About the LONGBOX

When compact discs first began to appear in the retail stores, the longbox packaging served a transitional purpose, allowing shops to file new compact discs in the same bins originally used for vinyl records. Longboxes were 12 inches (30 cm) tall (the same length as the standard 33? LP), and capable of containing two separate discs when necessary. Most longboxes were full color, with details about the compact disc on the back, and artwork that was frequently taken from the original square album cover art, reworked for the new shape and size. There were generic white longboxes with windows that would display the compact disc cover, as well as clear plastic versions that were an inexpensive substitute for a printed longbox.

Placing the jewel case within a cardboard enclosure made for a larger and more cumbersome package that would be more difficult to shoplift from retailers.

Longboxes began to fade from popularity as the CDs themselves became more colorful, elaborate, and customized (labels initially printed CDs with standardized, oftentimes black-on-silver labels simply listing basic information about a release and its contents). Longboxes were also considered environmentally wasteful and were expensive to produce. In North America, the drive to eliminate longboxes took hold in Canada first.

Most original longboxes were discarded upon purchase, and they have since become desirable amongst music collectors.

A compact disc is worth more if it is accompanied by its original longbox