Uncertain. I agree there are seldom more than 2 or 3 stand outs per disc, but dare say they are a different 2 or 3 with each of us. And, to stand out on the newsagents shelf, to attract the casual first time buyer, if the choice for a 34-5 music mag is between one witha cover disc and one without, usually the one with will get the purchase. Record Collector is probably the exception to that, with neither a disc,nor, often, nothing remotely connected to 2008 on the cover. (Same as Word/Slomo/Unshod then, reply the masses)
Keep it going, but the odd pick of the old music,rather than just the new or the newly re-released might be fun. Much as the cover discs on the competition can be equivalently pick'n'mix (or is that pick'n'miss), the concept themes they have can be quite interesting.

and I'd also like to see less of the magazine given over to music.

Or more?
Much as I can see how the telly/film/book sections of this blog run and run, are we not, in the main music obsessive/compulsives?
Actually,the mix is just about right, even if I know nothing about american cult tv shows like the Wire. One day I may explore, but my life is currently too full to have telly too, Corrie notwithstanding.....

the cover disc - I've only just got round to listening to a years worth on a long car journey and they work for me as an alternative to radio. But I don't begrudge them being there - and don't begrudge paying for them.

In a market where everyone has a cover mount CD it's pretty obvious that they have a place. The idea behind them is good as well - 'Hey, listen to this! It's great!'. Although I have to admit that some of the Mojo covermounts have been absolute crackers, in particular the 'Heavy Nuggets' heavy rock one they did a few months back.

It's all perfect. It's like arguing the difference between completely amazing and totally fabulous

I will be cured of my collecting/hoarding addiction. I will rid my attic of old copies of Q & Mojo. My drawers will stop overflowing with old CDs given away with music magazines.

Until then I will gratefully receive what The Word has to offer but would wish for more variety; oldies but goodies, comedy, spoken word, Prog (no chance - Ed.)

Part of my cure is to pass on my old copies of The Word to friends to spread, er, the word. I should do the same with the CDs I have tired of. But not just yet please.

all pretty much as is. CD doesn't always do it for me and I don't always listen to it. But I have found some really interesting stuff via the cd. I also suspect its not that huge a part of the cover price. So leave it as is.

The balance of the mag is fine with me. I tend to read it in bits nowadays (we have 6 month old twins which, with work, make life pretty full). I often leave some articles to the end if I don't have much interest in the subject only to find they the most interesting one in that edition. The reviews, I always leave until the end apart from any that relate to albums I have bought.

This edition I particularly like the Randy Newman interview - don't own any of his stuff but may well investigate the new CD.

I hate the way Gracenotes fills out the artist name with the band name. It should instead be listed as Various Artists. If you rip the music as iTunes/Gracenotes wants you will have a very messy music folder loaded with a long list of folders with only one song in it. I take a good four or so minutes to copy and paste the band name over onto the track title and then change the artist name over to Various Artists. This is logical, yes? Does anyone else do as I do? Is there any benefit to doing it the Gracenotes way?

iTunes at least has a way to group tracks from compilations together, but what about those with older, different software that doesn't have this feature?

I would hate to lose the cover CD. And although technically it could easily be replaced by a download link to MP3s there is, for me at least, a sense of it being more intrinsically worth listening to when available on CD - particularly when coupled with an attractive sleeve and not just stuck to the magazine or placed in an anonymous bag. In other words its perceived value.

As many others have already said, it has introduced me to music I would probably otherwise never have heard and although not all of it is to my taste, a surprisingly large amount is.

And whilst the artists are taken from all over the world, there is nonetheless a UK-centric perspective (probably unavoidable) that particularly appeals to somebody like myself who lives abroad.

I find I agree with Patrick - I'd like more articles on other subjects too - so maybe it's those of us who'd like less music who can do without the cd.

If I remember rightly early issues of the Word were marketed as more than (just)another music magazine. Maybe I just want The Word to be something else.

Early issues also had no cd. Did the addition of the cd lead to increased sales? If so - fair enough, keep them coming, I guess -I just don't like throwing stuff away that I didn't want in the first place - seems like a modern malaise to me.

I'd be interested to know, too, how much of the cover price is the cost of the cd. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying The Word costs too much, nor do I resent getting the cd, I'd just rather not bother with it.

From all the cds I have received - which is most of them, only one track led me to purchase music by that artist. I've given up buying cds altogether and am wondering how best to get rid of the thousand or so discs I have. Extra discs just add to the problem.

I usually listen to it once and then bin it. I'm sure it's had some great stuff on it but it's also had some pretty terrible stuff as well. I discover a lot more bands through the articles in the magazine itself.
I would prefer a cheaper cover price and perhaps an MP3 blog style bit on the Word website where you can download either individual songs or the whole Cd's worth in one click.
But what do I know?

30-second snippets of all the records reviewed or featured that month. Wouldn't it be great listen to bits of what Ry Cooder's been up to recently while reading the interview with the bloke himself talking it up?

We do it here on the website all the time by posting clips of what we're arguing the toss about. Can't the magazine do something similar?

Sure they can be a bit hit and miss but I've bought loads of music after hearing of artists/bands for the first time on them.
If you could feature more world, jazz and reggae music on there they would be even better in my opinion.

like the CD when it has stuff on it I like, so more stuff on the CD I like, please...

...I always find something of interest on these discs.

For the love of God don't stop giving them with the magazine!

if it came free with the cd.

...the flexidisc

Registered just for this...
No decent radio here and never have time for internet listening, so the CDs and the mag are my lifeline to new music coming from over there and elsewhere. I recently coughed up a whopping amount for a three year overseas subscription, showing great faith in your ability to survive and stay good but I’d have to rethink if the CD disappeared. And please, no themed CDs, ‘Roots of the flipping stones, Dylan etc. One of the main reasons I dropped the competition.
True, rarely more than 2 or 3 decent tracks (for my taste) but that’s a decent strike rate.
Over the years, thanks to songs on the CD, off the top of my head, I’ve bought entire backlists of Barry Adamson, Lambchop, Lloyd Cole, Kirsty Maccoll, Pernice Brothers. Orchestra Baobab, Ethiopiques, Camera Obscura, Cinematic Orchestra, Amadou & Mariam, Tinariwen, plus who knows how many other stand alones – Cats on Fire, Apples, Herbaliser, Ticklah, Andy Palacio, among the recent ones. Minimum 100 albums I reckon. The vast majority of which I wouldn’t have bought otherwise.
Best of all they’ve opened my ears to the fact that music doesn’t have to be four white blokes playing guitar bass and drums. Hence the fact I’ve spent the last year wallowing in the pleasure of discovering, for want of a better word, world music.
For that, thanks.
So, please keep them. Just a bit more variety maybe, less generic indie….
Having said all that, I did prefer the mag when it was ‘more than a music magazine’ Given the success of blogs here about books and film, I’m probably not the only one…

with everything you've said Madrid, except the bit about 'generic indie'. My impression was there was very little. Would be interesting to know what the extra cost per issue is for the CD.

...this discussion is a bit old - we've had it several times before - but i repeat I really like the CD even when there are tracks I don't particularly like - at least I've heard them. Mostly I like it and sometimes there are tracks i really love. I like hearing things away from my normal paradigm. Also I pod it and hand it on to my impoverished brother in law who also gets much pleasure from it. So I say keep the CD.

works quite well. And allows you to tap into the rich vein of insightful tosh we all seem to enjoy posting.

John Martyn issue - half the CD was interesting.

George Harrison issue - 13 of 14 tracks were interesting (the Celtic style Waterboys associated track was rubbish). An amazing hit-rate for a crappy free CD. The previous best free CD was a collection of Beatles covers given with Uncut magazine (about half the disc was interesting).

As it's about the only way I ever get to hear music by new artists.

I download it, then when making CDs for the car pick tracks at random. Sometimes they're good, sometimes not, but I've discovered tons of great songs - The Concretes, Carbon/Silicon and Fountains Of Wayne to name but three - that have caused me (in some cases) to explore their oeuvre further.

I chuck it away once I've downloaded it though, otherwise I'd have a houseful of freebie CDs.

There will be questions in parliament otherwise...

Give them away to those you love, use them as coasters, hang then up outside to scare away the birds from your vegetable patch.

Any other ideas for unwanted Word CDs?

I'm happy for free CDs to be a hit and miss affair. To expect to fall in love with any more than 30% is unreasonable, given the variety of music in the world and my less-than-all-encompassing taste. Having said that, it's a darn sight better than Mojo and Uncut's 'tribute' Cds, hopefully a thing of the past.

My one gripe is the tacky stuff used to attachy the CD to the magazine('snotties' as I believe they're known in the printing world) which , careful as I can be, either takes the surface off the mag or the CD card. Is there any other alternative?

generally I loooove a few tracks, rather like a couple more, and not fussed / actively dislike the rest. end result? I've discovered some new music, and my credit card gets a little dented as I usually buy something every month on the back of the word cd.

(and the word reviews. and this forum. damn it, you people are costing me money)

I like the CDs - you can read a hundred articles about an artist or band, but hearing an actual track tells you so much more. I've stumbled across so much wonderful stuff that I wouldn't have found otherwise thanks to them.

Not too keen on the cardboard sleeve, I still prefer the old jewel cases, but at least Word is doing its bit to help save the planet...

...this month, I thought, and I'd miss it if it were to go.

As soon as it arrives it goes on the iPod, then over the next few weeks tracks get whittled down & deleted, and I invariably get left with 2 or 3 stayers, of which one may prompt a purchase, or at least further investigation.

I fundamentally look forward to the CD, though it's definitely a "nice-to-have" rather than "must-have"... I couldn't live without the podcast though!

...that I would really miss the CD if it were dropped.

the only reason for me to buy the magazine is the cd! actually i could loose the paper!

I like the cd and have bought many albums after hearing the artists on the compilations. Keep it!
By the way; I enjoyed your article on file sharing. Muxtape is brilliant, which means that it should be shut down anytime soon.
Here's my first crack at an online cassette:

http://thismonthsfaves.muxtape.com/

Like a lot of people I rip it straight to the i-pod, and then listen later. If it were a free download, funnily enough, I don't think I would rip it. Environmentally sound, but somehow less value for the reader.

I'd like to see occassional themes or variations - but full songs please. Maybe once a year a DVD? Perhaps DH could carry out his cruscade to get us all watching The Wire with a free episode?

I too would like more stuff that is not music, but I understand the newstand reality is it is better to be clearly defined rather than in a niche of your owne.

Keep up the good work.

As a subscriber, I'm not in a position to say what motivates the casual punter in WH Smiths, but I'd happily take a small cut in price instead of having a pile of unplayed Word CDs that eventually get passed to the charity shop.

Surely they are an anachronism in these days of MP3 blogs and DAB/internet radio? A few minutes online can lead, literally, to a world of musical recommendations. Makes 20 odd selections per month on a CD look a bit dated.

As a fully paid up, podcast-listening, website-reading, magazine-buying member of the Word fraternity, I'm not about to abandon ship, but a couple of suggestions:

1. use the (excellent) website even more, with mp3s relating to the month's reviews

2. offer a cheaper CD-free subscription

Well done to both sides but the CD stays. However the ersatz Japanese pron artwork is becoming a tad tiresome - surely a new theme is imminent?

Of course its not all going to be to my taste,but the fact that it introduces me to artists I have never heard of or listened to before is the point for me. The last year's CD output has led to me buying and loving among many others Rilo Kiley, The Decemberists, The Silver Seas, Shelby Lynn,El Perro Del Mar, Joan as Policewoman etc etc who i prob would not have purchased without the introductory exposure via "Now Hear This!"

More CD's, More Music writing...in fact go weekly you lazy sods :-) and whilst you are at it bung the price up and ditch the penny pinching whingers who buy it and they can access this free website whilst tuning into Pandora Radio!

The early subscriber only Word cds were dreadful but there's usually a couple of things I want to hear on the cover mounts (and a couple that I already have and like, making a reasonable average). I give it one play (skipping when I dislike something) then mp3 what I want and give the cd away to a mate who appreciates it and has bought a few cds as a result. So that's useful recycling.

I like that the Word covers are cardboard. The Uncut ones take up more space and come cracked more often than not. I've got no cd space left unless I banish more to the attic and have several uncut cds still in their shrinkwrap. The Mojo ones, which used to be bad, have got a little better than Uncut, which used to be ace. Suspect I'd pay more for a mag without a covermount...

The early subscriber only Word cds were dreadful

I don't remember those. Mind you, I am getting on.

I'm a partner in a small (but perfectly formed) so called indie label and there are a number of our artists (and therefore us as a label) who have done pretty well after featuring on such CDs. One band in particular owe their entire career (well almost) to the inclusion of one of their songs on a covermount and even though it must have been close on ten years ago the amount of people who still meet them after gigs with the line " I heard you first on ......".

So.... keep the cds. Even if it's for my own selfish reasons!

Thinking about cover-mount CDs reminds me that tomorrow is "comic day" for my two boys (6 and 5) and the fact that they won't even entertain the idea of buying a comic - no matter how suited to their tastes - if there isn't some kind of plastic tat attached on a cover-mount. It strikes me that there's a sort of cover-mount inflation going on here, not only in comics (when I were a nipper, yadda yadda...) but also in music mags, practically none of which dare to sell themselves on their editorial contents.

I have bought Word from the outset but I'd almost certainly buy it if they disappeared. I've discovered a lot of music through the CDs - Tinariwen, Fleet Foxes, Pearlfishers to think of three - although there's an over-reliance on slightly country-sounding singer/songwriters who are - how can I put this - pretty bloody dull.

Anyway, how much would a complete set of Word CDs fetch on eBay, I wonder?

I have discovered many new gems by listening to the cover CDs, but as several others have said it is a hit and miss affair. I don't know if I was in a bad mood or something, but this month's CD was pretty disappointing.

From an environmental point of view, I'd prefer to download new songs instead of having the CDs. My house is so full of CDs anyway, I don't know where to put them all. Looking up at my shelf, I can see a CD from Uncut (March 2007) that is still in its cellophane wrapper (I agree that their CDs are mainly pretty dire), which proves that it is what's in the magazine rather than the CD itself that sells it to me.

I also think that these days there are so many other ways of discovering new music (TV, internet radio, BBC6, etc, etc) and that the CD itself is a devalued commodity. Overall I don't think that a CD on the cover is really necessary. I've noticed that Q has stopped putting a CD on the cover each month.

If the money saved by not having a CD could be used to bring an even more diverse and interesting range of interviews and articles to the pages of the magazine, The Word would guarantee readership just by being even better than it is now!

Personally I love the CD, don't like all of it but I look forward to getting it to find out which bits I like. I bought both Fleet Foxes and the Felice Brothers albums last month after hearing the cd.

I also like the extra effort put in (seemingly) to get hold of a particular track such as It's A Big Country or Down there in the Hole.

The Best Of CD from last year is still on my Ipod

I really hope it stays

Definately. Like a lot of people, I seldom really like more than half of the tracks, but, probably about once per CD, it leads me to a new band that I fall in love with. My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Decemberists, Broken Family Band, and so many more - all largely thanks to the Word CD.

And it's always good to hear from bands you read about in Word or elswhere - even if I don't enjoy it that much, it's good to be able to form my opinion based on the music as well.

All the songs from all the CDs go on to my Itunes, and, initially, my ipod. As I listen to the songs, I gradually get rid of the ones I'm not so keen on from my ipod, but they remain on itunes.

One of the strengths of The Word is the way it plugs into our fascination with the endless nuances of personal choice - "My Top 3 Dylan tracks/Sci-fi movies/Breakfast cereals etc etc are better than yours". Nobody does it smarter than you guys.

But the thing about the CD is that, as a selection, it's got a bit dull: its contrived "unpredictability" (the product of what's on offer; office consensus; Hepworth's tyranny - who knows?)has become, well, predictable in its general composition.

Keep the CD - but from month to month I'd like to have Mark Ellen's CD, or Jude Rogers' CD,Andrew Harrison's CD, Caitlin Moran's CD, Andy Gill's CD, or even better, Nick Lowe's CD, Jonny Greenwood's CD, Bill Bailey's CD... why not?

Give the guest compiler a long list of what's available, get them to make their personal Word CD selection and explain their choices. You get something really distinctive each month, extra content for the mag and something to spark off more online Good Taste/Bad Taste debate.

Give it a go.

I seem to buy about 2 or 3 whole albums on the basis of what i hear more or less every month (a lot of the artists seem to be on eMusic, which suits me fine), although the hit-rate has dropped a bit in the past 3 months or so.

it is rare that i hate a track, sometimes it takes a few listens to realise i like something - the clare & the reasons track being a good example - i ended up buying that album.

I have a long commute by car through the Aberdeenshire countryside and find it a good time to listen to the CD. It's about the only chance I get to listen to new stuff. Some months are much better than others but I suppose the CD can only reflect what's out there and I'm not adverse to the odd reissue featuring either. Must say how impressed I am that it's usually the best tracks that find their way onto the CD and, as such, they are not always representative of the whole album. All in all a good thing and I would miss it even if I curse some months when I just have to go out and buy an album (or two or three).

As for the magazine, I'm happy to have a mix of culture but I'd hate to lose too much space to, say, films but I'm open to ideas. Some time time ago Uncut reduced its' movie content in favour of more music (and I must add that their recent "George Harrison" CD was worth far more than the magazine!).

I find the CD a great source of new music. I have brought albums by Beth Rowley, The Flight of the Concords and Isobel Campbell/Mark Langan" as a result of the sample CD. I got the magazine subscription as a result of a TESCO points/subscriptiom deal but I would happily pay a £5 a month just to get the CD and magazine.

To the CD compiler:

Sorry. Just listened to the August CD for the first time. Been a little busy. Could be your best one yet. Thanks.

Sagged a little in the middle but picked up the bouncy theme, perfect for a rare sunny day. I won't wait as long next month. Promise.

Satisfied of Bolton, Lancashire

Wow, someone else who didn't submit to the tyranny of the ipod!

I like the CDs, even when it takes me months to get around to listening to one. I just like their existence. I don't download and all this more futuristic than thou nonsense leaves me a bit cold.

Luddites of the world, unite and fail to take over because we don't have the technology.

Creative Vision:M-owning Badger

I've downloaded the odd freebie that an artist has put on a/their site to deliberately give away free and I happen to have read about it.

I just still love CDs, magazines, proper physical releases of music and writing/reviews/opinion, far more than downloads/podcasts, though I'm quite a fan of message boards and the like, this Word one I'm really enjoying, so thought I'd finally post.

I enjoy such heinous things as so-called landfill indie, the free CDs one finds on Mojo and Uncut (and of course The Word), and I don't have an ipod, but I'm old enough to live with all that now and still show my face around the intelligentsia.

Finally, I've had a couple of Creative MP3 players and they've both been fantastic. No complaints at all. I need a 160Gb though. My 60Gb ran out of space at Christmas and I've since purchased about 80 albums which don't fit on it!

A few issues back...a brilliant folky song called Serpentine.

Name of artist please??