Found this article interesting:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26626396

tldr version: Physical music formats have held their own, still accounting for more than half of all music sales around the world in 2013.

I have somewhat embraced digital music, particularly when it's cheap and convenient to obtain. I have felt some desire for a physical copy from time to time, though, particularly if the music is exceptional ("this is so good... I should get the disc!"). Generally speaking, if I want to buy music, I'll go with the cheapest option, and that's normally digital.

In regards to game music, getting it on disc is oftentimes the only way to legitimately get the music (as corroborated by your linked story), but even if it weren't, I think I'd feel some sort of need for the disc, as if it tangibly represented my appreciation for the music. It's a remnant of the mentality that got me into video game soundtrack collecting so long ago.

That said, if I do buy a disc, it is immediately ripped and stored away. I can't remember the last time I actually listened to music via CD playback, but "a decade" is a safe ballpark.

Interesting this article pops up just as I've been on my first VGM/anime music buying spree in a long time. My Zuntata Guten Talk Audio File just arrived today. I'm ripping it as I type. <3

I said this in an earlier thread, but I would support a lossless music option for digital purchases (no restrictions, of course). I would never endorse a distribution system where you're paying for files that have been gutted of their data. On the other hand, who would have thought you would be able to buy early-mid 90's Falcom and Zuntata albums on US iTunes awhile ago. That still blows my mind.

As for the article, I'm surprised only because the big stores haven't exactly been helping the CD medium. When Wal Mart and Best Buy condense their CD sections to half an aisle, they're not exactly endorsing physical albums. Even Amazon has been pushing the digital distribution.

I'm about as old fashioned as they come. It's just not the same for me just clicking on a link. I need the disc.

It may not even about the music, however, as I'm like this about a lot of my preferred media. I'll buy a physical book long before I buy a digital one. Games, too.

Thinking about it this way led to an interesting revelation. There's something about the ritualistic behaviour involved that is immediately compelling to me. Boiling my water, steeping my tea, dimming the lights, opening the window and reclining before pushing "play", or opening the book, or hitting the power button are so familiar to me that I could do them in my sleep. There's power in memorized movement, a feeling of control coupled with a sort of therapeutic release of tension that makes these small details so compelling. I just find this strange feeling is lost if I have to open iTunes, or open a browser to achieve the same result, to say nothing of the authenticity.

Just sayin'.

Yeah, I find that, paradoxically, I listen to music a lot less now that I have it all on my hard drive than I did when I had it on CDs, even though it's much more convenient now. Now, it's possible that I've just gotten less interested in music than I was when I was older, but it seems like the decline accelerated sharply right around the time I started ripping all my CDs to my hard drive.

I somewhat agree with this. This is why I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my listening equipment over the past couple years. I used a portable Sony CD player for the longest time. When I went to the iPod, it felt like some of the "joy" of listening to music was gone and I thought it was me, even though I had plenty at my disposal to listen to. Then I started reading about DAC's, amplifiers and different sound signatures, etc. I can actually get away with having a good closed headphone set-up at work now (vacuum tubes!) and that's where I do a lot of my listening.

I find my tastes haven't changed a great deal -stuff I liked before, I can hear more clearly, stuff I never liked, I still don't like-, but mostly orchestral and acoustic-based stuff has opened up with better audio gear, so I'm more open to that. That kind of music always sounded flat on cheap speakers and headphones.

It's interesting that the article says Japan hasn't abandoned CDs like the US, which I guess contributes to keeping our hobby/interest alive. As far as digital vs. CD they are both great in my opinion, without digital I would probably never hear any cool chiptune stuff like Ubiktune or indie game music bundles, and at the risk of offending, some game soundtracks can become tiresome on a full listen-through, but having it all on a smart phone and shuffling all I have a wonderland of surprise and joy: tracks that are a little dull or repetitive in the context of the album become interesting reprieves or sharp changes of mood, interludes when randomized in with everything else, and then of course Bob Marley chimes in every once in a while.

I think the change would have happened much quicker if all cars had been made compatible with most MP3 players early on. Lots of people still buy CDs because that's what they listen to while driving.

Too bad cars aren't compatible with FLAC though....it's a real bitch to have to transcode things each time for car listening.

I just use my player as a transport. Hit "Random All" and I'm set for the trip. Also, I can burn FLAC's to CD.

You mean the line in so that the car plays what the player is feeding it? I've thought about it but I can't imagine the quality would be as good (not that car quality is great but still)

As for burning, that's an even BIGGER waste of time, not to mention money and space.

I still buy CDs because I like the pride of ownership and the ability to physically display a collection, but that's just how I was raised. If I was 15 years younger, I would probably be all digital.