Do you still buy music or do you only stream?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by bherbert, Sep 15, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ILoveMyDogs

    ILoveMyDogs Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Already the step from vinyl to CD was kind of difficult for me. Bought my first CD player only early nineties - which was rather late.

    I still have more albums on vinyl than on CD but with the years I learned to love the CD-format for many reasons and I own quite a few....

    And this is where it ends for me.

    No streaming. Never.

    I really need something physical. Something to touch and hold in my hands: vinyl, CD or tape (cassette).

    Otherwise I can not relate.

    That's why I also never owned a tuner.
     
  2. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Absolutely not. Vinyl changed the way I enjoyed music. I grew up in the digital age and I wanted something different.
     
  3. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    It depends.
    I mainly stream anymore but will buy certain remixes or anniversary sets just to have for collector reasons.
    I have all my original cds in my iTunes so I either stream them from the iCloud or I use Apple Music subscription.
    If I find music I've never heard before on Apple Music that I think is essential, I may consider buying it physically.
     
    coffeetime likes this.
  4. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    What's stream ?
     
  5. EdwinM

    EdwinM Grumpy old man

    Location:
    Leusden
    You sound like my ex wife

    Do you ever look at your shelves of books and think - "what's the point? I could throw them in the fireplace and download them on my e-reader and create more space for my CD's."
     
  6. EdwinM

    EdwinM Grumpy old man

    Location:
    Leusden
    So you own the vinyl and than stream these records because the cracks annoy you?
     
  7. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisiana
    I stream mostly for the car. I don’t listen to anything digital that I own on vinyl.
     
  8. npc210

    npc210 Forum Resident

    The only CDs I buy anymore is the occasional reissue or new release. For new albums, I'm using YouTube more than anything, oddly enough. I don't subscribe to a streaming service because I already have so much music on my phone's 256 gb SD card.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2018
  9. Kingsley Fats

    Kingsley Fats Forum Resident

    The technically correct answer for me is Neither - I have enough music already. however, reality is that I'm still buying.
    I have so much to listen to that I don't need to stream.
    The wife streams free Spotify but I get sick of the narrow playlist that gets played pretty quick.
     
    rikki nadir likes this.
  10. Matisse

    Matisse I said me gotta go now

    Location:
    Barcelona
    I use streaming to discover new music (or old music that is new to me), and regularly at work, on the go or when traveling - along with mp3s. I also enjoy making playlists, almost as much as I liked making mixtapes a couple of decades ago.

    But if I get into something eventually I have to own it on vinyl (preferably) or CD. I need to be able to enjoy a fuller sound and have the artwork, liner notes, credits etc at hand.

    Digital files and streaming are extremely practical and as a dance teacher/choreographer I have come to rely on this technology on a daily basis. It has made editing and preparing work a lot simpler. That said, I don’t think you necessarily have to be an audiophile to favor physical over digital. The difference in sound quality and aural satisfaction is rather noticeable.
     
    puelche, Kingsley Fats and coffeetime like this.
  11. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Streaming will always make censorship easier, because the content can be controlled, edited and modified. Since there is no physical hard copy or downloaded file to store for use at any given moment, it would be difficult to track or even prove that content was somehow edited or modified, apart from differences observed by listeners. At that point, it becomes a case of "he said she said" and there's no way to gather evidence which would verify or disprove such accusations.

    The other night I watched the 2018 film adaptation of "Fahrenheit 451," starring Michael B. Jordan as the fireman Montag, who burns books, art and history. This film is an interesting take on the book and it was creative how they updated the story to include the tracking and burning of physical books in addition to eBooks as files stored on hard drives. The firemen are given ample amounts of power, but controlled mainstream media paints them as heroes who are protecting and saving society when in reality, they're evil henchmen. My favorite scene in the film is when Montag holds an actual book for the first time and I instantly imagined how Montag would've responded if he were holding an LP or CD for the first time.
    [​IMG]
     
    EdwinM and englishbob like this.
  12. englishbob

    englishbob has left the SH Forums...19/05/2023

    Location:
    Kent, England
    I stream stuff I'm interested in buying, and make a decision from there.

    I generally end up playing streams of stuff I already own!

    On my first point above my wallet and general sanity is restored. Before online it was a case of gambling a tenner each time for an album you might end up liking, based on a printed review. Probably about 99% of music wasn't covered by any form of radio or TV at the time, so hearing beforehand was absolutely impossible.
     
  13. EdwinM

    EdwinM Grumpy old man

    Location:
    Leusden
    Pity we don't have HBO here.

    Essentially you are right. An example is David Bowie's Too Dizzy which is removed from any release of "Never let me down" because he did not like the same anymore. Same for some of the Ryko bonustracks. If it wasn't for vinyl and CD these tracks would have been erased.
     
    Man at C&A and melstapler like this.
  14. Kingsley Fats

    Kingsley Fats Forum Resident

    I ****ing hate censorship. I don't want someone else dictating what I can or can not see or hear.

    Joke.
    I post - Big Brother is watching us
    Big Brother posts - No I'm not
     
    melstapler likes this.
  15. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Loved the bit about old mix tapes and new playlists & the whole second paragraph.
     
    melstapler and Matisse like this.
  16. Grand_Ennui

    Grand_Ennui Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    I buy music, not a streamer here...

    I have nothing against steaming, I'm just old school I guess... I prefer to own a physical copy of something (that goes for music *and* books).
     
  17. omom

    omom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    I've scaled back my purchases in the past 2 years. I'm at a point in my life where I could eliminate 90% of my collection and downsize my entire life.

    That being said, this week in mail I received 2 concert blurays, a deluxe reissue, 2 vinyl lps and a Motorhead tankard.

    Who am I kidding, the only downsizing going on is in my wallet...
     
    Man at C&A and Kingsley Fats like this.
  18. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    I binge stream. Ill get on a kick in which I need to get out of the rut of older music and try and challenge myself to discover at least 5-10 new albums by newer artists a year. Then I may treat myself to a couple of those fancy colored records of a new artist and for the other handful I get the cd. Once in awhile a blu ray will be the one that beats them all such as with Hand Cannot Erase.

    Other times I stream are when one of these deluxe boxsets tempt me and I find out by streaming I dont really need it after all because I doubt Ill listen to those Esher Tapes more than the two or three times I did on streaming and the 2018 remix is kinda cool, but I dont really need it.

    So streaming is mostly a decision tool for me that has saved me stupid impulse money.

    Ive pretty much got all the old rock and pop albums I want though there are always a few artists Ive missed. This last year I found artists such as the Cocteau Twins, Buzzcocks, Bob Mould and even Flock Of Seaguls that I realize now I never really explored. Kind of doing a decade by decade of the 80s, 90s and 00s of bands I was unaware of or simply skimmed by. Streaming helps with that also.

    Someone mentions a band and I go explore on streaming. If I really like them? I find the best sounding version.

    Streaming has also really helped me with deciding on jazz albums. Back when the first 45 rpm jazz series came out there really wasnt much of a streaming service. So I just had to kind of crapshoot. I missed out on some good titles that are now expensive. With the ease and convenience of common streaming now I can listen to everything but the most obscure jazz mentioned in the jazz threads. And even those are usually found on youtube. That has tightened my focus up on the huge universe of jazz some also.

    Streaming is a handy device. And if it was lossless across the board for every title? Id never do physical again. Unfortunately Metallica's Megaforce lps sound quality or at least something very close cannot be found on streaming. So there is that.
     
    Freedom Rider and coffeetime like this.
  19. Time Is On My Side

    Time Is On My Side Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    I will only buy. I like listening on my Fiio X1 which does not have wifi so impossible for me to stream to. I do not have an unlimited data plan on my iPhone so don't want to stream there. If I am at home, I will listen to Pandora through my iPod Touch now and then.
     
  20. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    Are you?
     
  21. Converse

    Converse Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    I only stream to see if a album is worth buying ?
    If I like it I will buy it on vinyl and CD even though I'm running out of storage space.
    I've been a bit more selective and have tried to cut down my buying habit a lot over the last year or two.
    I'm old school and still like to have a product to hold.
    That said my digital system has many FLAC /HiRes and DSD albums ripped to it.
    And yes I can hear the difference.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2018
  22. Guy E

    Guy E Senior Member

    Location:
    Antalya, Turkey
    I buy some downloads, mainly from Bandcamp. You're right. Two musician friends have told me, "Bandcamp has been very, very good for us." I've never asked what percentage the website takes, but I believe that it is little to none.
     
    melstapler and Shak Cohen like this.
  23. bherbert

    bherbert Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Africa
    Yes, buying cd’s and streaming. Mainly mini LP cd’s. Wanting to dip my toes into the vinyl waters as well. Just a bit wary due to the expense of vinyl.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2018
  24. Guy E

    Guy E Senior Member

    Location:
    Antalya, Turkey
    I didn't think that I was either, but since getting a pair of FiiO players and loading up a lot of FLAC files alongside the 320-bit mp3's, I've reconsidered. I don't know if I could instantly identify FLAC vs mp3 in a blind listening test, but over the course of an album-listen, I detect greater clarity, depth and smoothness. I can listen for long hours without getting worn out. Between the lossless files and a better set of earbuds, I am enjoying music on-the-go a lot more than I have in years.
     
  25. Converse

    Converse Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    I would love record companies to print all CD info on large folded A4 white paper instead of silly micro print in little books in different colours on backgrounds that make them impossible to read.
     
    Chris C, melstapler and rikki nadir like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine