CD Ripping Service

I’ve been building my digital music library bit-by-bit of late. The majority of my purchases have been split between used CDs that I buy through eBay and downloaded albums and singles purchased from iTunes. Suffice to say, I have a considerable pile of CDs sitting around that have yet to be ripped. Looking at that stack of CDs got me looking into the availability of automated CD ripping services …

(Not that I'd be a potential customer ...)

CD ripping services charge a set fee to rip each CD into digital format. You simply send the company your stack of CDs (using their protective spindle packaging) and they send you back the digital music files (most often in MP3 or AAC format) on high-capacity DVDs along with your original CDs. Instant digital music with no disc jockeying.

Don't have a MP3 player? Many of the CD ripping services will sell you a brand new player preloaded with your digital music. (For those folks that can't be troubled with purchasing a MP3 player on their own.)

It's hard to say how many folks are actually using the CD ripping services, but it appears to be a growing industry.

Popular CD ripping services include:

• MusicShifter - Flat rates: 89 cents per CD/Standard 5-7 day, $1.19 per CD/Priority 3-day, $1.69/CD Extra Urgent 1-day. UPS and USPS shipping.
• RipDigital - 100 CDs/$129, 150 CDs/$179, 200 CDs/$199, 250CDs/$249, 300 CDs/$299, 350 CDs/$349, 400 CDs/$399, 450 CDs/$449, 500 CDs/$499. Turnaround time (after CDs are received): 200 CDs - 7 business days, larger orders - 10 business days. FedEx shipping.
• Riptopia - 50 CDs/$89, 100 CDs/$139, 150 CDs/$189, 200 CDs/$219, 250CDs/$259, 300 CDs/$299, 350 CDs/$349, 400 CDs/$399, 450 CDs/$449. Turnaround time - 48 hours. UPS shipping
• ToBits - Flat rates: 1-999 CDs/69 cents per CD - 256 kbps encoding (high quality), 79 cents per CD - 320 kbps encoding (superior quality). Turnaround time - 2-3 business days. Fedex and UPS shipping

Talk about cottage industries. The barriers to entry in the CD ripping service industry are rather low. So will everyone and their little brother set up shop? That remains to be seen...

At first blush, it seems like the proverbial 14-year-old kid can set up the equivalent of a roadside lemonade stand and go into the CD ripping business overnight. There's no need for a fancy website and courier services when you can bang on doors or tack up a flyer for your CD ripping service on the bulletin board at the local supermarket ...

While I haven't used one of these firms, I'd love to hear from folks that have. Please send me your stories, be they of the success or horror varieties, and I'll include them in a follow up article. :)