View Full Version : Download Or Buy?
SamEyes
10/12/08, 07:22 AM
So, who downloads their music and who buys it?
For the sake of this thread, download means illegally, without paying for it, buying can include iTunes downloads or physical purchasing.
I download, but buy the odd disc if I really, really like a band.
Circa1628
10/12/08, 07:26 AM
I usually buy
Download then buy, or don't buy.
Firefly1628
10/12/08, 07:43 AM
I need to have something tangible. i have downloaded a number of albums, but i need to have the booklet and actual disc. Plus it keeps all the funky local record stores in business.
Circa1628
10/12/08, 07:45 AM
I need to have something tangible. i have downloaded a number of albums, but i need to have the booklet and actual disc. Plus it keeps all the funky local record stores in business.
Record Archive represent! ;-)
I used to download all of the time but now I'm getting into the habit of buying on iTunes because the downloads themselves don't take as long.
SamEyes
10/12/08, 07:47 AM
I need to have something tangible. i have downloaded a number of albums, but i need to have the booklet and actual disc. Plus it keeps all the funky local record stores in business.
Yeah I agree with that to a certain extent, it's definitely nice to have something tangible,
And it's just not the same digging through a hard drive and finding an old mp3 as it is finding an old CD haha.
Having said that, we don't really have any independent record stores about, I'm sure I would buy much more music than I do now, but at the moment it just seems like 90% of the money made from a CD goes to an undeserving source, which I don't support.
SamEyes
10/12/08, 07:48 AM
I used to download all of the time but now I'm getting into the habit of buying on iTunes because the downloads themselves don't take as long.
Mate, you're going to the wrong places ;-) hahaha
Circa1628
10/12/08, 07:49 AM
Yeah I agree with that to a certain extent, it's definitely nice to have something tangible,
And it's just not the same digging through a hard drive and finding an old mp3 as it is finding an old CD haha.
Having said that, we don't really have any independent record stores about, I'm sure I would buy much more music than I do now, but at the moment it just seems like 90% of the money made from a CD goes to an undeserving source, which I don't support.
yeah plus the quality of a CD is always better, and you are right, the band does not get a lot of the money, but when they sell a lot of albums, they get record label support, which is just as important, because then they will help promote you and help you with touring and the recording process of the new CD.
SamEyes
10/12/08, 07:53 AM
yeah plus the quality of a CD is always better,
Mate, you're going to the wrong places ;-) hahaha
and you are right, the band does not get a lot of the money, but when they sell a lot of albums, they get record label support, which is just as important, because then they will help promote you and help you with touring and the recording process of the new CD.
Yeah I suppose that is true, but then again, that creates a reliance on record labels, an unwritten law that you have to have a record label in order to get anywhere in the music business, which nowadays is an almost impossible feat with the amount of bands about, plus the fact that's it's nearly all "who you know" rather than "what you know".
What category does 'shoplifting' fall under?
SamEyes
10/12/08, 08:06 AM
What category does 'shoplifting' fall under?
Hahahaha good post,
Probably downloading, even though that makes no sense.
I should have put "Do you buy or steal your music?"
A bit of both for me. I'll DL the songs when I start to listen to bands, but if I like them, I usually buy the CD. Strange, how buying a CD is slowly becoming the equivalent of buying merch. I mean, it used to be if you really liked a band, that you would buy like a shirt or something, now it's just you buy a CD.
I have yet to buy any CDs this year, nothing really great has come out. Last disk I bought was Riot!, and that was like a year ago.
Firefly1628
10/12/08, 08:20 AM
Yeah I agree with that to a certain extent, it's definitely nice to have something tangible,
And it's just not the same digging through a hard drive and finding an old mp3 as it is finding an old CD haha.
Having said that, we don't really have any independent record stores about, I'm sure I would buy much more music than I do now, but at the moment it just seems like 90% of the money made from a CD goes to an undeserving source, which I don't support.
Yeah i know its horrible. My town is littered with really cool vintage record stores, it would be a shame to see them go under. I find my self buying anything i can everytime i go in. There was a record store down the street from my house that i used to frequent. But they couldnt afford rent any longer and shut down. It was really sad to see.
Yeah I agree with that to a certain extent, it's definitely nice to have something tangible,
And it's just not the same digging through a hard drive and finding an old mp3 as it is finding an old CD haha.
Having said that, we don't really have any independent record stores about, I'm sure I would buy much more music than I do now, but at the moment it just seems like 90% of the money made from a CD goes to an undeserving source, which I don't support.
Agreed, I would much rather pay for a CD than I would pay for a bunch of MP3s. The thing is, I don't actually own a CD player, so I essentially rip lossless files from my CD and stream them to my Airport Express. So CDs really are more or less collectables for me, buy 'em, rip 'em, stare at the cover and booklets but never touch the disk again.
SamEyes
10/12/08, 08:27 AM
A bit of both for me. I'll DL the songs when I start to listen to bands, but if I like them, I usually buy the CD. Strange, how buying a CD is slowly becoming the equivalent of buying merch. I mean, it used to be if you really liked a band, that you would buy like a shirt or something, now it's just you buy a CD.
I have yet to buy any CDs this year, nothing really great has come out. Last disk I bought was Riot!, and that was like a year ago.
What a brilliant way of looking at it, that's hit the nail on the head.
myplanforescape
10/12/08, 08:37 AM
I download and then buy whenever I have a little extra cash, unfortunately right now that isn't often.
What a brilliant way of looking at it, that's hit the nail on the head.
Thanks. Actually, I think that the entire industry should start to look at it like that. Lets face it, CD sales are becoming exponentially less profitable each year. I think it might be better if the RIAA/Labels were to stop going after pirates and possible find a way to release music for free or cheap (maybe add supported). From there, rather than making profit off the music itself, they would make profit off of merch, live shows etc. CDs would essentially fall into the category of merch, or maybe a premium ad free version of the stuff that the labels give away for free anyways. I mean, that's how a lot of people I know look at the concept of CDs. You don't buy a CD because you want the music, they're easily available online anyways, you buy them because you like a band. and you want a something physical to show that you like the band.
theguy77
10/12/08, 08:45 AM
i dont download typically, its usually like "get a friend to send it to me" and then buy eventually if i like it and if im not spending five thousand fucking dollars recording my own album hahah
Klatzke
10/12/08, 08:57 AM
I download sometimes. If i'm not going to buy the album though, i delete it 90% of the time.
smithariko
10/12/08, 10:03 AM
download and burn to disc so i can pretend i bought.
Amen Amen
10/12/08, 10:25 AM
download but if its really really good i support the band by buying it on vinyl
DilesMavis
10/12/08, 10:29 AM
Depends. A lot of the stuff I like, I can't find in stores and it's generally really difficult to find online sometimes, so I'll download. But I'll buy it if I really really like the majority of songs on the cd. Recently I just bought Slowdive's Souvlaki and that was such an awesome purchase.
A Love American
10/12/08, 10:29 AM
DL, if I like, buy, if I don't, give it a few more listens to decide, and if I still don't like, DELETE.
GuitarR0cker1
10/12/08, 10:32 AM
I download almost always unless I am a big fan of the band or the album is held in high regard.
I download so much music I almost feel guilty. I try to buy all that I like, but I just don't have the cash. My only defense is that I do have 300+ CD's, if that counts for anything.
xSanchez
10/12/08, 10:41 AM
Buy if its a band i like..
Sometimes i download if i can;t find the CD
Klatzke
10/12/08, 10:42 AM
I download so much music I almost feel guilty. I try to buy all that I like, but I just don't have the cash. My only defense is that I do have 300+ CD's, if that counts for anything.
That's how I am. That's why I delete the ones I don't end up buying.
voncorn
10/12/08, 10:43 AM
I buy 90% of my music. I almost always get CDs, but on occasion I have bought albums or songs via Amazon MP3.
The ones that I have downloaded are rare albums that are ridiculously expensive and/or out of print.
lew_1987
10/12/08, 11:06 AM
Download then buy, or don't buy.
Usually this, unless it's one of my favourite band's CDs, or if I already know that I'm going to like it.
SwiftSilentDead
10/12/08, 11:25 AM
I download then buy it if I like it a lot. I'll buy an album on whim every now and then and I usually end up liking those the best.
ugman_2000
10/12/08, 11:41 AM
I download most of the time but if its a band I really appreciate I'll buy also I tend to buy more smaller bands CD's especially uk bands to help support them
I hate buying CD's from places like HMV so I tend to buy a lot online or from small record stores
I'd rather have a physical version of an album but I just listen to way too much music to be able to afford all of them
I do tend to go to a lot of gigs & tend to buy albums or merch at them more often than not
dpetty21
10/12/08, 11:42 AM
I buy everything. I may go on myspace and listen to a song or two of a band if I'm just starting to check them out and that lets me know if I should buy the CD. If it's a band I already like I always buy their new CD's when they come out.
xAnti-Violentx
10/12/08, 12:59 PM
The last time I bought a CD, was back in '06, Placebo's 'Meds DVD/CD - Limited Edition'. Then my friend bought The Smashing Pumpkins' 'Siamese Dream', Patrick Wolf's 'The Magic Position' and The Velvet Underground's 'More from Max's' on vinyl for me... I'm poor, so I just download everything.
Also it's hard for me to find any good CDs/vinyls. My town sucks, seriously. I live in a fucking shithole.
TheSkunk
10/12/08, 01:07 PM
I buy albums, but i do download singles songs
download. if i like it a lot, I'll buy it
googirl8907
10/12/08, 01:55 PM
I buy all my music.
download mostly. buy vinyl a lot though now. i'm getting into buying physical copys of my favourites now too, although i've probably bought no more than 10 cds in the last two years in my defense though i do own over 250 actual cds.
theguy77
10/12/08, 02:43 PM
Thanks. Actually, I think that the entire industry should start to look at it like that. Lets face it, CD sales are becoming exponentially less profitable each year. I think it might be better if the RIAA/Labels were to stop going after pirates and possible find a way to release music for free or cheap (maybe add supported). From there, rather than making profit off the music itself, they would make profit off of merch, live shows etc. CDs would essentially fall into the category of merch, or maybe a premium ad free version of the stuff that the labels give away for free anyways. I mean, that's how a lot of people I know look at the concept of CDs. You don't buy a CD because you want the music, they're easily available online anyways, you buy them because you like a band. and you want a something physical to show that you like the band.
how much do labels already tend to make off of tours and merch?
how much do labels already tend to make off of tours and merch?
Not all that much, but they have to start looking for alternate incomes with CD sales so low. I'm not saying that this is the ONLY way for the industry to make money, nor am I claiming all the ideas are mine, as I've taken a few ideas I've read about and combined them. But, if you look around, you can already see this happening in the industry. It's the same concept that allows stores such as Hot Topic to survive. People are exposed to more music because of downloading, and thus, are more likely to buy merch if they LOVE a band. I doubt that a store like Hot Topic would be half as successful as it is now 15-20 years ago. The money that people now spend on merch would have instead been used on BUYING the music in the first place. That's my two cents on the whole issue.
Chromefox
10/12/08, 08:02 PM
Download half an album, then buy if I like it.
If I didn't know that CDs are making their slow exit to be replaced by downloads I would buy everything on CD. I like the idea of a collection that isn't stored on my hard drive. Unfortunately, they are, so I am trying to come to a compromise.
However, seeing as the thread includes iTunes and CDs as buying I propose a new option for YouTube/myspace/general internetz. Bands are increasingly releasing more songs pre-release so you can usually get a good barometer of an album off the three or four songs online. Saves all that illegal stuff. After that buy. I find music something that is worthwhile to spend my money on, so what the hay?
I download to see if it's worth buying then I buy it. I love CD's and I'm really getting into vinyl.
Yes. And?
10/12/08, 08:42 PM
Download. I'll buy albums by my favorite bands when an if I can.
dancelukedance
10/12/08, 10:35 PM
Both! To a large extent!
theguy77
10/13/08, 01:28 AM
Not all that much, but they have to start looking for alternate incomes with CD sales so low. I'm not saying that this is the ONLY way for the industry to make money, nor am I claiming all the ideas are mine, as I've taken a few ideas I've read about and combined them. But, if you look around, you can already see this happening in the industry. It's the same concept that allows stores such as Hot Topic to survive. People are exposed to more music because of downloading, and thus, are more likely to buy merch if they LOVE a band. I doubt that a store like Hot Topic would be half as successful as it is now 15-20 years ago. The money that people now spend on merch would have instead been used on BUYING the music in the first place. That's my two cents on the whole issue.
i mean, what you've been saying is a good idea for LABELS, but i dont like the sound of them pulling most of their money out of the income the band usually gets to keep for themselves. i think that would kill the industry further if indie acts are receiving less of their already small incomes, more bands would fail and have to stop touring because they're too low against living expenses, and the label would implode due to the inactivity of bands who just cant afford to tour anymore.
but alas im a young inexperienced songwriter who hasnt had the chance to dabble with the business at all, so of course i hold uninformed socialist/anti-capitalist views on the music industry. its funny how im pro-capitalist when it comes to business and the nation as a whole, but i go by a dogma that music is a liberal art and as such should not be run by a conservative economic system, blah blah blah youve heard it all before, basically i believe music is an art with only some focus on the business side as a foundation to support it, rather than it being a business overall that just uses music as its product. but im not well informed on the ways that could even be made possible on a large scale.
xtheaudition
10/13/08, 02:33 AM
i always buy, i own over 100 records, eps, comps, and whatever else i like. i will continute to buy cd's until forever, the only time i download music off myspace, purevolume, or the bands site is when its free, i'll download it to check it out, most of the time i dig it, but i always buy my favorite bands albums (sometimes without even hearing anything off it, because usually its always good) im not picky er anything. so i enjoy mostly everything bands put out. or i give it a chance.
EchoPark
10/13/08, 03:06 AM
I have never downloaded any album illegally.
All of my music purchases have been through legal channels.
but seriously I am about 50/50
schaft0620
10/13/08, 06:48 AM
buy at the store..... (this is not going to happen to anyone anytime soon but it might) what are we going to do if apple stops selling downloads on Itunes, your pc crashes and all of your data is lost. You are on your 5th pc so all of your spots are taken from your Itunes songs and its a old song so you cant obtain it from other sites. Its a good thing you had the physical copy.
i mean, what you've been saying is a good idea for LABELS, but i dont like the sound of them pulling most of their money out of the income the band usually gets to keep for themselves. i think that would kill the industry further if indie acts are receiving less of their already small incomes, more bands would fail and have to stop touring because they're too low against living expenses, and the label would implode due to the inactivity of bands who just cant afford to tour anymore.
but alas im a young inexperienced songwriter who hasnt had the chance to dabble with the business at all, so of course i hold uninformed socialist/anti-capitalist views on the music industry. its funny how im pro-capitalist when it comes to business and the nation as a whole, but i go by a dogma that music is a liberal art and as such should not be run by a conservative economic system, blah blah blah youve heard it all before, basically i believe music is an art with only some focus on the business side as a foundation to support it, rather than it being a business overall that just uses music as its product. but im not well informed on the ways that could even be made possible on a large scale.
In the end it's the LABELS that are paying the acts. We never pay the acts directly when we buy CDs, unless of course the act is self-distributing (and only REALLY big bands do that, or local indie acts). If the labels do not make money, neither do any of the bands signed to the labels. Either way, I'm not saying the ideas of a 17 year old are gonna save the industry, it's just that the RIAA going after individual pirates is not gonna solve the problem in CD sales. Either labels start looking for alternate incomes, or find a way to totally stop piracy. The former is gonna be hard, the latter, even if accomplished, would probably be only a temporary solution.
Praetor
10/13/08, 07:27 AM
buy at the store..... (this is not going to happen to anyone anytime soon but it might) what are we going to do if apple stops selling downloads on Itunes, your pc crashes and all of your data is lost. You are on your 5th pc so all of your spots are taken from your Itunes songs and its a old song so you cant obtain it from other sites. Its a good thing you had the physical copy.
What happens if there's a fire in your house.
BOOM
What happens if there's a fire in your house.
BOOM
What happens if a fire in you have a fire in your house AND apple shuts down iTunes... at the SAME TIME!
a) Your CDs become liquid
b) Your DRM protected files become useless
c) Your iTunes plus files are destroyed by the heat.
My solution, we should simply have MP3 players embedded in our heads at birth ;-)
updownleftright
10/13/08, 07:47 AM
download mostly. buy vinyl a lot though now. i'm getting into buying physical copys of my favourites now too, although i've probably bought no more than 10 cds in the last two years in my defense though i do own over 250 actual cds.
same here. i ebay all my vinyl now but CD's are just so insignificant to me now. I have probably over 300 but at least a forth of them are scratched up and unplayable. I only buy CD's if I want the best quality for something, in which case I would transfer the CD into a high quality mp3 and play it on my computer regardless.
anyways, I find it funny that there's a 'too much music' category right now as well because i have a hard time feeling guilty about illegally downloading with the mass amount of garbage piling up everyday. granted there is a ton of dependabilities here but the fact remains.
buy at the store..... (this is not going to happen to anyone anytime soon but it might) what are we going to do if apple stops selling downloads on Itunes, your pc crashes and all of your data is lost. You are on your 5th pc so all of your spots are taken from your Itunes songs and its a old song so you cant obtain it from other sites. Its a good thing you had the physical copy.
this is what friends are for. i can easily count at least ten friends of mine who have the exact same music taste as me with everything I already own. pirates dude, we stick together.
OP should add a poll to the thread, it would make it easier to see with numbers.
updownleftright
10/13/08, 07:49 AM
What happens if a fire in you have a fire in your house AND apple shuts down iTunes... at the SAME TIME!
a) Your CDs become liquid
b) Your DRM protected files become useless
c) Your iTunes plus files are destroyed by the heat.
My solution, we should simply have MP3 players embedded in our heads at birth ;-)
hahahaha. the fact that DRM was even brought into this is hilarious.
seriously though, the government already wants to plant chips in us to monitor everywhere we go, why not mp3 players too? i'm down.
underthetalking
10/13/08, 07:52 AM
I'll download or get albums from my friends. If I like it, I'll buy the album myself. If I don't, its just taking up harddrive space and I'll delete it. I like having the actual album plus the sound quality is just better from albums than they are digitally.
same here. i ebay all my vinyl now but CD's are just so insignificant to me now. I have probably over 300 but at least a forth of them are scratched up and unplayable. I only buy CD's if I want the best quality for something, in which case I would transfer the CD into a high quality mp3 and play it on my computer regardless.
anyways, I find it funny that there's a 'too much music' category right now as well because i have a hard time feeling guilty about illegally downloading with the mass amount of garbage piling up everyday. granted there is a ton of dependabilities here but the fact remains.
this is what friends are for. i can easily count at least ten friends of mine who have the exact same music taste as me with everything I already own. pirates dude, we stick together.
OP should add a poll to the thread, it would make it easier to see with numbers.
I love having high quality audio, mostly because I have a pair of Shure SE210, and I love listening to anything on them. Unless you're really short on space, go for lossless files, Apple Lossless for iPods, FLACs for everything else. They sound MUCH better than high bitrate MP3s.
The problem with me is that most of my friends don't listen to punk, and very few of them listen to ANY type of rock period. It sucks in that I have no one to goto concerts with (You couldn't pay me to sit through a Lil Wayne concert with any of my friends), and I have no one to get music off of. Most of the stuff I listen to, I end up finding myself.
schaft0620
10/13/08, 08:06 AM
What happens if there's a fire in your house.
BOOM
damit! you got me
schaft0620
10/13/08, 08:07 AM
this is what friends are for. i can easily count at least ten friends of mine who have the exact same music taste as me with everything I already own. pirates dude, we stick together.
OP should add a poll to the thread, it would make it easier to see with numbers.
I dont have any friends
JK they all listen to top 20 or gwar and hatebreed
updownleftright
10/13/08, 10:51 AM
I love having high quality audio, mostly because I have a pair of Shure SE210, and I love listening to anything on them. Unless you're really short on space, go for lossless files, Apple Lossless for iPods, FLACs for everything else. They sound MUCH better than high bitrate MP3s.
The problem with me is that most of my friends don't listen to punk, and very few of them listen to ANY type of rock period. It sucks in that I have no one to goto concerts with (You couldn't pay me to sit through a Lil Wayne concert with any of my friends), and I have no one to get music off of. Most of the stuff I listen to, I end up finding myself.
yeah i am short on space so i have to make due with 320 vbr. that's funny you mention lil wayne though because one of my best friends has a ridiculous obsession with him. his top plays on last.fm are lil wayne, then explosions and my morning jacket. most random kid i know. lil wayne litterally has nearly a hundred singles/albums/eps whatever out there. might be alittle exaggerated but nonetheless, its more than anyone else i know.
Another problem with CDs. Say you're just sitting outside with a whole bunch of CDs beside you. The next thing you know, a monkey comes by and steals your entire CD collection. BAM. Just like that, all of your music is gone. And CDs tend to break too. But the same also applies to computers. Your hard drive could fail, your computer could also be stolen by monkeys. And I've had WAYYY to much sugar and coffee today. In Brain MP3s FTW!!!
Hojonny
10/13/08, 11:26 AM
Buy everything. I go physical for like 85% of my stuff, but if it's an older CD I don't care about, or there's a sale or I just want a single, I go digital.
Miss Heartcore
10/13/08, 12:10 PM
I buy everything. I rarely buy anything off of itunes incase something happens and all my songs get deleted.
Posthardcore
10/13/08, 12:12 PM
Buy it
Drown_The_City
10/13/08, 12:47 PM
download cause im a poor college kid
RamInGoreville
10/13/08, 12:55 PM
If it's a band I already like, or I've heard a few things off of it and I like it/hear good reviews then I will go buy albums. Which is often, probably like almost half of my weekly paycheck goes to new CD's.
However, if I only want a couple songs...I limewire that shit.
fadedmemories
10/13/08, 12:58 PM
I usually buy, but at least 10% of my music was downloaded on torrent sites
Question - on itunes, if I move computers, will I still have the songs I bought on my old PC available on my new one if I log onto my iTunes account?
chipdip18
10/13/08, 01:40 PM
I buy as much as i can, and download CD's i can't find.
emmygrey
10/13/08, 01:41 PM
Unfortunately, I usually download. Don't have extra money to buy too many CDs lately. I do when I really love an album though.
I made a promise to myself that if I ever get rich, I'll buy a CD and, if there is one, vinyl of every single release I downloaded.
RamInGoreville
10/13/08, 01:42 PM
Unfortunately, I usually download. Don't have extra money to buy too many CDs lately. I do when I really love an album though.
I made a promise to myself that if I ever get rich, I'll buy a CD and, if there is one, vinyl of every single release I downloaded.
I like that goal. Good luck with it.
SamEyes
10/13/08, 02:07 PM
I download most of the time but if its a band I really appreciate I'll buy also I tend to buy more smaller bands CD's especially uk bands to help support them
I hate buying CD's from places like HMV so I tend to buy a lot online or from small record stores
I'd rather have a physical version of an album but I just listen to way too much music to be able to afford all of them
I do tend to go to a lot of gigs & tend to buy albums or merch at them more often than not
I was in Guildford earlier, small world!
theguy77
10/14/08, 07:40 AM
In the end it's the LABELS that are paying the acts. We never pay the acts directly when we buy CDs, unless of course the act is self-distributing (and only REALLY big bands do that, or local indie acts). If the labels do not make money, neither do any of the bands signed to the labels. Either way, I'm not saying the ideas of a 17 year old are gonna save the industry, it's just that the RIAA going after individual pirates is not gonna solve the problem in CD sales. Either labels start looking for alternate incomes, or find a way to totally stop piracy. The former is gonna be hard, the latter, even if accomplished, would probably be only a temporary solution.
really? i thought they received money directly from tour
IWasaCamera
10/14/08, 10:46 AM
Download first, purchase later if deemed worthwhile.
alice+interiors
10/14/08, 10:51 AM
Purchase a lot spontaneously, but I download occasionally.
really? i thought they received money directly from tour
I was talking about CDs here. But most tours are organized by other companies. Sometimes labels, but a lot of time there are other companies involved. They pay the bands. Same for merch. It's very rare to pay a band directly. However, bands do tend to make more money off of merch and tours than they do off of CDs.
SubrosaSeductiv
10/15/08, 08:28 AM
I buy cd's I've never really been big on vinyl or mp3's.
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