Do you still buy music or do you only stream?

If it's a new release or a release I'm yet to own by an artist I like- I buy it. I also stream many of the same releases.

 

I buy, and stream......The latter only for stealth and convenience when in a particular situation...
Home and car is all physical media.......CD's -LP's -tapes -flac and wav files on PC dedicated for the purpose

 

I buy only vinyl.

 

Which is great but i occasionally find something that wasn't released on vinyl or, much electronica for example, is download only.

What does baffle me is the cost of Prince's cds during the NPGMC period. For releases that were download only it's amazing to see people unknowingly paying for a cd rip through ebay and the like. Some people really will rip off their own granny.

 

Musicians are all buskers now. The majority of people walk past buskers in the street or maybe pause for a minute to hear them play, but give them nothing. SOMEBODY has to pay them, though, or they will not continue to be there to play. It's a kind of socialism, and it's rapidly becoming the model for recording artists as well.

 

It's a real shame that paying for a digital download is off the radar for most people, as it helps the smaller artist the most - instant funds for the recording at a usually good royalty rate, no necessity to have 100s or 1000s of expensive discs pressed that will struggle to sell, or shipping labour/cost, or storage cost...

 

Is it really likely though that a mass trend back to downloads can happen? In the particular smallish consumer niche of HiRes, maybe. But where else?
I'm a complete iTunes avoider on principle, so as long as digidownloads were synonymous with that misoperative offshoot, I wasn't interested. In Europe, and soon in the States, Qobuz has changed my opinion. My latest HiRes purchase from their site sounds a dream in UAPP's bitperfect mode on my LG V30.

 

No, unfortunately. I think the Bandcamp platform is the right model personally - listen in full for up to three plays, then pay for a download or physical product after that. If you choose digital, you can pick from hi-res FLAC, MP3, AAC etc.

 

Sometimes WAV is also available!

 

I buy, stream, download, borrow (don't beg or steal though) - all options are on the table.

 

I keep cancelling my streaming service to go back to listening to CDs as I find I either just listen to the same few things on the streaming site or else I endlessly surf it just like I do with Netflix which is so headwrecking. A few weeks ago I surfed Netflix for 20 minutes before turning it off and reading Record Collector. I think its just overload maybe its just me though. I bought Spiritualized new album. reissue of Fires of Ork and Biosphere Cirque in last week. Thats not counting all the second hand CDs I bought and ones I bought of a collector in the area and in charity shops. I know I have a problem but lets be honest I could be buying gear or cheap vodka so its not destructive and worst case scenario the kids sell them hopefully in a long long time and get a few quid.

 

I don't stream all that much -- other than finding new (old) things on YouTube, sampling them a few times or so -- using that to decide whether to make a purchasing decision.

I do use Pandora on my Phone in the mornings getting ready, and on my commute to/from work (by subway and/or walking) -- but I don't pay for the service, and view it really as just "listening to the radio".

I don't buy anywhere near the number of CD's I used to 10-20 years ago, but I don't blame streaming for that. Maybe 20% of my listening is Pandora or sampling things off YouTube uploads.

 

Stream and buy. Used CDs are so cheap just now, I'm buying about 3 per week. This week its been Belle & Sebastian The Boy With The Arab Strap, Jethro Tull Aqualung 25 Anniversary and Nick Cave Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus

Don't stream much, but when I do its Spotify Free and YouTube.

Cheapskate me.

 

I buy vinyl if it's something particularly meaningful to me. Otherwise I stream. Haven't bought a CD in a few years.

 

I mostly stream music these days but occasionally purchase.

I purchase if one or more of the following are true:

- it’s a very favorite artist / album
- there’s something unusual about it that I won’t get from streaming (5.1 mix is my favorite reason, otherwise maybe a signed copy from a gig or something)
- I have a particular interest in higher sound quality for it
- it’s not available for streaming

 

I hate Spotify
I only stream to get references or ideas for new productions
I prefer Youtube even though the sound quality is crappy

Otherwise I buy hi-rez files on Qobuz (when in Europe) and, less frequently, on HDtracks (when in the US)

I also buy CD's to rip and records because I'm an idiot!!!

 

Mostly buy. Sometimes stream

 

... always question the attire of your houseguests !!

 

Why is it important to own music?

 

Great question, and probably excellent answers on both sides of the argument.

For me, at this point in my life - mid 50s - it's not. Just want to hear and enjoy it without the clutter.

 

I think that depends on how important music is to you. A casual listener could rent music (e.g streaming services), whereas others might like to choose a certain pressing or mastering.

 

Some of the best/most important musical memories of my life came out of an AM radio or and old cassette player.

 

If Apple would introduce a lossless tier... I would be 100% streaming (almost).

 

If it looks interesting or I hear something interesting in a movie/tv show etc, I sample a few tracks on YouTube, if I love it than I look for where the record is available.

 

You mean as opposed to just streaming it? Some of us have been around long enough that the Internet didn't exist, and streaming wasn't even an idea. Buying and owning music was just about the only way to hear some things. If the idea of owning music is to change for these people, then they have to convinced what is on offer is in some way an improvement. For me, streaming isn't.

The second part of the answer is - this is an audiophile forum. Roughly that translates to a group of people who are sufficiently interested in music that they will define, and seek out, the very best sounding version of whatever recording they're after. Streaming does not scratch that itch. In fact, if I'm correct, with streaming you simply get whatever master is the "current" master. This is a nightmare for audiophiles.