We braved the rainstorms yesterday to have our traditional Polish hotdog at Costco and pick up some painkillers for my back. While there I remembered that we needed some blank CD's as our supply has been slowly dwindling through archiving of pictures and such. We found two types of CD-Rs for sale there at Costco - Music CD-Rs $16.95 for 75 disks and Data CD-Rs $19.99 for 100 disks. Since the Data CD-Rs were slightly cheaper, Carolyn asked the logical question: "What is the difference between the two?"
Knowing that music on CDs is just data, I thought I knew the answer and said there was no difference. However, a little research on the Internet (where there is never anything but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth) convinced me that I wasn't completely correct.
Music CD-Rs have been formatted with a special code that allows them to be recorded on CD burners sold with or incorporated into home stereo systems. Many websites claimed that Music CD-Rs cost slightly more because they are subject to a recording media surcharge that goes to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America. I wasn't able to find verification of this surcharge on the RIAA site but it sounds plausible. The extra cost could also be due to additional processing by the manufacturer to make the disk compatible with music CD recorders.
However, if one intends to use the CD-R with a CD or DVD burner that is sold as part of a computer, then it makes no difference which blank you use. The standard recommendation is to use a known brand with a reputable product.
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