He also shares how you can do the same!
Redditor u/Jasonzhang97 has ingeniously transformed their Apple Music Replay playlists into physical CDs, complete with matching album covers for each one. The inventive idea resonated with many users, illustrating a growing interest in owning physical music collections.
Crafting the Collection
As seen in a post on the r/AppleMusic subreddit, u/Jasonzhang97 shared that they download the original tracks from the iTunes Store or rip them from original CDs they own.
Each Apple Music Replay CD has a custom printed jacket with the Replay cover art and tracklist. This aims to mirror the style of commercially produced albums.
However, each CD contains only the top 20 songs from the Replay playlists, which typically include 100 songs. This selection is likely a practical decision, considering CDs’ limited storage capacity.
It underscores the trade-offs between the ease of digital formats and the constraints of physical media.
The OP also shared a detailed procedure for sourcing the album artwork.
For this, you only need to do the following:
- Navigate to your Replay playlists on Apple Music’s Browse section.
- Right-click the album art, and select ‘Open Image in New Tab’.
- Next, modify the URL, changing number values such as ‘200×200’ to ‘1200×1200’ to enhance the image quality.
- Once done, save this high-resolution image for printing.
To play the CDs, u/Jasonzhang97 uses a Sony EJ-855 CD player and an Instant Disk Audio-CP1 Bluetooth player. This adds wireless capabilities while maintaining the audio quality of CDs.
Renewed Interest in Physical Albums
The Reddit community enthusiastically received the DIY project, with many voicing admiration for the CDs’ aesthetic appeal.
The interest extended beyond appreciation. Some users requested a template for creating their own album jackets and asked about buying the custom-made CDs. It highlights a keen interest in the physical experience of music that streaming services can’t offer.
Beyond crafting a unique music collection, this project emphasizes the reliability of physical music formats. This reflects the current trend of people shifting from streaming platforms to building their own CD collections.
Redditors say CDs provide access to a broader range of music from artists with limited online presence and whose work isn’t available on streaming platforms. For example, Japanese artists like Takeshi Terauchi and Tatsuro Yamashita have over 50 releases each. But, only one or two albums are available on Apple Music.
CDs also provide music enthusiasts with permanent access to special album editions, mixes, and tracklists. These allow users to be free from the limitations of online music libraries.