It's more of an attitude thing on the part of retailers. Because CD-R's have had a spotty past in terms of compatibility, retailers (who are long on negative memories and slow to change) generally do not accept CD-R's. Nor do many distributors. Also, there is an attitude that CD- R's, because of their availibility to the general public, are "amateur" material and somehow represent less than a professional product, regardless of the sound quality. Remeber, with the ability to record, produce, and distribute a CD from home now easily available, these larger companies must do something to maintian the "premium" allure of their product.