A survey to prove a rumor about metalheads

there shouldn't be any intent in making money or profiting from it

Yeah...this notion died a brutal death with the advent of audio recording technology. It is an inarguable fact that, over time, "product" has become a viable and legitimate element to the idea of "art work." An artist's desire to be compensated for his product in no way subverts his artistic integrity and the validity of his art.
 
Yeah...this notion died a brutal death with the advent of audio recording technology. It is an inarguable fact that, over time, "product" has become a viable and legitimate element to the idea of "art work." An artist's desire to be compensated for his product in no way subverts his artistic integrity and the validity of his art.

I don't think a monetary gain is a good influence into it
 
I been wating to buy cds on the internet but my dad doesn't think it a good idea since people steel your number and all of that stuff.

Has something bad to any of you when you were buying your music on the internet?

...

Chances of that happening are virtually zero if you use a certified, legitimate place like amazon. Less unjustified paranoia please.
 
One thing the internet can do is cheapen the value of individual songs/albums in a way, simply because its possible to have access to so much at once. Back when I was a kid an album cost a lot of money for me then and each one was treasured and listened to many many times. Although its fantastic being able to get online and discover lots of new bands in any genre I choose, it also detracts from the experience in a way I think. Its much more fulfilling to buy an album on a whim having heard the odd track somewhere and really get into it.

I totally get this. When I was young and coming across $20 was a big deal i thought long and hard about which cd to purchase and cherished it like a motherfucker once I bought it. Now I go and buy 10 cd's on a whim listen to them a few times and then do it again. This is not to say that I never listen to an album more than a few times, but I to find I buy cd's too fast to be able to fully absorb each one as I purchase it.
 
You believe in the same sense of entitlement - only for artists... True artists will make work regardless of whether they are making money or not.

You know, there's this little thing called "needing to eat and keep a roof over your head" that a lot of people forget about it when they're well off enough that it's not a concern for them. There's also a large helping of entitlement with the attitude "You should spend your time and energy making stuff for me, but don't expect to ever get anything in return. It's all about ME dammit!"

I do still buy CDs, though I admit I buy electronic albums more often than physical CDs. Some of the bands I listen to don't have legal purchase-online options, especially for older work, so that's when I'm most likely to order the physical CD.

I'll admit, if it's available on iTunes, I'll most likely buy the album there, because it's a million times faster than ordering it, as well as being cheaper.

I have yet to see any modern Metal band, aside from the vastly most popular few, for sale in a store. So it's either iTunes or Amazon Marketplace for buying most of what I listen to. If I could actualy FIND Metal CDs in a local store, I would probably buy physical CDs more often and electronic albums less often. But when I'm chosing between paying less to have it now, or paying more to have it in a week...
 
Wow, thanks for all the survey responses and the discussion :)

I think that when this survey finishes, I might have to do another one to find out how the average metalhead branches out into other genres and how they support them (CD purchases, concert visits, merchandise purchases? etc.), like BlackMetalWhiteGuy suggested.

You've also mentioned online stores vs. real stores, the survey doesn't really make a difference where you get your CDs from, but the last question asks whether you believe that CD stores are going to disappear. We seem to be a very pessimistic bunch so far, most answers are yes :(

I think the music industry is being a big baby, by the way. Most good music isn't made by bands on major labels, most good music is made by musicians that still have to pay for their own instruments, recording sessions, cover artwork etc. They pay it up front and hope to at least break even.

I talked to Eviga and Valnes from Dornenreich for example, and even though they have a huge following, they can't live just from the music. On the other end of the spectrum you have Britney Spears who turns dozens of old farts at record labels into millionaires.

The music industry is a very weird business...

It's amazing to see the loyalty in metal, though. It's like Sam Dunn says, we are one global tribe, with rules, rituals, loyalty and all that :)

And about the "downloading increases sales" statement, I think it is absolutely true. The big labels have a problem with that statement, though, because it's mostly small bands and independent labels that profit. I bet barely anyone buys the latest Lady Gaga after downloading it and listening to it twice, pop music today just isn't deep enough for that, I think, so I can easily believe the major labels are losing on downloads.

But to the metal, major labels never mattered much anyway, did they?
 
You've also mentioned online stores vs. real stores, the survey doesn't really make a difference where you get your CDs from, but the last question asks whether you believe that CD stores are going to disappear. We seem to be a very pessimistic bunch so far, most answers are yes :(

My favourite shop in Prague has already closed this winter. It was the only one with cool obscure metal. :(
 
When im done with school I want to open a music store.My store will have cds,cassite tapes,dvds,and vinyl.You can preview the album to see if you will buy it or not.It will also have a large fucking used bin.
 
My favourite shop in Prague has already closed this winter. It was the only one with cool obscure metal. :(

oh no. i think i visited it when i went to prague in 2003. this saddens me, pretty sure i found the 1st aghora cd there.
 
I don't think a monetary gain is a good influence into it

Who says it has to influence an artist? Obviously many popular artists shape their music based on what they think and are told will sell, but do you really think Pagan Altar sounds the way they do because they think that will make them the most money? And yet they do care about being reimbursed for their hard work, which is why they avidly fight against bootlegs of their work.
 
When im done with school I want to open a music store.My store will have cds,cassite tapes,dvds,and vinyl.You can preview the album to see if you will buy it or not.It will also have a large fucking used bin.
Looking at this from a financial perspective, I hope those are just additional things that can be purchased from the store, as opposed to the store's focus. As many local CD shops are going out of business, I would guess the only way that you would even break even is if you're selling instruments, equipment and accessories, as well as charging for lessons and repairs.
 
I used to buy around 8 albums a month back in Middle school all the way up until Tower Records closed down 3 years ago. I'm 23 now, I have a huge collection of c-ds and it's just harder now to keep up with everything coming out now that I have to resort to Best Buy and FYE(not bad but they charge $18 an album). I just bought All Shall Fall at FYE but that's probably 1 in the last 4 months.
 
oh no. i think i visited it when i went to prague in 2003. this saddens me, pretty sure i found the 1st aghora cd there.

It was called Gung-Ho and was located in a Rock Café club. That guy had a lot of obscure oop shit.
 
I still buy from local stores, because I don't have a paypal, or a credit card. And I hate asking my mom to use hers.


Local stores though are great to walk into, and just look around. And even better to look for vinyl.
 
I used to buy around 8 albums a month back in Middle school all the way up until Tower Records closed down 3 years ago. I'm 23 now, I have a huge collection of c-ds and it's just harder now to keep up with everything coming out now that I have to resort to Best Buy and FYE(not bad but they charge $18 an album). I just bought All Shall Fall at FYE but that's probably 1 in the last 4 months.
I can't stand FYE anymore. All the albums that I bought during high school came from that store, but I've wasted so much money there over the years due to their through-the-roof prices. Not to mention their metal section contains only the most popular of metalcore and deathcore, with some established melodeath and tech death acts thrown in. Only having access to the established bands wasn't such a big deal when I was new to metal, but I sure am glad the -core genres hadn't taken off yet.

I still go in whenever I'm in the area, but I ignore their music collection completely, because they fail hardcore at offering a reasonable price on anything. I really wish I'd discovered online shopping earlier in my music consuming career. They do occasionally have good deals on used games and movies though, which is the only reason I continue to visit.