Do you still buy music or do you only stream?

Both.

Stream for discovery and convenience but purchases for long-term enjoyment.

 

Since I have my NAS and Spotify, I feel a certain relief of having fewer physical products, i.e. not running out of space, no hassle with the mail, no CD lying around etc. I still buy CDs but only if there is no other alternative. Sometimes the best sounding and mist dynamic alternative is a vinyl rip. In this case I do not buy a CD of course.

 

I do it in “tiers”.

I stream all the new releases I’m interested in (usually the week they come out, although I’m quite behind thanks to the sheer number of recommendations I get from this forum!)

Then, if I like it enough to play it more than 3 times, I’ll buy the iTunes download so that I’ve got it somewhere that nobody can take away from me.

THEN, if I really, really like it- I’ll buy the vinyl. I used to buy the CD, but for me the CD has little value these days, it would only get ripped to iTunes anyway and then sit in a box, so may as well not bother. Vinyl scratches the physical itch and I enjoy playing it, so why not.

And then there are the bands whose new albums I will preorder massive deluxe signed editions of, because I know I’ll love it and/or I want to support them as much as possible.

 

Totally agree. Streaming is fantastic for music discovery - and of course to be able to play anything anywhere.

Used to visit a record store at least once a week back in the day, listened to radio shows about new and upcoming releases and read almost every word in every issue of several different music magazines for years.

And yet I discover more new music (new to me, that is, not necessarily new releases) today through Spotify than I ever did back in the day. It has been a real eye opener when it comes to looking beyond stuff I already know that I like. There is so much fantastic music out there that you will never hear. Streaming makes it easier to catch some of it.

 

Too funny. I have this perverse mindset in which I will buy new box sets in 12 x 12 format size (both vinyl and disc) and leave them sealed on my shelves. The last couple of Grateful Dead vinyl boxes are there, the three King Crimson boxes--LTiA, Startess, and Red, The original Sandy Denny vinyl box on Hannibal, two or three of the Dylan Bootleg Series vinyl boxes, the Hendrix at Woodstock box on Classic Records.... off the top of my head anyway.

All that in addition to way too many single cd and lp titles that never got cracked.

Does anyone have a used straitjacket for sale cheap?

 

I understand the appeal of streaming -- having a massive catalogue of music at one's disposal, at home, work, or on the go for a cheap price. That said, I still prefer to own the product and the music. I can upload it and stream it myself and receive many of the same benefits, but it is still mine. If one has to rely on streaming services, there are periods where certain titles, recordings, and artists can disappear (much like Netflix and Hulu) and the consumer has no control over it. Additionally, the providers are building huge subscription lists with cheap monthly fees, but at some point, it will undoubtedly go up, and not provide the value that it presently does (younger generations do not want to pay for music because they have spent the past decade or so either getting it for free or streaming for pennies, and when the price goes up, it will be interesting to see what happens). The content and pricing is really outside the control of the consumer. Clearly, the era of physical product dominating distribution is over and it is not going to come back outside of a niche consumer-base, but streaming is not an attractive alternative for many.

 

That's my basic view as well. I can see the appeal of streaming, in theory, but the negatives far outweigh the positives. For me I mean. That sheer ownership and knowing you "have" the product factor being the biggest.

 

1) Reliable backup, done for you.

2) Sometimes, I just want to put a disc in a player, start it, and be about my business.

 

Sweet.

I'm not short of music to play, I'm only short of time enough to play it. Hence, what would streaming offer me? It'd offer more titles than I own, in effect infinite choice in a finite timeframe. While I'm sampling something I might like, I can be listening to something I do like. Easy choice.

 

I listen to Spotify Premium and anything I like I end up buying. I bought 9 albums last month. My friends rib me as they just stream 100% and can't understand why I still buy music.

 

I put down both buying and streaming because, while I don't use a streaming service, I do use services like YouTube and MusicMatch (a cable radio service) that I consider streaming. However, I only use those services for occasional casual listening and to discover new music. When it comes to music I want to keep, I always buy it (whether in a physical format or as downloads).

 

Read for about a minute and already read about people who don't stream BUT they do use YouTube to sample music and others who listen to music online. Guess what those things are also known as?

 

I do sometimes listen to YouTube and Spotify, but primarily as a means of finding out about new stuff. Once I decide that I really like a band/album, I'll eventually make the physical purchase. All of my "dedicated listening" occurs on physical media for optimal sound quality on my stereo.

 

This.

 

I voted: Neither - I have enough music already, but I do own a Hey Google thingy, and have free access to Spotify, so I do call up music from time to time on it.

 

I only buy physical copies. I use YouTube once in a while to hear a whole album. If it's something I really like it's on the shelf.

 

Ah, you’ve got a Google Home speaker

 

at the moment i only buy, but thinking about a complementary streaming account.

 

I buy as much physical product (new, not second hand) as I have ever done, but I also pay £10 per month for my Apple Music subscription and it's invaluable to me now.

I've discovered new and re-discovered many forgotten artists using streaming. I'm currently checking out Soft Cell's recent box set release. There's no way I can justify spending £80 on this on CD as I am not a major fan, but I love the opportunity to dip in and out. Just one example of many.

Any of my many favourite artists release something, and they will be an automatic purchase on CD for me, my small way of supporting these musicians.

 

I no longer buy or stream, I have sought to recreate from memory with my limited musical ability.

 

See my last post, just below yours. I'd thoroughly recommend streaming to go along with buying music.

 

They are usually the same ones that say they don’t participate in social media without realizing this place is by almost all definitions, social media.

 

I only buy music. I’m not interested in renting it.

 

I buy. My kids and most people I know under 30 stream and have no interest in finding the best versions or masterings of what they stream. It seems a generational thing. I guess in a few decades time when the streamers out there are on nostalgia kicks, they’ll just stream away as usual and the whole vintage record /CD collecting thing will be dead to them.

I haven’t read through the whole thread and take it that streaming means using a paid service. I look at it like this. My tastes are varied and having spent so many years seeking out masterings and mixes that I like, why would I give that up when I can rip or load as much of my collection as I want to my iPhone or a memory card and take it anywhere, or listen to it on better ’phones at home. YouTube is fine for quickly listening to stuff I don’t “own” and am thinking of buying, but then, if I like what I hear I’ll go buy it and I don’t stream from YouTube as if it was Spotify etc. I think ripping CDs and vinyl is great, but draw a digital line when it comes to streaming. Which I know makes me a dinosaur. But sometimes it doesn’t seem worth changing with the times.

 

To me it's a strange attitude unless you have limitless amounts of money or you have no interest in exploring new things, but each to their own.