Buying music nowadays

[unerxai]

I started collecting CDs as a teen, but eventually stopped when Spotify became big. I thought it was too good of a deal; a legal way to listen to most of the music I liked for a few dollars a month, or for free. A few years ago some of my favorite bands suddenly dissapeared completely (Dismember and Carcass, both from Earache label.) and that kinda turned off from Spotify. I started collecting CDs again.

 

Nowadays it seems most people either stream or buy vinyl records. Vinyl is cool but way too expensive for me and would take too much space. I sometimes feel like a weirdo for buying CDs in 2022, heh. I know there's also bandcamp, but seems to be limited in my country (Chile) because not a lot of bands show up.

 

Anyway I'm curious about how you listen to music in today's world.

[Doom_Dude]

I never bothered with any of those music streaming services other than playing a song here and there on youtube.

 

I mainly listen to mp3's I ripped from my collection of CDs and sometimes I'll play CDs on my stereo. I rarely play music on cassette and extremely rare with the vinyl. I use AIMP and put the collection on shuffle. There's 64 days, 21 hours, 46 minutes and 5 seconds of playing time according to the player.

 

I have a collection of 1130 CDs and been collecting since the 80's. I have about 300 cassettes and 200 vinyl albums and small stack of 45's. I only purchase CD's these days. I gave up on vinyl sometime after the CD first appeared. Have no interest in buying vinyl after all this time. Been there, done that.

[StodgyAyatollah]

I was late to the digital train compared to many but once I switched over I've never considered going back. I've always listened to somewhat niche music so never used streaming services instead opting for places like bandcamp that have a heavier focus on independent artists and provide downloads so I can archive what I've purchased. Perhaps a VPN can get you more access on sites like that.

[Rudolph]

I use YouTube to listen to albums, usually uploads on official channels, but I have recently discovered an used record store where I have bought all the Pink Floyd albums I care about as well as David Gilmour's first two solo albums. Those, I listen on my computer's CD player. I have also uploaded digital albums to my smartphone's music library. I have never bothered with Spotify and I honestly have no clue how it actually works.

[Caffeine Freak]

50 minutes ago, unerxai said:

 I sometimes feel like a weirdo for buying CDs in 2022, heh. 

 

You shouldn't. Digital ownership is ubiquitous and taken for granted nowadays, but all the same, it's always pragmatic to have physical copies of the music you've purchased. 

 

For my own part, I typically listen to music on my PC music library. Don't bother much with streaming services, sometimes I listen to it on Youtube, typically on official channels. When I like an artist enough, I'll generally find out if there's a way I can purchase their music directly, such as Bandcamp.

[heliumlamb]

i like to not be dependent on the internet when listening to music, especially when on the go, so anything that somehow be digitized can be put onto a standalone digital music player is a go for me.

most fun i've had buying physical music was just going through "floor bins" at record stores, where records are like 1 to 5 dollars each, with no form of categorization, and in any condition. it helps that a good chunk of the stuff i listen to was either only on records or compilation cds after the record's (usually just a 12inch single or ep) release, and is part of the reason many pressing plants are still around today. CDJs and stuff like traktor didn't get good/prevalent until like at least the mid 00's. praise the sl1200.

i still think i have more CDs than records, but my records will probably still be playing fine in 20 years, granted they don't get hella moldy or start warping and melting due to atmospheric changes before then. cds that are approaching 30-40years might be rotting in a very peculiar way, and i think they should currently be given priority when it comes to media preservation. i haven't got around to it because i aint got enough space for all those .wavs

old cassette tapes seem to be doing alright, save for the foam "tensioner" peices that put pressure on the part of the tape that makes contact with the head(s) dissolving like most old foam.

i've mostly been getting cds if anything these days, as my transportation only has cd and am/fm radio.
 

[unerxai]

Yeah. Disc rot is a shitty, unfortunate thing. I've read it's already happening to some old CD format videogames like Saturn, and there are very messed up LaserDisks already.

 

I have a couple of vinyl records but I just see them as personal collectibles.

Edited October 16, 2022 by unerxai

[Sonikkumania]

Whenever I find something interesting and/or can afford. Buying physicals is a costly hobby (what isn't), but it's also fun.

 

Spotify has surprisingly good amount of rarer stuff, but I declined to pay after a while.

 

As for Youtube, I do listen from there. Otherwise Youtube can fuck off.

[RHhe82]

I also started collecting CD's in my teens, and went on about it until Spotify became a thing. After 2008 or so, I've bought about 10 CDs. In early 20s, I'd buy tons of CDs from physical stores or underground distros that sold black metal stuff.

 

Spotify naturally never catered extensively for my tastes, albums or bands would just disappear etc... But moreover, I really don't like what Spotify has done to my way of listening to music - I don't listen to albums anymore but individual songs. I guess that suits popular music (I mean, really popular radio hit stuff), but metal genre rarely builds upon singles but albums.

 

And yes, I know, I could listen to albums on Spotify, it's really up to me, but somehow it's not happening :P Partly because I most use Spotify when I'm driving a car somewhere or taking a long walk, where "mix tape" is more appropriate whenever I don't listen to talk shows on radio or Nirvana's Doom podcast or some writing/literature podcasts, but the other part is some sort of mental thing.

 

And thus I've started weighing the option that I'd stop Spotify subscription and invest in a CD player once again. Those aforementioned podcasts are so easy to listen thru Spotify and I wouldn't want to spoil them by having ads D:

[ducon]

I still buy CD’s (I own about 1500 CD’s), I used to listen to online streaming websites like Deezer or Grooveshark (ten years ago).

I also listen to music I downloaded mostly legally: the artist gives his music freely, sometimes scraped from Youtube (thank you youtube-dl and shell scripts).

I ripped all my CD’s so that I can listen to them everywhere I want.

Edited October 16, 2022 by ducon

[Arwel]

I sometimes buy digital on bandcamp, but honestly... I almost never listen to it there, and I rarely download it.

Stuff I'm buying I mostly listen in context of mixes/podcasts on soundcloud or online radios. Buying on bandcamp feels more like a donation thing.

[Azuris]

5 hours ago, unerxai said:

Nowadays it seems most people either stream or buy vinyl records. Vinyl is cool but way too expensive for me and would take too much space. I sometimes feel like a weirdo for buying CDs in 2022, heh.

 

Nah, you can rip them and use them everywhere you want.
 

Streams are only there until your Internet Connection breaks or the Service ends.
I also like to use the Software of my choice to listen to Music, on the PC Winamp, i just dislike modern UI Design (clunky, bloated and less features at the same time oO).

 

4 hours ago, unerxai said:

Yeah. Disc rot is a shitty, unfortunate thing. I've read it's already happening to some old CD format videogames like Saturn, and there are very messed up LaserDisks already.

 

I have a couple of vinyl records but I just see them as personal collectibles.

 

Depends on the Quality of the Disc and where it was laying around.
A handful of burned CDs of mine already have died and i think i had one from a Magazine that was also dead.

Thats why ripping what you care for is important, even the Medium dies, you at least have a pretty Thingy and you can pretend as it works with your rip X)

 

Thats also why i love the Mister, even if some Day the original Systems will die, i'll be able to play them accurate.

[Kinsie]

1.) Bandcamp

2.) CDs at merch desks
3.) Holding my nose and using other vendors

?.) Random fits of Spotify

[BCHQ]

I buy and collect CDs (mostly old pressings from 80's-90's). Sometimes buy stuff on Bandcamp. Most of my iPhone is filled with mp3s. Streaming services pay miserable pennies to artists, and tend to use loud remasters, so I'd rather rip an original CD and put in my Vox.

 

I got a few LPs, but they are kinda costly, so I only buy selected things. I grew up with vinyl, I like it, it sounds great when an album has been specifically mastered for vinyl, but for the most part I prefer CDs.

[hybridial]

I use bandcamp, and Amazon digital for the rare occasion a band doesn't release on bandcamp. 

 

Streaming is bad, it will always be bad for the reasons people are fully aware of. I use dopamine and my MP3 player for listening. It's nice to basically carry around all the music I care to listen to in a box smaller or maybe about the same to the total mass of a CD

[Stupid Bunny]

I bought probably hundreds of CDs during a period of several years, and visiting the music store to see what I could track down became one of my most treasured weekly rituals (as well as an excuse for a long walk since none of them were that close to me).  It's nice to have both rips and physical, tangible media for most of my favorite albums, there's a qualitative difference between that and something like Spotify where the service is letting you borrow their collection but can revoke that or remove something you like at any time.  I also like having the little booklets that come with the CDs, especially when the artist goes ham with photographs and artwork and weird stories and other funky stuff.  I may end up collecting LPs someday but I don't have space for them now and at any rate I like having my music collection be portable.

 

I also own exactly one album on cassette, because Laibach is weird and the cassette version of Kapital is noticeably different from (and better than) the CD/digital version

[Wyrmwood]

For a good long while I used to buy 4-6 cds (tapes before) a month. I tried Spotify when it started up but I like a lot of little known Alt Country and Americana music and it used to draw a blank with a lot of my searches.

 

It's come on leaps and bounds since then I only rarely can't find a track I'm looking for and for maybe the last 3-4 yrs I've stopped buying cds altogether and only pay for spotify. I do miss properly checking out the album cover and art but for money saved and convenience it's a no-brainer unless your an audiophile.

 

I would actually have to go and buy a cd player at this point also, my new computer has no disk drive neither does my girlfriends Xbox Series Whatever.

[Redneckerz]

I am doing this the other way around

• Most music: Spotify
• Special music that i like: I buy on CD
• Special music that i like and i bought on CD: I buy on vinyl

I need a vinyl player still though.

[yakfak]

i try not to support spotify cos I'm a musician with some musician friends who all hate it, would rather have our stuff honestly stolen than business-casual stolen

i have no money i just swap download codes with people and ignore big releases

[Nightmare2989]

Been decades since i bough a CD think last CD i bough was maybe blink 182 but nowadays i just listen to Spotify still got my CDs about 80 i think i should dust them off  

[Kinsie]

2 hours ago, hybridial said:

Streaming is bad, it will always be bad for the reasons people are fully aware of.

Fair, but I do use it a lot to find new music. I used to download a shitload of music, but between Bandcamp, merch tables and the dread stream menace, I'm basically buying more music than I ever have before (28 physical CDs and 17 digital albums this year alone, and counting!)

[hybridial]

3 minutes ago, Kinsie said:

Fair, but I do use it a lot to find new music.

 

That's probably it's only good use but nothing music websites and youtube can't fulfil about as well. To me streaming seems to be more for people who aren't entirely sure what they are looking for, but for people who do, it's questionable of it having any use at all.

 

And well I'm the kind of person who is always quite specific in what he's looking for. 

[Sokoro]

I just use digital versions stored on private device.

Once, I have tried to buy stuff on Bandcamp, but their website refused to accept my card info, while I had everything set correctly and I buy other stuff just fine with it.

So what is wrong with their website? Shitty programing?

[Sonikkumania]

57 minutes ago, Sokoro said:

I just use digital versions stored on private device.

Once, I have tried to buy stuff on Bandcamp, but their website refused to accept my card info, while I had everything set correctly and I buy other stuff just fine with it.

So what is wrong with their website? Shitty programing?

What Internet browser were you using?

[DuckReconMajor]

I actually still buy music from the iTunes store sometimes.

This allows me to use apps on my iPhone for pitch shifting the songs or using something like moises.AI to seperate instruments/vocals and such.

 

For regular listening though, I've just used spotify for almost a decade now. I only own the physical CDs in the rare case an album is on 0 streaming services.

[Sokoro]

1 hour ago, Sonikkumania said:

What Internet browser were you using?

Firefox, I even disabled adblock and NoScript. Nothing helped.

Tried to buy complete discography of Darzamat.

[unerxai]

2 hours ago, DuckReconMajor said:

I actually still buy music from the iTunes store sometimes.

This allows me to use apps on my iPhone for pitch shifting the songs or using something like moises.AI to seperate instruments/vocals and such.

 

For regular listening though, I've just used spotify for almost a decade now. I only own the physical CDs in the rare case an album is on 0 streaming services.

I've always thought iTunes is pretty good (from a consumer perspective at least), they sell you a digital copy of an album for a lower price than the CD, which makes sense to me. If you buy digital from Amazon you pay pretty much the same as the CD.

 

I've heard the files used to have DRM a long time ago, but nowadays they don't.

[Kinsie]

4 hours ago, hybridial said:

but nothing music websites and youtube can't fulfil about as well

I feel like the evils of streaming re: revenue are not improved by random unmonetized Youtube uploads from xXStraightEdgeGoku69Xx.

(Yes, I know some bands and labels have official uploads that they presumably monetize, but the vast majority of music uploads on Youtube are not official, especially once you get into the deepest of the reeds)

[Csucskos]

I buy it online on bandcamp, download it for free from soundcloud/newgrounds or just rip it from YouTube. (In this order. I want to support the creator when possible.) I like the feeling of "owning" the music, but I don't even have a CD player or want to store them somewhere. They can just chill on the harddrive, it's small, it's cheap and it's quite comfortable. Quality is good enough, I don't have the bestest soundsystem. (I listen to electronic music, so maybe my experience differs from the mainstream.)

[Dweller Dark]

Most of what I listen to, I physically own in CD form, but I either rip it to my laptop or get the MP3 files from Amazon's AutoRip thing. Some stuff I've gotten from Bandcamp and from winning or redeeming codes. The rest, I just listen to on YouTube.