O.C. Consumers to Face the Music--and Increased Prices--for CD Sound

News that CD prices apparently are on the rise drew a range of responses in Orange County this week, from “So what else is new?” to “This really makes me mad.”

Shopping at the Music Plus on Goldenwest Street in Westminster, John Goulding, 18, of Fountain Valley said he buys a couple of compact discs a week and “may cut back on that now.”

But he also said he wasn’t surprised by the news. “Everything keeps going up--clothes, food and everything. You get used to it; there’s not much you can do.”

Most of the CD buyers at Music Plus and at the Wherehouse on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa seemed to agree with Goulding: They don’t like the idea of higher prices but see no point in getting steamed.

Asked if they might switch from CDs to cassettes--which are cost less to begin with, and which aren’t going up in price--most said that was unlikely because they’ve been spoiled by the purer sound of CDs.

But Jason Lee, 28, of Santa Ana, said, “That’s a thought, mainly because I’d like to tell (the record companies) to think about us for a change. I’ve seen prices rise quite a bit, and this really makes me mad.”

Fred Elliot, who like Lee was browsing at the Wherehouse, noted that the initial increase affects pop music, and the 58-year-old Huntington Beach resident said he is hopeful that classical recordings won’t go up in price, at least for a while.

But if they do, Elliot said he’ll hand over the extra cash with only a mild grimace. “You have to listen to a great concerto (on CD),” he said. “There’s just no substitute. I guess I’m a captive audience.”