What to do with 1,200 CDs I don't need

I sold all my non-audiophile CD's to a few local shops in my area. I got between $2 and $5 a piece. But, I only had about 400 or so. I put the cash and some store credit to more music. I have all my stuff ripped onto two different hard drives. One I use all the time and the other is my back-up. I haven't gotten nervous enough to buy a third hard-drive yet.

Given what you're going to get for them, maybe $1-2 each based on what eBay lots go for, I'd keep them. I don't sell CDs I don't like, and every once in a while pull something out from my B-list and actually end up enjoying it...then again, this bears no relevance to your situation, but there are legal issues, and well, a CD is about as "solid state" as you can get. You can shake it, drop it, throw it, wash it, and the data will still be there.

You won't get a fortune out of selling them. I like my large collection. It looks cool. :)

Not sure I grasp the legal/moral view some are offering here. It's not illegal to sell or buy used CDs (or LPs, etc.). It's not illegal to make copies for your own personal use. People have always bought music, new or used, made recordings and resold the originals. The net effect is the same as if you were to buy a CD new and then turn around and sell it without listening or recording it. It puts the used recording on the resale market, potentially depriving the artist of a new sale. Makes no difference if you record it or not, as long as you're not selling copies. If you're against this, then you're against the selling and buying of secondhand music at all (or anything else with a current patent or copyright for that matter). You think it's immoral, once someone has bought a new CD, or book, etc., for them to ever sell or give it away, maybe even to loan it out. They'd have to destroy it if they didn't want it anymore, so as not to potentially deprive the copyright holder of a new sale.

Alright Zaikesman, you have me swinging back the other way now. You make great points. Now I'm really confused.

It is a pretty odd situation for me to be advocating for the RIAA, since I think their views on the whole copyright thing are pretty deplorable. The RIAA (not me) takes the position that ripping a CD is illegal period--they seem to have written fair use out of the law. I believe they also take the position that resale is not legal, but can't say for sure.

The concept here is that buying a CD transfers to you a recording of certain music and a license to listen to it under specific circumstances. It doesn't, for example, convey the right to use the recording for public performances. Just for personal use. I believe fair use extends to making copies for personal use--backups, a copy on a hard drive, etc.

I also happen to believe that you should be permitted to resell the recording and the license if you don't like it. But, once having sold the license, your right to listen to that particular recording is sold as well, hence you have no right to listen to copies that previously were justified under fair use.

I guess--for me--the moral point comes down to the the fact that if I make a digital copy and resell the original, the implication is that I like the music. Under those circumstances, I want to support the artist, for whatever pennies-on-the-dollar they get off a CD. Face it, if you can justify making a copy and reselling the original, why stop there? Make a thousand copies and sell those. What is the moral difference if you abandon the concept of a license?

It is hard for me to make too much of this point, however, since in my earlier days I bought a lot a second hand LPs, some clearly labeled "not for resale." But, having thought about exactly what you are talking about in the context of 1500 ripped CDs, I started having some qualms about what exactly it was that I was supporting. YMMV.