Six reasons why I don?t buy CDs at the store anymore?

[brookeburkesluv]

1. easier to preview tracks online rather than drive to the store and wait for an open listening station
2. running out of storage space for all the CDs I bought just for 1 or 2 tracks each
3. I never know what the store has in stock and what they don't and it's a pain to try and find specific CDs in some of these places where their alphabetical tabs have all been moved around out of order
4. expensive ~ I pay less $ for each track online, and don't have to pay for the tracks I don't want. I'm tired of spending $15-20 bucks for a 10-12 song disc with maybe 2 or 3 tracks that I actually like.
5. It just saves time and it's so much easier. Plain and simple.
6. Car listening. Whether you're using a 1 disc player or a 10-disc CD changer in the car, you know what I mean when I say that it's far better to have compilation discs loaded in with songs you like on them. Having a car filled with CDs that you have to change over frequently is a hassle (and sometimes a hazard)

So, I?ve finally come to the point where music shopping online is preferable than to physically go to the store. Not to mention the force-fed radio setlists ~ t's better to make your own compilation CDs and listen to them in your car. I'm curious to know how many other people are following this trend now, and what service has been the best for you. I don't use the file-sharing services, primarily because they're illegal and artists get cheated out of any share. I'm talking soley about the subscription-based ones.

 

[Blacksword]

I only buy CD's if I've previewed most of teh tracks through Kazaa. Bought Audioslave's debut; Queens of the Stoneage, Songs for the Deaf; B.R.M.C., Black Rebel Motorcycle Club cause of this. The only album I've bought recently without previewing it was Hail to the Theif cause I'm a big Radiohead fan. I'm gonna pick up B.M.R.C.'s latest disc and teh Wren's, the Meadowlands when ever I get up some cash, but I've previewed those too.

Other than that, the only discs I haven't previewed are used CD's I've bought on the cheap. I have no time or money to buy crap albums for two songs.

 

[meegannie]

singles

 

[U2Kitten]

Shhh, this is the kind of talk that gets the RIAA on everyone's case

WE LIKE STOREBOUGHT CDS!

 

[Blacksword]

No no we don't. I would if half the stuff lining the shelves weren't absolute garbage. Record companies focus on flash in the pan artists make their money, sell trash and wonder why there's no brand or industry loyalty. No one markets to anyone over 25, even though that's a huge well of customers, casue the youth market's easier to exploit, but now with the internet, youth market's got a free source for their wallpaper music. The record industry has shot itself in the foot and here's someone willing to let it bleed to death and be replaced by something better. Or maybe just maybe they'll wise up before the independents take over and eat what's left of the majors alive.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

I can't afford $25 for three songs. It's ridiculous, unfeasible, and utterly incomprehensible to understand why I, a lowly, poor student, would shell out the last of my gas money on an overpriced piece of (what? What the hell are cds made of anyway?) that I'll only listen to three or four times before relegating it to my shelf between Holly McNarland and the Foo Fighters when I can get those same three tracks online for free. I wouldn't mind so much if bands cared about making great music, but it seems like, in a lot (NOT ALL), but many cases, they've got their 'single' songs and the rest are filler.

I don't want to pay for elevator music.

 

[~LadyLemon~]

It seems sad to me that the concept of 'the album' seems to be flying out the window...

 

[bonoman]

Ya but you can blame artists and record companies for 'the album' going out the window. There are artists still out there that have albums that actually have a begining and a finish.

If you want a great cd, get the last album by Warren Zevon, i cant remember its name but it is all made after he found out he had cancer and was dying. It is a great emotional album!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

If you want a great cd, get the last album by Warren Zevon, i cant remember its name but it is all made after he found out he had cancer and was dying. It is a great emotional album!

It sure as hell is. I heard one of the songs, "Keep Me In Your Heart", off of there...good god, I was bawling the first time I heard it. Very sad song. But a nice way of saying goodbye.

Anywho...I'll still buy CDs from my favorite bands simply because I'm guaranteed that at least most, if not all, of the album will be good.

But if there's an artist whose music I'm thinking of getting into more, I'll download some of their songs first. I'm not going to spend close to twenty bucks on a CD that maybe has two or three songs at most that I like, or even think are remotely okay.

That, and in the last town I lived in, the stores there sold pretty much next to nothing in the way of my favorite artists' CDs and stuff...so I had to resort to downloading the songs off the albums I didn't find in stores and just making them at home. Now that I live near two big cities, that won't be happening as much.

Angela

 

[IWasBored]

i like buying cds because the bands i listen to still seem to be putting out consistant albums, or albums with consistantly good songs and not this 2 or 3 +filler that everyone seems to be complaining about. who would have thought that there were bands still putting out cds with multiple good songs on them?

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

I like buying CDs because of the damned artwork. I mean, the music's great, but I've got ways to get that.

I'm not going to d/l a bunch of crappy jpegs though.

 

[IWasBored]

cd quality is superior too.

album artwork the new shins album comes to mind, as does the cd booklet from bad religion's live album tested.

 

[elevatedmole]

I will support my favourite artists. I'll buy their CD, I'll go to their tours if I can, maybe buy shirts or whatever. But my whole family is broke. I LOVE music and we simply can't afford all the CDs I would have to buy to be satisfied.

I download a lot of songs just to see if I like them, and maybe 4 out of 10 I like and keep. If I then like the artist, I download a few more songs and then maybe an album. If I like the album enough, I'll probably buy it.

If I took a lot of recommendations like I do now, I would have about 100 CDs I didn't like. And think how much those probably cost! Just wasted. Before I started downloading, I bought a couple albums every now and then on recommendation or based solely on one good song, and I was disappointed. It's just not worth the money to spend it all on CDs I probably won't like.

So what I'm trying to say is, if I like them enough, I'll support them. I mainly use p2p programs to preview music, much in the same way people use the radio or MTV. (Which, while legal, are stupid, time-wasting narrow ways to find music. Unless, I suppose, it's a college radio station or something.) I just don't find them good avenues for good music that I actually LIKE. So much garbage is played that it's difficult to find anything worth listening to. You have to sell out to be played on a major network or station, or have a huge breakthrough. And that isn't the type of music I'd enjoy.


[/ramble]

 

[alexvilagosh]

Personally, I love buying cds. So much better than just having mp3's. Also, it makes you loyal to the band to be able to say you have their album, not just have a few songs of them on mp3.

But I personally find that I like most songs on a cd I get.

 

[Elvis Presley]

I will support my favourite artists. I'll buy their CD, I'll go to their tours if I can, maybe buy shirts or whatever. But my whole family is broke. I LOVE music and we simply can't afford all the CDs I would have to buy to be satisfied.

I download a lot of songs just to see if I like them, and maybe 4 out of 10 I like and keep. If I then like the artist, I download a few more songs and then maybe an album. If I like the album enough, I'll probably buy it.

If I took a lot of recommendations like I do now, I would have about 100 CDs I didn't like. And think how much those probably cost! Just wasted. Before I started downloading, I bought a couple albums every now and then on recommendation or based solely on one good song, and I was disappointed. It's just not worth the money to spend it all on CDs I probably won't like.

So what I'm trying to say is, if I like them enough, I'll support them. I mainly use p2p programs to preview music, much in the same way people use the radio or MTV. (Which, while legal, are stupid, time-wasting narrow ways to find music. Unless, I suppose, it's a college radio station or something.) I just don't find them good avenues for good music that I actually LIKE. So much garbage is played that it's difficult to find anything worth listening to. You have to sell out to be played on a major network or station, or have a huge breakthrough. And that isn't the type of music I'd enjoy.


[/ramble]

Excellent post, I also want to say that I consider myself a collector and am proud of what i have.....

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

what the riaa fails to realize is that most people who download music WILL go out and buy a cd if they like the artist enough. the days of spending 15 bucks on an album for 1 song are over... the sooner they realize this, the better off they'll be

 

[meegannie]

Shhh, this is the kind of talk that gets the RIAA on everyone's case

WE LIKE STOREBOUGHT CDS!

brookeburkesluv was talking about purchasing mp3s online, not file-sharing. Perfectly legal.

Anyway, I've only done it once, with Elbow's "Ribcage" single for 99p, but I would do it for other bands that I like if they aren't releasing the single in another format, just because I'd want to support them, not out of any moral opposition to file-sharing. I like the new trend of having mp3s from an album available before the album is released if you pre-order it online. Of course, I'm just a format whore and buy some albums/singles on cd, dvd, AND vinyl (even though I don't have a record player). Then I upload them to my computer because it's easier than hunting down the cd.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i very seldom buy cds at stores. i usually buy them online, through amazon.com. the cds are a lot cheaper through there and no sales tax. plus if i buy them two at a time ($25+ orders), i can get free shipping.

for individual songs, i download them off of itunes, cuz they're only a buck each, but if it's a cd i want but don't need (like not by an artist i really care about), i'll buy it off of there. it's cool because you can get a 15 track cd for $9.99.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

what the riaa fails to realize is that most people who download music WILL go out and buy a cd if they like the artist enough. the days of spending 15 bucks on an album for 1 song are over... the sooner they realize this, the better off they'll be

Exactly. By making a big fuss, they're just making people more reluctant to support them.

Also, very nicely said, elevatedmole. .

Angela

 

[HeartlandGirl]

I am still as choosy in buying CDs as I was when I was a punk kid with no income. As a result, I don't own much that I don't find redeeming in some way, whether the whole album is great or just has a few really worthwhile songs. I'm very much still into the album concept--artwork, liner notes, lyric sheets, photos, goodies (like with Scarlet's Walk by Tori Amos, which came with tons of stuff). My CD purchasing habits aren't 100% foolproof, but I'm willing to take the risk of owning a few crap albums so that I can own lots and lots of excellent ones.

 

[brookeburkesluv]

brookeburkesluv was talking about purchasing mp3s online, not file-sharing. Perfectly legal.

Exactly. I don't believe in free file sharing, that's for sure. If you use a free-file sharing service, you run the risk of getting a virus, a bad file, or a lawsuit. Plus, downloading all those files to listen to them is cumbersome. Not all subscription-based services are convenient either. iTunes only lets you preview 30 seconds of a track, then you have to buy it for 99 cents to hear the whole thing. At the office where I work we use Rhapsody (bestbuy.com/rhapsody), which is much easier (and cheap at $10 a month ~ we share it, so it's split up between six people). It's great because we get unlimited listening to just about anything we can think of all day, including U2. We like to take turns playing "DJ". I agree that there's no substitute for getting the commercial CD from an artist whose music you know you're going to really like. But if you just want music playing all day and you're usually around a computer, you can't beat something like Rhapsody. Plus, if you listen to CDs in the car a lot you know the value of having compilations handy. I have a 10-disc changer under the backseat and I make compilation CDs with Rhapsody so I don't have to change out discs as often. (they charge 79 cents per track burn)
Another thing I can think of that has 'converted' me to this type of online music buying is that it's so immediate. In the past, if I thought of something I hadn't heard in a long time and wanted a copy of, I would have to wait until I made a trip to the store to look for it. Then, assuming I remembered what it was that I wanted to get once I was actually at the store, I would have to hope that they had it in stock. Now, when I suddenly think of a CD I want to hear, I can immediately look it up on Rhapsody and start playing it.
Last, but not least, the artist gets paid when we burn tracks and that's important to me. Sure, they don't get paid as much as they should, but they don't get as much as they should from sales off a commercial CD either. The label gets the biggest cut of that too. Funny thing is, people complain about supporting the artist, but nobody has ever complained about buying used CDs from used music stores and the only people who see a red cent from a used CD sale is the store. Neither the artist nor the label gets anything.

 

[elevatedmole]

For what it's worth, I've been using p2p programs since February this year and I've only gotten one virus.

Amd brookeburkesluv, the used CD thing has occurred to me too. It's very odd. I rarely buy any new CDs unless they're impossible to find or if they're one of my favourite artists or something like that. It's surprising how labels bitch and whine about p2p programs yet do not say a single thing about used CDs. Yeah, I know, p2p programs are more "dangerous" to the label, but it's still odd.

And thanks EP and Moonlit_Angel

 

[U2Kitten]

I agree with you Headache, I was making fun of the RIAA.

 

[brookeburkesluv]

what the riaa fails to realize is that most people who download music WILL go out and buy a cd if they like the artist enough. the days of spending 15 bucks on an album for 1 song are over... the sooner they realize this, the better off they'll be

You're absolutely right, and this is another thing about services like Rhapsody; I've actually discovered far more obscure music with Rhapsody than I EVER would just from radio, MTV, friends or even going to the record store. That's because I have the ability to immediately listen to everything. It's easy to browse by genre and just listen to the whole CD. I've been listening to stuff I never would have tried to find in a record store, such as vintage lounge, Indian music, Brazillian pop, etc... you name it, it's in here. And what does that mean? That I will BUY far more music from artists that normally wouldn't get the sales.

 

[brookeburkesluv]

BTW, I hope this question isn't to irritatingly dumb, but what does RIAA stand for?

 

[elevatedmole]

Recording Industry Association of America.

 

[TiaraGurl]

I loaded all my Cds onto my ipod and it definately makes me look at all my cds and think gee will i ever touch them again?

 

[FelipeVox]

CDs at the store are original, we have the booklet, they smells like new (if you know what I mean) and 100 downloaded cds can?t substitute an original one. However, actually I only buy cds of bands that I really like... the others I have to download because Cds are sooooooooo expensive here

 

[Diemen]

I've never downloaded an entire album. I download a few songs, and if I like them all then I go out and buy the cd, or order it through Amazon. Simple as that.

Come to think of it, I can't really remember the last time I actually downloaded music - it was probably within the first few months of the iTunes music service opening up. And even then I paid for the tunes. Nowadays most of my purchases come off of either recommendations from friends, hearing songs on the radio, or finally buying albums I've been meaning to get for a while.

 

[meegannie]

Purchasing music on ITunes doesn't work outside the US apparently. ;mad: