Do you buy or download your albums?

[Krow]

I check an album out on bandcamp or YouTube and I decide if I want it. If I want it, I buy a copy if I can find it at a decent price. If the band is located in the US I'll try and buy from them first. If I can't find a copy at a decent price I put it on my want list on discogs and wait for a copy to turn up at an acceptable price.

I'm also a sucker for blind buying things that look cool, which I regret less than you might imagine.

 

[NinjaSweater]

I use Spotify. Had it for about 3 years and it's been good to me. Especially recommending albums and new bands. I discovered a lot of bands on there.if it's not on Spotify, I go on YouTube.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Quite a few threads like this over the last few years

I have a gigantic collection and i still buy cd's and vinyl, but i also download a shit load of stuff ... leaks of albums that i know im going to buy or stuff from bands that im not too familiar with ... and if i like it, i'll buy it. I never pay for digital music though.

 

[DarkGuitarLord]

I typically buy cd's when they are on sale and do the same with downloads. Amazon will have different $5 album downloads each month, most of the time the selections are crappy but every once and a while you score a deal. Same with iTunes, they offer a $5.99 album deal, it's a crapshoot but sometimes you can find something that is a deal. Physical media comes into play if I find good enough deals.

Basically it means I'm married and I can't blow my cash on CD's like I did 15 years ago...

 

[J.]

i love bandcamp. It's just fun sifting through crap and finding gold at the bottom.

however, i only buy from the band if they offer physical media. if its a digital only band, your loss.

 

[JontRevolting]

Yeah I don't want anything to do with MP3s or whatever unless they're ripped onto my iPod from my CDs but I can see why the bands are selling them cheaply. Obviously hoping the conscience of the people that normally illegally dl will atleast contribute something.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Once I got Spotify I stopped downloading. Spotify doesn't have every album by every artist, so those are the albums I tend to purchase. It helps target my purchases because I love buying cds. Bandcamp and youtube are also cool. I used to download a lot, but those days are done.

 

[Funerary_Doom]

I use bandcamp a lot, but I realize its not the most cost effective tool. I like how convenient it is though and that it gives you the mp3 of vinyls and stuff.

I still download every now and then to check new stuff out, but I do buy a lot too.

 

[CiG]

I strictly buy physicals. Never downloaded music in my entire life. Though that's not saying much since I didn't grow up with internet access or computers like most people of my generation or younger did.

 

[requiem]

I strictly buy physicals. Never downloaded music in my entire life. Though that's not saying much since I didn't grow up with internet access or computers like most people of my generation or younger did.

This applies to me too. I've bought one or two things from itunes just to see what it was all about and because I was overseas without access to c.ds at one point, but I've never downloaded anything illegally and I haven't downloaded anything at all in some years. I buy c.ds and put some of them on my phone.

I have a massive and awesome collection of c.ds which I prize very highly. I'm pretty good at delaying gratification when it comes to new releases too, and won't listen to an album on youtube or anything until I hold the full package in my hands. I think artwork plays an important role, especially if lyrics are included and it's very important to me that I have the physical version of things.

I have the same approach with books and won't download a book or read online.

I'm happy for the future to be the future and for people to do what they want, but one of my best teenage memories was saving up the cash and ordering in an obscure c.d that my local store didn't have. Waiting for several weeks in some instances until 'Like Gods of the Sun', 'The Shadowthrone', or 'Bloody Kisses' arrived. It was then played over and over and I'd learn every single word by heart. This is before downloading. Nowadays kids have literally every album available at their fingertips to taste and throw away.

 

[The Ozzman]

I have to download more now because I don't have any space for more CDs currently and getting a digital copy is cheaper usually. My burner is also kaput.

 

[alex76]

Download full albums, buy the best, delete the rest.

Basically this, with an emphasis on purchasing albums by new, upcoming artists, obscure shit, or heavily underrated bands. I just dropped something like $29.00 in order to get Ominous - Death... the Beginning and have it shipped to me. I think they made something good there, and deserve a little recompense for it. I still make purchases for the very best stuff (I think King Diamond has enough of my money, thank you very much) and must-have classics.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

I stream on Rhapsody because I spend a lot of time listening to music on the go. It's cheap, and makes me feel like I'm contributing at least a little bit to the artists, even if that totals to like 5 cents a play or some shit. I also buy vinyl for the sound and collection aspect. I would be in full support of my favorite artists pulling together for a streaming company where they get a higher percentage of proceeds.

 

[Baroque]

I mostly buy CDs after checking out the albums on youtube or bandcamp. Sometimes I'll buy a track or two to download on iTunes if I don't like the rest of the album. Other times I'll buy the digital album because it's "choose your own price" and I usually pick a small amount. Or if the digital album is vastly cheaper than the CD or the CD is not in stock I'll buy it. CD is my preferred source but sometimes there's no other/better option than to download.

 

[CiG]

I see a lot of people justifying their downloading habits by saying "well the band doesn't actually get the money, the label does, I download but I buy shirts/see shows etc" but what this completely misses is that to even release something, the label needs to make some money. This is especially important for small labels. Maybe the band doesn't make much back, but the label makes money and then they can afford to press the next new band's shit.

 

[J.]

yeah i see that a lot. what it means is "im too cheap to pay for something when i can get it for free. fuck the band."

 

[Baroque]

By download I meant download the digital album from the band's site or iTunes (paying for it). I only download for free as a last resort, if the band has broken up and the album has not been reissued for example.

 

[CiG]

I'm not trying to trash anybody though.

 

[Omni]

I used to download stuff when I was a teenager until one of my favorite bands broke up due to not being able to afford to record an album because their earlier music was mostly downloaded. I don't even download old albums that are out of print anymore, unless it's an authorized digital release. I try to buy physical copies as often as possible.

I own the original releases of tons of my favorite albums.

 

[Draehl]

I YouTube/download first. If I really like it I get the vinyl. If I like it a good bit ill buy digital off bandcamp. If I just kinda like it I'll keep the download and not buy.

I don't feel bad because I always do a "would I buy this if I didn't have it downloaded?" check. If it is I put it on my to buy list- otherwise The Mp3 isn't cheating the band out of $ they would have gotten otherwise.