Multimedia Music

CD Extra/CD-Plus:
Music plus Computer Data

• CD History
• Interactive Music CD
• Enhanced CD Types
• Current Development
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Conclusion
• References

CD History

The CD or compact disc was originally devised as a low cost format for which to record and distribute music. While CDs still remain at the forefront of retail music consumption, all subsequent evolution of the format has focused on CD-ROM in which the emphasis is on the video display. The past few years have witnessed the emergence of these two into one medium, and it is on this development to which this paper focuses.

As noted earlier, the first introduction to the CD format was what was known as CD-DA (Compact Disc-Digital Audio) (Davidson, March 12, 1996). More simply, CD-DA is what one thinks of when he or she considers the term CD (i.e., a standard music CD that can be purchased at any record store).

Following this innovation was the emergence of the CD-ROM. Developers realized the possibility of storing a large amount of computer data (650 MB) on a 12 cm optical disc (i.e., the CD) (Davidson, March 12, 1996).

Certainly, it was only a matter of time before these two formats fused into one: the interactive music CD.

As is typical of the world of multimedia, this new interactive music CD or enhanced CD was stricken with unstandardization. Naturally, this instability in the format type led to some of the developed formats being left to the wayside.

Interactive Music CD

An interactive music CD is commonly referred to as an Enhanced CD. Enhanced CDs combine multimedia data (CD-ROM) with traditional audio CDs (CD-DA) (Gillen, August 12, 1995). Simply put, they are normal audio CDs that will play in any stereo CD player, but they can also play in your CD-ROM drive to engage one in an interactive experience.

The kicker is that one must have a CD-ROM drive capable of handling multisession CDs. A multisession CD is one that has been recorded on more than once (Hofstetter, 1995). Accordingly, Enhanced CDs combine the two previously discussed CD standards into a new standard (i.e., multiple CD formats are pressed onto one CD).

At the present time, three types of Enhanced CDs exist. They vary according to the location in which the computer data is stored.

Enhanced CD Types

The first type, which is compatible with virtually all multimedia computers is what is referred to as Mixed Mode discs or Expanded Albums (CD-ROM/XA). These discs press all data in a single session with computer data occupying “track one” before the music tracks, which begin on “track two” (Humes, March 2, 1996; Intersound Music Online, March 2, 1996). Unfortunately, your stereo CD player must skip track one in order to avoid static or white noise that can damage audio equipment.

The second type, which is compatible with over 80 percent of multimedia computers is the Pre-Gap disc. In this type, the computer data is stored in a “gap” located before the first audio track on the disc (Intersound Music Online, March 2, 1996). Thus, it alleviates some of the problems inherent in the prior type.

The final and most predominant type is the CD-Plus or CD Extra. These CD types are a multisession format in which the computer data is stored after the last audio track. Unfortunately, at present, they are only compatible with about 60 percent of multimedia computers. Luckily, Corel has developed a universal CD-Plus/Extra device driver for the Windows and Macintosh platforms that enables most CD-ROM drives to play CD-Plus/Extra discs (Humes, March 2, 1996). In addition, the Corel device driver is packaged free with the CD-Plus/Extra discs that are currently on the market.

Current Development

The first true CD Extra to be commercially released was Sugar’s Besides on July 25, 1995. Already, this format is being hailed as the “next big thing.” In fact the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is promoting it as the “emerging industry standard” (Intersound Music Online, March 2, 1996). In addition, the Sony Music Entertainment Corporation suggests that within a few years, most new music CDs will be CD Extras (Humes, March 2, 1996).

Currently, there are approximately twenty or so CD-Plus/Extra CDs on the market by such varied artists as Bush, the Cranberries, Monster Magnet, and Soundgarden. By year’s end, it is speculated that 60 or more titles will exist for mass consumption.

Advantages and Disadvantages

With this push for the CD-Plus/Extra, developers intending on creating an interactive music CD will most likely opt for this format. The advantage of the CD-Plus/Extra over such prior attempts at interactive music CDs such as the CD-I (CD-Interactive), which could be utilized on a television set provided one had the necessary hardware, and the CD-ROM/XA is its broader utility and wider acceptance. While other formats either required certain hardware or were incompatible between MacIntosh and Windows, the CD-Plus/Extra can be utilized on either MacIntosh or Windows provided the necessary drivers are installed. In addition, the CD-Plus/Extra can play in your stereo CD player just as any other typical music CD that you have in your collection. The added bonus is that it does this without any danger of damaging your stereo equipment. Also, the past interactive music CDs were quite “price-heavy” ranging from thirty dollars and up, while the CD-Plus/Extra only costs a few more dollars than the typical music-only CD.

In addition to the music, the typical CD-Plus/Extra contains video, a photo library, interviews, and an audio screen (for listening to the audio tracks). This is where some of its predecessors’ strengths may become evident. For example, Todd Rundgren’s No World Order CD-I allowed a user to manipulate the actual music itself (Pholmann, March 1994). Similarly, Peter Gabriel’s Xplora1 granted its user the opportunity to remix a song; while David Bowie’s Jump CD-ROM allowed the user to remix a song and a video (Holmes, June 26, 1995).

Conclusion

Although CD-Plus/Extra CDs to date lack this ability to manipulate music, one must bear in mind that we are merely at the cusp of innovation of this new medium. In addition, all current titles only contain four or five music tracks due to the fact that they are dividing the 75 minutes available for music space with computer data. So until a method is rendered that allows for more space for “ordinary” music tracks, consumers who buy these CDs exclusively for the music will lose out.

Some other problems may develop due to this new medium. First, the public may see the introduction of older albums re-packaged in the new CD-Plus/Extra format. The titles that already exist are nothing more than previously released songs with a couple of B-sides or outtakes. In this regard, the music takes a secondary position in that its existence is to provide a soundtrack to a multimedia presentation. For the sake of the art form itself, musicians must realize that it is the music that must come first.

Music in its strictest form is a “one-sense” medium (i.e., aural) and the visual element is simply an extra bonus. CD-Plus/Extra CDs, like music videos, allow musicians another creative form of expression in the vein of music. By the same token, interactive music CDs offer artists an additional form of musical expression; consequently, CD-Plus/Extra discs will most likely supplement not replace traditional audio CDs. These new CDs should simply serve the function that is inherently implied in their name: MUSIC CDs with the computer data as an Extra or Plus.