Do you still buy music or do you only stream?

Admirable logic.

However, I am 64 well into "old curmudgeon" territory. I intend to spend as much of my remaining allotted time as possible listening to music. Don't care how.

Streaming endless classical box sets I would never buy, charity shop CD's & vinyl. If all else fails to get my attention I have a physical collection to fall back on.

I consider music consumption to be the end result, not a research project. Only a quick scan of here, Google or Wikipedia (whilst listening, of course)

 

But people rent things all the time. Why is music treated so differently? If I want to fly somewhere I don’t purchase a jet. I’ll need to move soon but I’m not going to purchase a moving truck. I want to listen to or preview a bunch of albums without having to purchase them...same difference IMO.

 

Seems to me that's excactly what you're doing, treating it as a research project. Different strokes, I guess.

My point is simply that I curated a decent collection that suits my tastes specifically. Old father time will get me eventually, but I need time to digest all the great stuff I've gotten. While adding to it constantly. I'm lucky, I don't have any difficulty finding new things I'm interested in without the likes of Spotify. I've been doing it for 50-years or so, so I guess I just got good at it.

 

I don't know what all the people I know are streaming, but I call BS on the "discovery" advantage of it all. I do not stream and none of the people I know have heard of the newer bands I am into. I don't stream... Does not compute.

 

Both. In the past two weeks:

Apple Music: Streamed everything from classical to metal, new to me discoveries as well as cherished classics.
Digital download purchase: The Very Best of the Fivepenny Piece & Jess Gillam/Scaramouche.
Physical purchase: Appetite for Destruction SDE.

I enjoy it all too much to confine myself to one 'format' for ideological reasons (same goes for hardbacks, Kindle & Audible books). That only applies to me though, happy for anyone and everyone else to pay their own money and pick their own poison.

 

Struggling to understand what you are saying?

Are you saying you don't think people find music that is new to them by streaming? Way off the mark there, I have and will continue to discover new stuff.

I was on holiday (vacation) in Croatia recently. Saw a poster for a band called Vatra that I had never heard of.

That night, once the family were off to sleep, I listened to them on Apple Music and was playing them the rest of my trip. Have picked up new copies 3 of their CD's since, but not all of their albums are easy to find. So, streaming has complimented my purchasing.

 

If I like it I buy it.
I like real world things and I like the idea of funding artists.

Support the artists, buy.

 

I know people the same. Don't get me wrong, I stream (I take advantage of the free trial offers from Spotify, Tidal et al) but I also like having the physical contact be it the CD or record.

With not much time to actually sit down and listen to "physical" music, most of my listening is done via my phone.

 

Amen

 

Probably more interesting..... on an audiophile forum, just how far can you go with streaming on Spotify?

 

I only buy ' M- used ' LPs & CDs.
For the last 4+ years... $1 LPs -- $.50 CDs.

Prior that time... I had already purchased 97% of my 'must have' desired collection.

 

Amen

 

I listen to streaming and I also buy about 15 albums every month. I subscribe to Spotify for the incredible selection and the great personalized playlists they make for you all the time (discovered a lot of old & new artists I never would heard of otherwise). I subscribe to Napster family plan specifically for my 3 sons to use. I subscribe to Tidal for the lossless music but unfortunately I've found it to be quite glitchy. Lots of songs will stop in the middle and start a new song only for that song to stop and the 1st song comes back on and finishes up. I have a Google Play subscription but that's only because it comes a freebie with my smartphone bill. I subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited until about 3 hours ago when I discovered that all playlists are limited to 500 songs. How dumb is that? I've doubled my CD purchases since i started streaming because I've discovered more music I love. When I'm just chillin' around the house I always have some music streaming so at least I can put a couple pennies in the artists' pockets. But when I want to sit and listen to a full album it's always a physical CD. As long as they're making physical I'm gonna keep buying it. I also stream when I go to bed and sleep. Not only do I like sleeping with music playing in the background I also know I'm getting the artists a little teeny tiny bit of money.

TL/DR Basically I love streaming music and buying physical music, for different reasons.

 

Both perfectly said. Streaming seems to work counter to most of the above, thus the reason I've never been allured by it. Although I can see the appeal of it for those who do get something from it.

 

Started my Spotify subscription almost 1 year ago.
The biggest surprise to me was the sound quality.
Still I like to buy CDs. Nothing better than playing your favorite music while reading a CD booklet.

What happened to my buying policy is that I stopped buying cheap CDs - not because they are cheap but because most of them I just bought because of that fact.

As I'm saving that money I feel less guilty spending more money on special editions/ boxsets...

More than ever the presentation counts.

 

Usually I'll preview a song on YouTube,
the BUY it on CD. If it's an oldie that's never been released on CD then I'll buy the vinyl and burn it to disc.
I only listen to music in my Lounge Room.

 

If you get 10,000 streams, it's like having a song played one time on a pretty small-market station. You're sure not going to make as much from that as you do from selling six CDs at a gig.

 

I only buy music, I do not stream.

 

Its very telling that the bulk of folks responding to this poll, buy music. I sort of expected that folks who like to discuss music, are largely those that buy music. Those who like music in a secondary fashion - i.e. they play it the background but couldn't tell you the name of the song or the artist - I would expect to be more prone to stream and wouldn't be here discussing topics such as the best stereo version of a given Beatles album.

 

I stream to hear new releases. Those I really like, I buy, mostly from HD Tracks, Pro studio Masters, Acoustic Sounds plus the occasional CD.

 

This reminds me of the argument regarding the people making sneakers for Nike not even being able to afford to buy a pair. The response is generally, so what people work in factories all the time making things they can’t afford. The people who who build Bentleys will never be able to buy one.

It’s a poor analogy because the two items being compared are so completely different. A pair of sneakers is nothing like a Bentley and owning a jet is easily distinguishable from buying a 45 single or even an LP, CD or Box Set. I can afford to buy the music and play it’s often as I want.

Movies on the other hand I stream all the time. I buy very few because most of them I don’t want to watch them over and over again. I do own some but not many.

 

I am fortunate to have great radio where I live. WFUV Fordham University, WBGO Jazz, WQXR classical and others. I buy based on what strikes my ear or from reading reviews of people I trust. I can’t see paying to stream or free loading streaming services and undercutting the artists sales.

I know I am swimming against the tide.

 

Buy records/sacd for home. CDs for the car and sometimes at home. Use Tidal for work and sometimes in the car

 

Well, what you say reminds of people justifying stealing something cheap vs something expensive. It’s all stealing just like what I referenced is all renting.

 

That's why we have Ytube and Spotify. I'll listen to those to test the waters of ones music. When I'm ready I'll buy.

Borrowing music for a fee (mobile) is weird to me. Escpially when I rely on internet connection