to do for me.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:40 pm »

There was someone here at AC that was doing this for a lot less than many of the outfits out there. Not sure if this was a service he was doing for others to the community or specific fella's or if he made a modest profit yet it was still less than many outfits charge.

Perhaps he'll come forward (or one of his 'customers'). For the life of me, I can't remember who it was - I think he even ran an ad in Industry Ads or Marketplace a year+ ago.

John

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Feb 2009, 07:45 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 11 Feb 2009, 07:40 pm

There was someone here at AC that was doing this for a lot less than many of the outfits out there. Not sure if this was a service he was doing for others to the community or specific fella's or if he made a modest profit yet it was still less than many outfits charge.

Perhaps he'll come forward (or one of his 'customers'). For the life of me, I can't remember who it was - I think he even ran an ad in Industry Ads or Marketplace a year+ ago.

John

That was Tirade.

Not sure if he is still doing it.

George