Is Music More Disposable In The Download Age?

[Yves]

I realize that this board is primarily populated by old school collectors who need the physical medium, but I am sure there are a few of you who, like me, have basically done away with it ( I still have all my CDs, they're just in storage.). I'm curious to know if those of you who buy digital downloads exclusively have a different rapport with your collection than you once had. For me, the moment I decided I did not need to own physical copies of albums was the day that music collecting became less important to me. It's as if I'd stripped it down to the core: the music itself. I'm not hung up on artwork, lyrics, etc... I love to impulse buy an album or two early on a Sunday morning, sitting at my computer, coffee in hand, and own it within minutes. Through iTunes and the endless playlists one can create I find myself getting away from listening to albums in their entirety, in order, beyond the first initial spins after purchase. I prefer grouping my music by subgenres or styles and using shuffle ( the concept album has all but disappeared from my music listening habits). I back everything up of course, but I'm not really concerned about the fact that I do not own a physical copy of almost everything I have purchased in the last few years. I have no issues deciding to flush an album from my system if I feel it's merely taking up storage on my computer (or more importantly on my iPod Classic). In that sense, music has become more disposable to me. I don't obsess with having to own a certain album in mint condition through the years. I find my music exploration is an on-going thing and while I do have a certain nostalgia in me, I find that a certain percentage of my music sits not listened to in iTunes; just like a percentage of my collection would collect dust in my CD racks. I don't know what styles of music will truly resonate with me in the next decade and I'm always about finding new stuff, so in that regard I don't feel the need to necessarily hold on to every album I buy. If I paid $6-$7 for a digital download and got decent mileage out of it for a couple of years, I feel I got my money's worth. In this sense I guess I have devalued the worth of music to me, but in the end I can only be true to myself. I have gotten to a point where I'd rather do without certain albums instead of spending the money they would cost if I bought a physical copy that I'd rip to my computer, back-up, and file away forever.

I'm probably alone, aren't I? I'm probably gonna get a series of posts telling me just how blasphemous the above post is... The thread will then become about just how crappy MP3s are and how vinyl is the ONLY WAY to listen to music... OK mods, might as well shut'er down now!

[Steve F.]

When something, in both legal and illegal ways, pours out of all your devices in unlimited quantities, with more at your fingertips than could possibly be consumed, even if you listened to something different 24 hours a day for the rest of your life, it devalues it because it's always there. If you never have to think about it and it's just always there, how can it have any real value to you?

It's like assigning value to the sidewalk or the air....You only even notice it when it's gone.

[Yves]

A valid point Steve. I'm not a "streaming guy" though, so I guess I still value the music and respect the artist in that manner. Digital downloads are a step down from physical media, but there's still some purchasing involved. I need to "own" the music because I like to have on different devices for practical reasons. All those streaming sites out there never even entered my thought process when I started this thread.

[JKL2000]

When something, in both legal and illegal ways, pours out of all your devices in unlimited quantities, with more at your fingertips than could possibly be consumed, even if you listened to something different 24 hours a day for the rest of your life, it devalues it because it's always there. If you never have to think about it and it's just always there, how can it have any real value to you?

It's like assigning value to the sidewalk or the air....You only even notice it when it's gone.

It depends how discerning you are in your listening.

My son really only uses Spotify for listening, but he listens to a small group of artists. Lou Reed, Syd Barrett, Donovan, Small Faces, Procol Harum, The Doors - some Stones, some Beatles. He really values what he listens to.

[Steve F.]

A valid point Steve. I'm not a "streaming guy" though, so I guess I still value the music and respect the artist in that manner. Digital downloads are a step down from physical media, but there's still some purchasing involved. I need to "own" the music because I like to have on different devices for practical reasons. All those streaming sites out there never even entered my thought process when I started this thread.

Fair enough. But streaming is how much of the population listens now.

And obviously, I think about this stuff a lot!

[Yves]

It just goes to show how out of touch I am. Your initial point is spot on, I just didn't think of that angle.

[Nijinsky Hind]

I have to admit that I'm finding the entire business of digital music in general, pretty depressing, tedious, and no fun.

I zero in on something I like and buy the LP if I can and put it on my shelf... I buy a lot of vinyl, Thats the way I like to listen. Will very rarely buy a CD, and anything else I want to hear I get via youtube by running my Ipad through my stereo. I believe artists get paid a little something from you tube plays... I hope they do.

For a while I was using itunes but issues I had with windows7 and Itune installation problems convinced me to uninstall itunes forever. My ipod sits in my top drawer unused. So I think music is not so much disposable as it is floating aimlessly in the wind... Unless of course you have the old beautiful LP filed away in a pvc bag in your record library... Waiting for it's next spin. And pandora is my "radio".

[Yves]

I have to admit that I'm finding the entire business of digital music in general, pretty depressing, tedious, and no fun.

I zero in on something I like and buy the LP if I can and put it on my shelf... I buy a lot of vinyl, Thats the way I like to listen. Will very rarely buy a CD, and anything else I want to hear I get via youtube by running my Ipad through my stereo. I believe artists get paid a little something from you tube plays... I hope they do.

For a while I was using itunes but issues I had with windows7 and Itune installation problems convinced me to uninstall itunes forever. My ipod sits in my top drawer unused. So I think music is not so much disposable as it is floating aimlessly in the wind... Unless of course you have the old beautiful LP filed away in a pvc bag in your record library... Waiting for it's next spin. And pandora is my "radio".

I expect this to be the prevailing opinion on this board, but I thought it would still make for an interesting thread topic. Way back in the mid-80s I embraced CDs wholesale and got rid of all my vinyl. Most of it was mass produced albums that had not necessarily weathered the years that well. I was on the fence about digital downloads for a long time. When I took the plunge I held on to my CDs anyway. Today, the idea of putting a CD in a player is almost foreign to me.

[Nijinsky Hind]

I expect this to be the prevailing opinion on this board, but I thought it would still make for an interesting thread topic. Way back in the mid-80s I embraced CDs wholesale and got rid of all my vinyl. Most of it was mass produced albums that had not necessarily weathered the years that well. I was on the fence about digital downloads for a long time. When I took the plunge I held on to my CDs anyway. Today, the idea of putting a CD in a player is almost foreign to me.

Well I watch how my Daughters and their friends listen to music... They buy Nothing... Ever. If its not on the wind, they wont hear it.

[Steve F.]

It just goes to show how out of touch I am. Your initial point is spot on, I just didn't think of that angle.

Hey, disposable or not, at least you are paying for it.

Lots of people thank you for that.

[Zeuhlmate]

Easy come, Easy go ?

Those who produce & sell expensive HiFi is having a tough time too.

[Yves]

Easy come, Easy go ?

My new music habits are probably a result of the prevailing devaluation of all things in this age of massive over-consumption. An age where people change their TV and computer every 2 years, their cell phone every year, their car every 4 years... It has become a world of "out with the old, in with the new" for sure.

[Nijinsky Hind]

My new music habits are probably a result of the prevailing devaluation of all things in this age of massive over-consumption. An age where people change their TV and computer every 2 years, their cell phone every year, their car every 4 years... It has become a world of "out with the old, in with the new" for sure.

Yes but old schoolers like me are spending quite a bit of money on new vinyl pressings and even paying dearly for rare old vinyl... Just paid 70.00 for a used but NM charlatans LP. So there is an underground economy rolling in used vinyl.

[Supersonic Scientist]

I guess I'm somewhere in between...Still buy CD's but rip them immediately so I can move them around from device to device. Slowly, I'm ripping my vinyl to digital format too. I Don't subscribe to a streaming service (and don't see that I will any time soon) and only occasionally buy digital downloads.

...not sure what to do with my 8-tracks though..........only kidding, LONG gone.

[Klonk]

I like the fact that my entire music collection is now on my iPhone. It's my portable jukebox that I can take anywhere. Just plug it in or use a wi-fi device. A necessity for me really! I don't really have the need for streaming services with all the music in my collection, but have used Spotify, Pandora etc. and think it's a great tool if you have guests and want to have some music in the background everyone can be ok with. I pretty much stopped buying CD's and now all my music is purchased through iTunes, but yes, I purchase it and still by the album. Can't do individual songs...just not in my DNA

[JKL2000]

My new music habits are probably a result of the prevailing devaluation of all things in this age of massive over-consumption. An age where people change their TV and computer every 2 years, their cell phone every year, their car every 4 years... It has become a world of "out with the old, in with the new" for sure.

I think my computer's about 10 years old, I'm only on my second smart phone (the last one just stopped working after a few years), and I'm still on my first car. We're on our second flat-panel TV, but the first was just a monitor with no speakers, and wasn't HD. So we're doing ok, though I know what you mean.

But I've started using Bandcamp more and more.

[Yves]

I like the fact that my entire music collection is now on my iPhone. It's my portable jukebox that I can take anywhere. Just plug it in or use a wi-fi device. A necessity for me really! I don't really have the need for streaming services with all the music in my collection, but have used Spotify, Pandora etc. and think it's a great tool if you have guests and want to have some music in the background everyone can be ok with. I pretty much stopped buying CD's and now all my music is purchased through iTunes, but yes, I purchase it and still by the album. Can't do individual songs...just not in my DNA

I can't buy individual songs either!

Scott, you should check out Bandcamp. It's my 'go to' site for music purchases. iTunes being a distant second. The best way to discover new music is to 'browse by tags'. You find the tag you're interested in (psychedelic rock and Art rock being my 2 favorites of late) and you are matched up with dozen of bands who used those tags to describe their music. You can then stream an entire album and decide if you want to but it.

[Steve983]

If I could buy FLAC more I'd be tempted but paying for lousy mp3's is just silly to me, so I'm sticking with my cd's and the resurgence of vinyl!

[spacefreak]

I'm still buying physical Yves but even if I went full digital, the notion that "the concept album has all but disappeared from my music listening habits" will never occur. Even on the very rare occasions that I listen to a digital album, I can only listen to an album in its entirety.

[100423]

I buy CDs, I buy digital downloads, I even buy vinyl from time to time. I do prefer to listen to albums in their entirety if I have the time, or split them into two listening sessions, one on the way to work and one on the way home.

[Gruno]

I prefer physical media. Sometimes I edit tracks (especially in the prog genre) and I rather have the highest available quality to work with.

On occasion, I buy digital downloads for non-album, special edition, or bonus tracks. I also buy singles for certain songs I need when DJing events.

I have little tolerance for streaming music.

[Steve F.]

I prefer physical media, but I will buy downloads if that's the only way I want something is available (or if the price difference is just too great between the physical and the digital).

I own a reasonable amount of paid-for digital music

I always listen to 'albums'. Never 'a single song' or 'shuffleplay' or 'playlists', even though I often listen on my iPod.

[Yodelgoat]

I have digitized my CD collection - mostly so I can listen more frequently. I still do go into my man cave (its a recording studio) and listen to music in there, sometimes until 3-4 on the morning. The time I spend just listening to music in the studio is awesome. Great for REALLY listening - with various studio monitors you can really get the impression of what the musicians were hearing when they mixed the songs (OK, the Producers)

When I'm at Walmart or anywhere else where I rub elbows with the populace, I use the MP3's (actually, its the headphones) to just keep people at bay.

Striking up a conversation with anyone from the general public, or allowing myself to get sucked into one, is just not all that enjoyable. So, having a buffer is very useful.

[Rarebird]

I buy CD's. I digitize them as soon as I have listened to them, but only to be able to play them when I'm not at home on a portable device, I always use in shuffle mode.
At home I play CD's. YouTube I only use to see if something is of interest for me.

I would like to release my music on a physical medium, but it's to expensive, so I put it just on Bandcamp.

[Gruno]

The time I spend just listening to music in the studio is awesome. Great for REALLY listening - with various studio monitors you can really get the impression of what the musicians were hearing when they mixed the songs (OK, the Producers)

To me, nothing beats listening to music with studio monitors. I've heard hi-fi setups and I prefer the sound of a studio with studio monitors. Having spent a huge amount of time in recording and rehearsal studios, hearing recorded music through good studio monitors is sublime.