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Thread: Has the pandemic affected your music buying habits?

  1. #1
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Has the pandemic affected your music buying habits?

    So over the last few years I've usually bought around 120 to 140 albums a year. With the lack of concerts, trips to the pub, boys weekends, family events I'm finding myself spending a lot more time reading about music and buying music. I've just gone through 100 albums for the year and doubt it will slow up any time soon. Anyone else replacing other entertainment by binging more than usual on music purchases?
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  2. #2
    Member thedunno's Avatar
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    Because I am working from home I have a lot more time to listen to music. As a result I am also buying a lot more new music.

    The amount of new music I bought was never limited because of budget or intrest. The main restraint was the available time to listen to it all. I am now at about 50 puchases this year. This is normally what I buy in a whole year.

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  3. #3
    Member Camelogue's Avatar
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    I've purchased maybe 45 or so this year but probably 40 of them (including an 8 CD box set) have been in the last two months.

    Listening a lot more too. Reading more also.

  4. #4
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    I think I'm buying less, due to decreasing funds. But I haven't counted it out to confirm.
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

    Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.

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  5. #5
    I have found it hard to focus on music during all of this, which is counter-intuitive given the extra time at my disposal. Only in the last month have I found enthusiasm for buying much again, but overall I am way behind a normal year. My income is way behind too, so that’s probably a factor, but generally music comes ahead of food in my hierarchy of needs!

  6. #6
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Not that much has changed in my little piece of the world and the same goes for my music buying and listening.
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  7. #7
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    I bought a new house in the pandemic. Many different costs in getting everything set up for the move in on August 28th. As for CD's, about the usual pace.
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

  8. #8
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    I haven't bought anything since it started. My sources prior to the pandemic were here in Austin: Waterloo Records and End of an Ear Records, our record convention, and all the Half-Price Books locations in town. No big deal (there are only a few new and old titles on my list to buy), but over the past few months I've pulled a BUNCH of albums to sell (no, I'm not going to mess with selling them online/mail). That's my problem right now, no place to sell them until the stores open up and it's safe to go back.

  9. #9
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    My habits have not changed much. More downloads from Bandcamp to support particular artists.
    Thinking a bit more, I have been buying more CD's directly from artists.
    This is in addition to buying about the same amounts of new releases from my favorite vendor.
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  10. #10
    Somewhat. I'm trying harder more than ever to not spend money frivolously. There's about four or five boxsets I want to buy RIGHT NOW, and several other things I want to buy, but I'm kinda pulling back on that. I've been doing the first Friday of each month thing on Bandcamp, but beyond that, and the Tangerine Dream boxset I bought back at the beginning of May (when I first went back to work), I've just not been buying anything.

    I'm worried that's there gonna be another lockdown, and I'm gonna get caught short, money-wise, again. I'm hoping that we can at least get at least another month of work before anything that happens, then I should be able to pay off my credit cards, if need be.

  11. #11
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Within the last month or so, it has slowed my purchasing down. Not because of anything on my end, but because of the ruin it has wrought on the international postal system. I have items that I paid for 3 months ago that haven't arrived yet. The cost of shipping from Germany has gone from the least expensive in Europe to the most expensive. And by that I mean they've priced themselves out of the market. Other items ordered a week ago have arrived. There's no real predictable pattern, but it sucks, and unless it's high priority, I'm inclined to only buy from American sellers at this time. That seriously restricts my purchasing.

  12. #12
    Boo! walt's Avatar
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    I've bought more cds over the past three months than any three month period i can recall.More time spent indoors might be a partial explanation.Less money spent on concerts;restaurants; travel;.....
    "please do not understand me too quickly"-andre gide

  13. #13
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    We're among the lucky people whose income was not affected by the current unpleasantness, and who have vast amounts of free time. IOW, we're comfortably retired.

    The funds freed up by not traveling, not going out to concerts, movies, meals, museums (minus the increased cost for almost everything we buy) become available to support the causes most important to us. Food banks, PPE for healthcare workers, making sure everyone eligible to vote can vote, supporting the rule of law (vs the rule of a certain man)... and art/culture in all its forms, such as maintaining our museum memberships despite not being able to visit them.

    So yes, I'm buying more music, and supporting my favorite artists in the ways that they ask (such as joining BBT's Passengers Club). I try to order direct from artists or from artist-owned distributors whenever possible. Order from Bandcamp on Fridays. Pay for Youtube concerts.

    A silver lining has been the opportunity to discover more new music than I might otherwise have had time for, and buy it. Just yesterday it was Beatrix Players/Ms. Amy Birks.

  14. #14
    Marklar Jimmy Giant's Avatar
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    Yeah, working from home allows me to listen more, even though my 2hrs/day driving time is eliminated. I've found that my Sirius subscription will likely end this year as the music selection there is quite awful and I'm not listening to Stern anymore. I get to hear Galiarchive rebroadcasts and Canvas Prog Hour now.

    But I've bought maybe 70 CDs and a dozen or so Bandcamp digitals. And around 40 LPs new and used. Only a few BluRay (of which the new Ayreon production is quite amazing). Plus probably a half dozen music bio books.

    Only more time to listen, I still work full time, though I've gained a couple hours a day from not driving. Still can't get s@$t done!

    But hell yeah on the overseas postage. I went to order £52 worth of books from Burning Shed and the postage was £36! Bite me.
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  15. #15
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Not that I've noticed anyways.
    Outside a big order to Greg (I didn't make one last year), I'm on par with the other years (bar 2018, which started really poorly but ended fabulously), both in CDs and books

    I'm certainly behind in terms of concerts and movies, though at the end of the year, I could've come back to par for the silver screens in the dark, but I doubt gigs will really restart before October.

    BTW, I'm one of the lucky ones that've come unscathed (financially, anyway) from this crisis, but been helping out family that were not so lucky.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by NogbadTheBad View Post
    Anyone else replacing other entertainment by binging more than usual on music purchases?
    I've probably been doing less Internet mail order since the postal service has been so horribly compromised (e.g. I'm still waiting for stuff I ordered back in March and April).

    But I bought a bunch of downloads on each of the four Bandcamp "no commission" Fridays, and I also bought a ton of CDs (more than $1000 worth) at local record stores as soon as they were allowed to re-open after being forcibly closed for more than two months.

  17. #17
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plasmatopia View Post
    Not that much has changed in my little piece of the world and the same goes for my music buying and listening.
    Same here. I go to work as usual. I may be buying less because my town's two brick & mortar rekkid shops were closed.

  18. #18
    Member Garyhead's Avatar
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    My spending is WAY DOWN so far this year. All credit cards are at zero. Remember the delays last fall that caused everything to arrive at the doorstep at once? I’m still digesting it all. I get the weekly updates from Burning Shed and Lasers Edge....very little interests me. No Seaprog this year....saved me $$$. No live gigs....saved me $$$.
    Jethro Tull boxes done. KC boxes done. Devin Townsend boxes done. The Class of 1970 bands should be celebrating their 50th....saved me $$$. Might take the savings and plunk it down on new transportation in 2020.
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  19. #19
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Yes, since pandemic came to stay my buying is way up, and it’s mostly been CDs purchased on Bandcamp. This is partly because so many artists have released albums recently either because of chance or because they needed to release something now to pay the bills, and also because of the Bandcamp Friday’s. Also, because I’m sensitive to that immediate need I’m more willing than usual to take a chance. If the CD isn’t for sale on Bandcamp, I’ve often bought the download on Bandcamp and the CD from an online vendor (I’m also more willing again to accrue more CDs).

    I’ve also had more time to listen to old stuff and stuff I never bothered to check out, and then fill in gaps in my collection. Some good examples are spending time listening to classic metal or NWOBHM bands, and being surprised to find I’m suddenly a Judas Priest or Scorpions fan (Spotify is usually enough for those really), or finding I MUST have all the Wolverine or Jag Panzer albums I missed, or that the best Dark Tranquility and In Flames albums totally rule! With cases where I’ve wanted to buy missing albums, buying used from Discogs or Amazon has been good.

    So yes, I’m COVID bingeing big time!

  20. #20
    Well, I buy online instead of in brick and mortar shops. Don't like to travel with public transport at this moment. Vacations are out as well (which was often combined with bringing home something like 40 CDs).

  21. #21
    Since I've stopped hoarding toilet paper, I have a little more money to spend on music, which I mostly spend on Bandcamp downloads these days.
    I'm moving toward a more downloads / fewer CDs buying habit and the pandemic has sped up the evolution. I tend to buy CDs to complete collections or to have special interesting artworks, but I tend to spend more and more money on donwloading music by younger artists who seem to produce a limited amount of CDs.

  22. #22
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    I think my purchasing has been slowed down slightly for a few reasons. For one thing, not much has been coming out that has been of major interest apart from a few titles (but that's soon due to change, I think come this fall we will see an explosion of new releases). I was also acting wisely with regard to spending while off work for a few months. And I've been less inclined to order internationally the last while, with the appalling shipping rates and the slowdown due to the virus (understandable there).
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