What.cd gone

[realhifi]

What.cd is gone: A eulogy for the greatest music collection in the world — Quartz

[NOMBEDES]

Thank you, what an interesting read. I wonder if all the files could have been donated to a national library? (A French Simithsonian?) Looks like a loss to music lovers everywhere.

[sphinxsix]

Thank you, what an interesting read. I wonder if all the files could have been donated to a national library? (A French Simithsonian?) Looks like a loss to music lovers everywhere.

I never used the site so I can't say anything about it. From what I read I know it was huge. Here are some details about the shutdown.

 

https://torrentfreak.com/what-cd-shuts-down-following-reported-raids-in-france-161117/

[mrvco]

The first I heard of What (or Pink?) was in How Music Got Free. It's just nuts that such a valuable resource can't be legitimized somehow so the rights holders get their due and nothing is lost to the ages. E.g. Link to legit sources where available and charge something for anything that isn't commercially available and put that money into a trust to maintain the archive as well as pay IP holders if they surface.

[Ralf11]

need a WikiCommons for sound

[NOMBEDES]

need a WikiCommons for sound

 

+ 1

[tmtomh]

Yes - putting aside the obvious rights/legal issues for the moment, this is a tremendous loss. I have no idea the net economic result for artists and labels, but What spurred quite a lot of music purchases, particularly in audiophile communities, because its huge collection, meticulous documentation rules, and excellent organization enabled the easy comparison of multiple pressings/masterings of many albums - which in turn made it much easier for folks concerned about sound to go out and make a purchase.

[sphinxsix]

made it much easier for folks concerned about sound to go out and make a purchase.

or ..not

[sjay]

a very sad day indeed.

[tmtomh]

or ..not

Well of course. But I was speaking specifically about audiophiles wanting to compare masterings, not about the larger user base.

[Ralf11]

from what I read about it, it seems most or much material was not available to folks concerned about sound who go out and make a purchase.

 

it seems to have been very unusual stuff of interest to musicologists or serious collectors

[tmtomh]

from what I read about it, it seems most or much material was not available to folks concerned about sound who go out and make a purchase.

 

it seems to have been very unusual stuff of interest to musicologists or serious collectors

Yes, it was that and many other things. Definitely a haven for audiophiles concerned about different masterings. Also a haven for folks interested in obscure artists and albums, out-of-print stuff, and so on. Also frequented by small indie artists who proactively used the site to upload their own music to it, to get exposure and new fans. Also lots of folks there who wanted to download the very large amount of pop music that's not available to download in lossless format and/or in lossless redbook format (in the U.S. and other countries, anyway). And of course, lots of folks who just used it as people use a lot of other torrent trackers - to get music for free instead of paying for it.

 

I would venture that many of these user groups at What.cd had lots of overlap - people probably downloaded different types of music there for a variety of reasons.

[Ralf11]

all the info that is not 'owned' or copyrighted can be put on another server

 

an Intellectual property lawyer who likes music could donate some help

 

or... a reconstituted server could be placed on some tiny island nation where it is legally unreachable by the holders of the IP