where and how to find blank "music" CD's

@moofoo From. Your. Desktop. PC. 
 

This is a wholly separate use case from OPs question. Way back when manufacturers wanted to release components that could record CDs without the use of a computer, the RIAA had what’s called “a hissy fit.”

See, it’s perfect digital copy. Not only had that never been possible previously meaning you could only copy of a copy of a copy so many times before the recording became unlistenable, when that first generation copy was made the record industry didn’t make a red cent on it. 

So after long threats of lawsuits that risked both sides, they agreed in compromise. The RIAA would allow a digital copy to be made once on these devices with drastically lower complexity for the consumer. They would minimize losses of revenue through a pre-paid license cost to be put onto the recording medium itself. So Music Only CD blanks cost a few cents more to abide by this agreement. That way the manufacturer wasn’t inhibited in selling devices, RIAA got their money, and consumer at least had access to some kind of use case.

I think it’s funny that they are still around - any avenue to try and rebuild the monies lost through home recording apparently will stand the test of time, even if the whole world has moved to a phone apps. 
 

hope this helps. 

@seismicfrog - makes sense. Thx for the insight!

Thanks @cleeds @seismicfrog for the information, and I stand corrected. Since computer drives burn perfectly good Redbook discs, I had assumed that a consumer disc burner would simply use the same kind of disc.

I have had three TASCAM CD-RW2000 CD recorders that I used in my live music recording business.  My recollection is that I could write a disc that could be copied an unlimited number of times or a disc that could only be copied once.  How that was accomplished was and still is a mystery to me.  I also believe that the "Music" discs that were available were connected to a scheme to pay artists in a round-about way for the unstoppable copying habits of the digital age !  Having been a professional musician for many years, the idea that your music was assumed to be available to others for free was not an easy concept to understand ---- and I STILL don't understand !

As others have explained, CDR-Audio/Music blanks are designed to work with component CD recorders which were designed to work ONLY with such discs. This was part of a royalty scheme implemented by federal law, the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. The discs are manufactured with a flag that allows recording by the CD recorder.  The higher expense for the blanks is because of the embedded cost of royalties.  When a consumer copies music using such recorders and discs, there is a statutory presumption of non-infringement of copyright. BTW, CDR-Music blanks will work in any CD writer, while regular CDR blanks will not work in standalone CD recorders. I have a Denon CDR-W1500 that still works great after more than 20 years, although I haven’t used the recording function for years.