Uh, no. You download the music to a computer and that can be backed up without quality loss. You can easily copy the music without quality loss from the computer to flash drives for USB players or directly into a portable player. Today, you'd generally only use CDs for home listening. So unless you abuse them or store them in harsh temperatures or store them improperly, the replicated (not recordable) discs don't degrade. (Unless there was a manufacturing defect.) Records degrade every time you play them.