- Joined
- Mar 15, 2011
- Posts
- 11,242
this is exactly why I still go out and buy CDs that I really want or of music that I really want to listen to. I have my own niche standards in order to prevent over-buying CDs (a $$ issue, not a space issue ) but chances are if I want to listen to something and I think it warrants going into my collection, I'll hold off and buy the CD so that I can listen to it as an experience later. These days, just the ritual of popping a CD in and listening to it changes the perceived value of the media greatly, and I prefer to open myself to new music in this frame of mind. Especially because I really like looking through the CD sleeve and reading/looking at eveyrthing while I listen.People paying $20 for a CD had nothing to do with people downloading music. It had everything to do with technology simply allowing people to share CD quality music for free. The same thing will happen when we can share blueprints for our 3D printers that allow us to print other intellectual property for free.
The industry would much rather sell a product at a premium price rather than stream. All they did was lower the product's value to such a degree that it doesn't make sense to purchase digital files, or even physical products (unless they're special collector's edition, vinyl, or whatever).
Music isn't really seen as a commodity anymore. I'm sure you, being a CD trader/bootlegger back in the day can remember a time when, if you wanted to listen to the new Megadeth or whatever, you either had to buy the album, or you went over to a friend's house to jam out to it. It was a communal experience in that regard. Nobody treats music like that anymore. I have some really fond memories as a teenager either hanging out in my room or my friends and just listening to music and talking about it. Most kids will never get to experience that, and that kind of sucks.
My 2 cents because I grew up right in the sweet spot of buying CDs, burning them, and downloading mp3s en masse, which eventually lead to our ability to now download hundreds of albums at a time and listen to them as if we are chewing bubblegum. This is great for certain electronic music genres that are either only available on 12" singles and/or very hard and expensive to find, but when it comes to really picking up an album and intending to listen to it as an album, you cannot beat just buying the CD or record or tape, etc. It just solidifies the artistic experience and thank heavens I was alive early enough to understand the beauty of it.