QotD: The Song Remains The Same

Led Zeppelin will finally offer their music online starting next month.   Of the music you buy, about how much of it do you download and how much do you buy on physical formats (CDs, vinyl, etc.)?

Oooh, finally a question I can answer. It's been a slow couple days and I was planning on doing another compilation post to take care of all the random stuff that's been going on, but that will come later.

Anyway, digital downloads. I'm going to have to say around 75% of the music that I buy is in the form of an actual CD. I just prefer having something physical that I can stack on a shelf, or take out and look at the album art or booklet, read the lyrics without going to a website, etc. It's also a form of insurance. If something somehow happens to both my iPod and my hard drive, I can always re-rip it. If a new format comes along I can always re-rip into that, no conversions required.

I usually head to the iTunes store (or now a days Amazon MP3 first, then to iTunes) when I'm trying to get a taste of a new band. I usually pick out a couple of the top downloaded songs, give them a listen and then buy some individual tracks. Then if I like those, I buy the album. This is where iTunes still has the edge over amazon because they discount the price of the album if you've already bought a couple of the individual tracks. If I really like it, then I'll spring for the CD.

I also use digital purchasing to grab songs individually if they're really the only thing I like from an artist. And I do try to buy everything. In the type of music I'm listening to, about 95% of these artists are struggling musician types, just trying to make a living doing something they love. And not buying their album and just downloading it only serves to make creating the type of music I enjoy financially impossible. Not that I'd download stuff from a huge successful artist either because I believe that if you like something enough to listen to it, whoever had a hand in creating it deserves something for the effort. Unless they don't want anything. And that's fine with me too. Er…I think my rant is becoming incoherent, so I'll give it a rest.

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