Buying CDs in the modern age

[Master_Yoda77]

I've posted my CD collection numerous times but...whatever. Plus, VINYL!

(not all pictured)

(gotten a few more since then but...meh)

The cat made me lulz...I have to admit though...having a collection like that is pretty cool...

 

[The Ozzman]

Andy is too kvlt for his own good

 

[Omni]

I buy music if I'm curious about it and can get a good deal on it, and also anything that I really enjoy after hearing it. There's too many albums for me to buy everything.

 

[J.]

"All these underground rules look great at first sight - the music becomes a protest towards the commercial music industry. This is good, of course. But on the other hand - they kill the bands. After eight years of being broke, I'm starting to become quite fed up. Why shouldn't I live on the music? Basically I have the choice between two things - staying underground and slowly taking the life of the band - in the end I'd have to quit and get myself a job. The other thing is to say fuck off to most of the underground principles and start to earn money. Then, I'd be able to make more music with the band, and release tons of great records with great bands. This is of course a much better gain for the true scene."

Euronymous

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Not that I entirely agree with Euronymous, but he has a point.

I never download. I do sample from myspace, and that's as far as it goes. People can convince themselves that not buying CDs doesn't hurt the band, but in the end it simply means they are too cheap to buy the CD.

Simple economics take effect here, though. Why would a record label send a band on tour that has minimal CD sales when they can send shit bands like Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir out there and bring in a profit? The simple fact is that bands need some income to survive, even if it is breaking even.

And to the jackass who says that bands will record music if they make money or not: You do know that recording equipment, studio time, the media used, etc all costs money, right? Where is this money coming from? I guess the bands' since you're not helping out at all. Want, want, want, and not giving is the creed of today's metal scene. Piss poor.

 

[Cythraul]

I realize that most people get their music via Limewire or Itunes, but is it common for metalheads to purchase CDs of their favorite bands these days even with this modern convenience?

I'm not fucking made of money but I try to buy CDs as much as I can. I usually buy a cd if I know it's something I'll really dig. I don't do any of that blind buy stuff anymore due partly to my cynicism, and partly to my lack of excessive amounts of money. If it's a classic album that's out of print I'm not going to spend exorbitant amounts of money on ebay for that shit when I can just get a high quality rip of it. At any rate, I find a lot of really classic oop stuff at second hand record stores for $6 - $8. That's the way to do it, my friend.

edit: and yeah, you should buy CDs whenever you can because bands need that shit to actually pay for the making of their albums. I know that most underground bands ain't out to make money. It's not about profit. It's about helping bands you respect to stay afloat.

edit 2: Also, underground bands don't make shit from touring. They usually make enough to pay for a day's worth of food and gas to the next gig.

 

[The_Quadfather]

I have never downloaded an album that wasn't available for free by the band. This is not because of my morals or anything like that, as those are questionable at best, it is simply because my computer is my life and and I don't want to fuck it up by downloading shit.

Truth be told, though, I do get jealous of those of you with a greater exposure to bands and knowledge in general. Bastards!

 

[Prog_Please]

I usually sample bands on MySpace and if I like them, put them on a "To Buy" list for when I have the money or when they turn up cheap. I don't download songs anymore because 1. having the actual CD in my collection gives me a sense of personal satisfaction and 2. Limewire never seems to have any of the songs I want.

 

[ramses]

When people first see my collection of 1437 cd's, they think I must have a lot of money to spend, but that's not the case. I switched from cassettes to CDs in 1990. Since I started, I was not like my alcholic friends, and I didn't spend my hard earned money on booze, and pot. "To each their own" I'd say to them, "but music is there the next day, and so on, as long as you take care of it". Before the internet, I mostly relied on metal/guitar/prog mag's reviews to find what I like in music. If that wasn't enough when I'm in a record store, I'd check out the band's label, producer, song titles, and in some cases, the artwork. I've took some risks on some bands, but mostly my research, and intuition rewarded me. There are a few that I was totally wrong on, so I give them to my best friend, maybe he'll like the band, or I just sell it back to some other store. I'll probably never download music, there's more of a chance the music files will get fucked up. And besides, I get the bands to sign the booklets....you can't exactly do that with downloads. Bills come first, and then whatever's left, go to music and books, hockey games...

 

[Psychonaut]

I used to blind buy a lot of music but that became a bit of a strain on the wallet so now I check them out on MySpace and if they're good, I buy it. I never download music.

 

[Phrozenspite]

I buy CDs but i download first like a lot here, usually i'll hear names metal-archives them and such or look them up on myspace and then hop on DC and snag them. I then evaluate em and put a to buy list together

 

[Zephyrus]

Myspace music is a god-send.

 

[Tallerthanatree]

When I do download, it will just be one or two songs to keep me occupied until I can get the album. But thats rare. I buy 95% of my music.

Support independent music distros.

 

[waif]

Myspace music is a god-send.

QFT. Helps so much.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

Theoretically very true, not in practice though. Sucks, but it's not true a great majority of the time. Bands need money to tour anyway, and if they want to get stuff out to everyone even out of love, they'll probably need funding.

A very good point, but how much of this funding actually comes from CD sales?

Simple economics take effect here, though. Why would a record label send a band on tour that has minimal CD sales when they can send shit bands like Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir out there and bring in a profit? The simple fact is that bands need some income to survive, even if it is breaking even.

CD sales provide an indicator of popularity, but it is not the only variable.

And to the jackass who says that bands will record music if they make money or not: You do know that recording equipment, studio time, the media used, etc all costs money, right? Where is this money coming from? I guess the bands' since you're not helping out at all. Want, want, want, and not giving is the creed of today's metal scene. Piss poor.

Most of this stuff is already owned by the band before they're picked up by a label and I can't imagine why this wouldn't be the case. You need equipment to produce music and until you've produced enough good music to establish a fanbase and until you've reached a level of credential that a label will just give you stuff, it should be your own responsibility to be held accountable for your own progress.

 

[Carcassian]

I think you all know my stand point on this - though I will admit to having downloaded some OOP stuff that I just can't get hold of.

It doesn't hold a candle to owning the original CD though...

 

[waif]

A very good point, but how much of this funding actually comes from CD sales?

CD sales influence the company to give them money...still applies.

 

[Koude Haat]

I download a lot but also buy everything i like.

I've posted my CD collection numerous times but...whatever. Plus, VINYL!

(not all pictured)

(gotten a few more since then but...meh)

Nice cat there should be a thread for posting music collections.

 

[supseudonymous]

I download a lot but also buy everything i like.



Nice cat there should be a thread for posting music collections.

There was a thread, but it was locked due to pointlessness. Nobody wants to read through long lists of albums that people own. I think collection photos would be a different story altogether though. I know I'd be interested in seeing those.

 

[AchrisK]

I buy about 100% of what I listen to, and I listen to about 95% physical media. I use my MP3 player occasionally, and I typically only put CDs I own on it.

I have downloaded albums and whatnot, some rare and demo, some readily available, but I find that I never listen to anything I download. I could say it is because I don't live at my computer, but I do work at a computer all day, and even at work I use a portable CD player.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

I like to buy at shows. But buying used, I realize, doesn't do much for the band. It's more for sentiment...

I buy used to support my local record stores.