Developed by Sony and Philips, the production of the first compact discs officially began on August 17, 1982 in a factory in Germany. It arrived on the market in France in March 1983, with a growing popularity during the 1990s, before being shunned during the record crisis of the 2000s and the arrival of music streaming. The advent of streaming was revolutionary for the listeners but much less for the artists. We know that a CD brings in an average of 1$ per record sold, a vinyl 7$ while a stream brings in 0,0043$. So we can see that the physical format is an asset for the artists in terms of remuneration and notoriety.
So what are the advantages of the CD and why does it attract more and more people?

A collector object for fans

First of all, the Compact Disc represents a tangible and collectible object that allows the fan to keep a physical souvenir of the music he appreciates today. It gives substance to the music which, as we have mentioned, is more and more digitalized.
Les Sages Poètes de la Rue understood this very well, that's why, on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the release of "Qu'est-ce qui fait marcher les sages", they reissued the CD of the mythical album of Les Sages Poètes freshly remastered, playing on the nostalgic effect that the format can bring.

A cult format

The CD also represents a mythical musical format, almost cult, after more than 30 years of existence and collectors with an impressive number of references.
Some musical genres have totally stood out from the others on the CD format, more than on the vinyl format: classical music for example, but especially rap and reggae. On this last point, Cyril Roux, Director of distribution at Diggers Factory, evokes a real history between this musical genre and the compact format: "Reggae had its glory days at the time of the advent of the CD, so most of the artists and productions were made only on CD and even if in the soul of reggae, vinyl is a cult object, most of the productions were released mainly on CD and very little on vinyl except for the very big albums.
The glory days of reggae CDs are not over as Grammy Award winner Kabaka Pyramid has released his second album, "The Kalling," produced by Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, on CD format. The year 2022 was also marked by the Irie Ites label which saw a steady pace of releases leading to a major production at the end of the year entitled: "Cream of the Crop 2022".

A democratic format

Finally, the CD is a merchandising object which remains affordable financially speaking but also very practical because of its size and its resistance. Hence its rather close connection with today's rap: NitoNB, 404 billy, Monster Florence...This format democratized by the price allows any fan, with the most modest incomes, to be able to possess a physical and collector object, with the music of his favorite artists!

Thus, the CD becomes again an essential format for the artists, and we even observe a diversity at the level of the personalizations of the object: "we start again to see limited editions, original packaging and even as for the vinyl of the CDs of color whereas before they were simply gray in general.

If you want to produce your own music in compact disc format, Diggers Factory can accompany you in your project, from creation to pressing to delivery! With our various partner factories, we will propose you the offer which corresponds to you, at more than advantageous rates!