CDR's Are Tabu in Japan

[MVB Records]

We're studying the Japanes music industry and bumped into something very interesting.
Is it true that CDR's are treated with disgust in Japan? In fact we read somewhere that there is a myth in Japan that says CDR's will damage your CD players?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :cool:

[nice gaijin]

I have never heard anything like that; what's your source?

[Mike Cash]

Thanks to the internet, you can read almost anything these days. In fact, your thread title is a wonderful example of the sort of uninformed carelessness that leads to the spread of misinformation. Look at it; a categorical statement of fact, "CDR's Are Tabu in Japan" about something you indicate in your post is merely an unsubstantiated rumor. If they were regarded with disgust I wouldn't expect to find them commonly stocked in so many stores.

[JimmySeal]

These days, it's almost difficult to find a supermarket, home goods store or convenience store that doesn't stock CD-Rs and DVD-Rs.

[MVB Records]

Thank you so much for the feedback. This is why we decided to visit forums like these. Well appreciated! :relief:
*** CDs ***
The topic of CD-Rs kept coming up in all my conversations. Apparently it's a real issue, in Japan.
CD-Rs are seen as *dangerous* - that they might BREAK your CD player!! I thought this must be total misunderstanding or myth, but found that there's some truth to it: that the oldest, earliest CD players, when trying to play CD-Rs, would malfunction, and sometimes never work again. Very strange.
Because of this, though, CD players are now marketed with "CD-R compatible" and people are actually aware of this.
This came up a lot, because when talking to the importers/resellers, they were SO upset whenever they buy something from CD Baby and discover it's a CD-R. It means they can't sell it.
All this being said, someone said he suspected the whole CD-R fear was a conspiracy manufactured by the labels who felt that a CD-R revolution would damage their $25-per-CD business.
CD-Rs are given away by musicians for free at their shows. Only printed and manufactured audio CDs are seen as "real".
It's just as cheap to manufacture 500 CDs as 1000 CDs. Most do even less, without penalty. In fact once you do press up 500-1000 CDs with a manufacturer, you're free to order re-runs as small as even 100 copies, for the exact same price-per-disc as you paid for the initial 1000-CD run.
*** - ***
In America, the music scene is all a-buzz about Apple iTunes, Rhapsody/Napster subscriptions, and the digital future of music. Because it's so covered in the press, I know many people think there's NO scene for CDs anymore, that it's ALL digital.
It really surprised me that Japan, who most people consider to be the most technological-advanced nation, has a music scene that is almost entirely based around paying $25 per CD in cash to physical stores. That the idea of buying music online has been decidedly shunned.
Does the music scene in Japan need breaking and replacing? Even to ask feels arrogant.
Perhaps this music revolution that everyone is talking about only applies to America?
Maybe Japan will skip this whole transition stage we're in and leapfrog into something much more advanced?
I didn't go there to make any decisions. Just to listen, look, and learn. So I won't end this with any conclusion