Friday, August 25, 2017

Is It All Downstream-ing From Here?


How do people go about their music these days -- listening, organizing, buying?

I still play my MP3s at home, via my iPod or on my computer. But I sometimes need to get a new release by one of my old favorites (like Blondie, the Pretenders or Paul Weller).

Spotify doesn't appeal to me because I don't listen to new artists or like to sample different music. (I am also a notorious completist and have every b-side, compilation contribution and unreleased demo by all of my favorite artists, so wouldn't be satisfied with a streaming service's selection as a replacement to my existing library. They also don't pay the artists fairly.) The only "new" stuff I have any interest in is the occasional release from one of my legacy favorites -- which invariably pops up in its entirety on YouTube and can be conveniently listened to, for free.

Should I feel guilty and still buy the digital download -- with the understanding that the artist probably gets 10 cents from the sale anyway (am I wrong?) -- or just go about my YouTube business, not feeling guilty knowing that I spend a lot of money on concert tickets?

The old me HAD to own everything. But since there's no album art or real record collection to flip through anymore, it seems less and less necessary. Of course, the next logical question will be how to play the music I already own now that Apple has discontinued the iPod Classic -- the one that holds HUGE collections -- and mine could die at any time ...

11 comments:

Mathew said...

For day-to-day music listening: Spotify. For hard-to-find stuff: Sound Cloud. For online storage of my own stuff: Google Play

Jacob said...

I buy my songs and play them on my iPod.

Dennis said...

I agree with you. I have great collections and back everything up on externals. I still have two classic iPods and really hate the fuckery of loading music on an iPhone. It's official, Apple will no longer make MP3 players. If you ever hear of a company that will still make MP3 players, let me know.

Deanna Mullican said...

I buy my music as a digital download. I don't buy CDs anymore because 1) I don't have a CD player and 2) my computer doesn't have a drive I could plug it into to to transfer it to iTunes.

Also, Apple has only discontinued the iPod Nano, Shuffle, and Classic. I just bought a new iPod Touch (only because my Classic was stolen *shakes fist into the air*). But, I do like the new Touch because it syncs with my car and my bluetooth speaker, my old one didn't.

Ken Averett Clark said...

I've been on my 3 month trial with Apple Music and have been very pleased. It syncs well with my SONOS Bluetooth speaker and I've had no mishaps with art work or versions of songs etc. I'm a iPhone loyalist. I've never owned a Samsung phone or other so it's been seamless. Music works beautifully in my car via Bluetooth as well. I've actually been happier with my music now than I have been in years.

Rick said...

Don't buy a lot of music, but if so, buy on ITunes. Listen mostly on Pandora and Amazon Prime.

Chris said...

I don't want to stream. I guess I still live in 2006. Still buy tons of CDs, play them in car, rip them to iPod. Perfectly happy.

Anonymous said...

listening to mp3 files is like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard to me, so i pay extra to buy digital files in .wav format, then stream from my computer or burn cd's.

Stephen said...

I started buying vinyl again. Got myself a turntable and having a blast in the record stores in Chicago. Most all new artists and old are releasing everything on vinyl again. My collection growing once again since about 19990.

Dave in Texas said...

I stream with Spotify but still purchase albums on iTunes of my favorite artists or albums I really like after streaming them. I feel better that the artists get more $ if I purchase the album from iTunes. As far as physical CDs, I hardly ever buy any. I have been purging the hundreds of CDs I do have on eBay. I'm kind of in a "less is more" phase. If the CDs are on my iTunes, I don't need rage physical version. Sure, I miss looking at liner notes and CD art, but shelves full of CDs? No thanks.

Michael Stephens said...

I mainly buy digital music as well but I do CDs for my favorite artists. I have actually jumped back into vinyl a bit. Like Dave, I have purged many if not all of my physical CDs. I have taken to re-ripping some of my all time favorite songs at 320 kbps AAC before selling them on eBay. I wish Apple offered a purchase option for 320. I guess I am deeply entrenched in curated my digital collection - playlists, etc rather than streaming.