Do you still buy music on CD?

[Caleuche]

Or are you a download person?

I bought my first full album as a download the other day. I felt kinda odd about it and am now planning on buying the physical copy when it is released. My co-workers mocked me for being techno-regressive. So tell me am the only who prefers being able to hold what he has purchased or am I being left behind here?

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'd rather buy new stuff on CD, but download stuff that I have on vinyl (which I can't play, not having a record player any more) or cassette, or that simply isn't available in stores.

 

[doubleohfive]

I buy them. I still love being able to tear off the shrinkwrap and read the liner notes. Especially when I know someone who worked on the record and I see their name.

 

[roliver]

CDs for me, which I then burn in a lossless format. Best of both worlds.

 

[John Clark]

I don't get much new stuff in the way of music, but I usually buy them on cd (Think I've bought 2 download albums).

 

[Geck]

I still buy 1-2 CDs a month on average. Like you, I prefer having something physical to hold, and I'm proud of my collection. I still download plenty, but only individual songs. If I want a whole album, I'll go out and buy it. Most of my friends look at me like I'm crazy though.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I bought a couple of Aretha Franklin cds just this morning.

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't have an iPod, so I still buy CDs. I usually rip them onto my harddrive, but I like having the CDs to play in my car.

 

[DontFeedPhil]

Dont beleive the HYPE. I still buy 95% of music on CD. Ive already been bitten by Apple/Ipod. I bought a couple of albums woth of DL and had my ipod and computer take a shit on me and boy is it a pain in the ass. I couldnt find my email receipts and never got to re-DL them. So Fuck Them.
I prefer haveing thephysical item. And that bullshit about well your only buying the lisence and not the music itself it Bullshit too. NO!!! Im buying the music and I have every right to make copies for myself and back them up. This way when my computer takes a shit I can just go to my closet (where I keep my cds) and re-up it to my computer.

 

[Santaman]

I always buy music on CD, HDD's crash, formats change etc etc etc...

 

[Smiley]

I still buy CDs. I get all the benefits of the physical copy (liner notes, easy backups, portability), and I can still upload the tracks to my computer. Since CDs are pretty easy to find for $10 or less, I'm not really seeing a downside.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I never stopped buying CDs. I don't go for that download crap.

1. It's not all DRM free.

2. Besides that some of it is at a crappy bitrate and yes -- some of us CAN hear that difference.

3. Not all downloads are available in all countries and I don't want to support downloads that not everybody can have. As far as I know, no legal rights have held up regular CDs from being released in other countries.

4. Hard drive space.

5. If your computer crashes, you could loose everything at once.

6. If you fall upon hard time and need some money, you can always sell CDs, but you can't resell downloaded material.

7. No CD booklets. Some of us like the facy art and linear notes, and even if you can print it out, then you have to pay for ink and fancy paper too.

8. Track for track buying in some cases may cost MORE than actually buying the CD.

 

[Goliath]

I buy CDs all the time. I have an iPod, but I only use it play music that I've ripped from my CDs.

I am really starting to notice the collapse of the brick-and-mortar retail music industry, though. Even the flagship HMV store in downtown Toronto now devotes more than half of its shelf space to DVDs and video games. Ten years ago, about two-thirds of their top floor was devoted to classical music, and the remaining third to jazz. Now the classical section is down to one-third, where the jazz used to be, and the remaining two-thirds is taken up by a variety of genres that used to be on the lower floors.

If video killed the radio star, downloading and online retailing killed the record store.

 

[Goliath]

I still buy CDs. I get all the benefits of the physical copy (liner notes, easy backups, portability), and I can still upload the tracks to my computer. Since CDs are pretty easy to find for $10 or less, I'm not really seeing a downside.

You'll see it once you accumulate as many as I have: namely, space.

I have so many CDs, I've had to start discarding their cases and putting them in albums. I just don't have any shelf space for any more CDs.

 

[IJD GAF]

I buy CDs and will continue to do so.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I only buy albums when they are a better deal than individual downloads, but that's a rarity.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

I'm about 50-50 at this point - for some stuff I'm really interested in, I'll buy the CD, but I also sometimes just buy the download. I do back up my entire music collection on a separate, portable hard drive to reduce the chances of losing it all at once in some sort of computer catastrophe.

As an aside, my wife LOVES the fact that my entire music collection is on my ipod, because for years I had hundreds of CDs on big ugly displays. Now the discs are all boxed up and in a closet.

 

[Rhody the Ram]

I'll buy on CD if the cost difference is negligible. That way I have a backup and can import them into iTunes without the copy restrictions (the name of which escapes me at the moment.) But if it's a song here or there or something spontaneous, then iTunes all the way.

 

[crouteru]

I only buy CD albums of artists that are my favourites. Odd songs I will download only.

 

[Small White Car]

Ive already been bitten by Apple/Ipod. I bought a couple of albums woth of DL and had my ipod and computer take a shit on me and boy is it a pain in the ass. I couldnt find my email receipts and never got to re-DL them. So Fuck Them.

And if your house burns down you'll blame that on the place you bought your CDs from, right?

It doesn't matter if your data is on an optical disk or a magnetic one It's your job to back stuff up.

DRM, bit rate, price...these are all reasons to debate. But what type of storage the music is written on? That's a non issue. Either one can be damaged.

Im buying the music and I have every right to make copies for myself and back them up.

You can back up iTunes music in as many places as you like. I keep a copy on my computer, on a firewire drive, and on DVD-Rs at my parent's house. It's not Apple's fault that you apparently didn't do that.