Do you buy music where?

Subject: Do you buy music where?
From: Kara
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 10:28 AM

Hello

Well we hear a lot about the digital revolution don't we, but where do people really buy music? Do they even buy it anymore? With all the music you can hear from free on the internet why bother buying music at all?
I'd really like to know what you all think about this, do you prefer to go to an old fasioned record shop or do you download, or order CDs via the internet?

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 10:45 AM

Being something of a techno-luddite, I still buy CDs. Since the type of music I like is not what keeps high-street record shops in business (and they're already an endangered species, so I would buy from them if I could) I usually order them online. There are some good folk/early/whatever CD-selling websites, not to mention individual artists' own, and I think the demand for these will never entirely die out, even if they're something of a specialist interest (or BECAUSE they're a specialist interest). Such things are unlikely to pass out of existence entirely.

Actually "luddite" is a bit misleading. I'm certainly not anti-mp3 and will begin using them eventually. But they're highly-compressed so the sound quality is bound to suffer, particularly when played through room-speakers of any size. I also like the concept of "albums" because of their context-related content and (at least sometimes) dramatic arc. Surely there's room enough for both technologies (they probably said that about horse-&-carriages too...)

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: number 6
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 12:48 PM

I still buy cd's. Mainly online since the local shops are pretty limited in what they sell.

here's a pretty good online site (in case anyone is interested).

djangos

biLL

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 12:52 PM

Mainly from the artists. If they have no product, I usually tip well.
The last one I bought in a store was "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" when it first came out.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 03:37 PM

Like Jim Lad, I buy mostly from artists at their concerts. I have come to enjoy recorded music more if it's from someone I've met, or at least seen on stage.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Uncle Phil
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 03:52 PM

That's odd. Oh Brotherm Where Art Thou? is the last CD I bought in a store, too.

Not that I buy that many. I count 7 this year including 2 dups that I bought as gifts, one dup that I bought to get the artist (Tim O'Brien) to sign it. Of the 7 I bought one on-line (Uncle Earl - Waterloo Tennessee) and the rest from the artists (The Duhks-Migrations 2 copies), Jed Marum - Lonestar Stout, Tim O'Brien - Fiddlers Green from 2005, and The Greencards - Viridian 2 copies). I also stole one from Michelle (Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World) that she will probably never get back.

Michelle, on the other hand, probably buys 10 CDs to my 1, including at least one CD from every artist we've ever heard play live. She also is a sucker for t-shirts, key chains, tote bags, and whatever else the band is selling so you really want her to come to your gig.
- Phil

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 04:12 PM

I buy CDs....mainly on-line, unless it is (shock horror) not folk music!!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: RTim
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 04:17 PM

I know in my case I only SELL my own CD either in person, or online via my friends Website with access to Pay Pal.
However - When I BUY CD's I don't like buying them over the Internet! So what does that say about me!?

Tim Radford
www.timradford.com which has a link to www.ianrobb.com
(Hint Hint!)

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 05:29 PM

Charity shops. I buy loads of CDs and cassettes (rarely LPs these days) from them. I occasionally buy new from Coda Music, the Edinburgh folk specialist, but I'll buy 20-50 second hand CDs for every new one. I get lucky with interesting stuff here; some of the more recent things I've bought have been Byzantine chant by Sister Marie Keyrouz, Mexican field recordings on the Airmail Music label, piano music by Douglas Lilburn, a mountain of cassettes of Brahms chamber music and compilations of Miles Davis and John Coltrane at 3 for 50p, ud music by Munir Bashir, French accordion by Danielle Pauly...

But I buy new when on holiday abroad - on most trips to Turkey I come back with a pile of local music a foot thick.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: frogprince
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 05:44 PM

So far I'm still buying mine as CDs. We get to quite a few small house concerts and folk society concerts, and in most cases I'll buy at least one from an artist or group we see live.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Tootler
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 05:54 PM

I buy CDs. I avoid buying mp3s on download - mainly because of DRM. I tend to buy my CDs either from specialist shops or direct from the artist at club guest nights, though I do buy from Amazon sometimes.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 06:00 PM

From a store or the artist at a festival. I'm still wary about buying stuff online and I'm even warier about downloading stuff that says it's free but isn't really.

Mind you, it's very rare for me to buy a CD at all...

LTS

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 06:05 PM

Buy cds and DVDs to get the music and quality I want, mostly old music and opera, but also Bear and other collections of old blues, country, Tex-Mex, etc..
The quality and content of Alia Vox, etc. is not in the internet stuff.

I have found some interesting vinyl in shops here but not much on cd.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: dwditty
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 06:10 PM

I like CD Baby....lots of stuff you will never find in a store.

A particular feature I like is to be able to browse local music by genre. I am in Connecticut, so I search CT for acoustic blues, for example. If I like what I hear listening to the clips, I can click to their web site/mySpace and see if they are playing near me. This has brought me in to contact with lots of live music I would otherwise have missed.

dw

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 08:16 PM

I forgot about the "Tap & Spile" cds which I bought at the Scottish Mudgather but I consider that to be much the same as buying from the artist.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 12:23 AM

When I re-discovered the live folk scene in 1996 I bought a lot from a local store, which does not sell Top 40 - "Kings of the back Catalogue" is their logo and do they have some weird stuff along with their folk.

Now I buy at concerts/festivals & on line - from artist sites, an Oz site, Camsco, Folk legacy & CD-Baby.

Every time my Mac tells me I have software updates, I cancel those for iTunes cos I like playing CDs - I like reading the notes while playing the music.

As I have over 600 mainly folk CDs & very crowded shelves it would be a logical thing to put them on iTunes & get a little iPod thingy, but what would I do with the 600+ CDs? And how would I read the notes? And more importantly, could I transfer the artist's signatures & messages to the iPod???

sandra

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 06:11 AM

Up to now, it's been CDs on the internet, but I recently downloaded from Folkways (Smithsonian Global Sound). It was very painless, and cheaper than if I'd bought the CD $10 as opposed to $17 plus shipping. The other advantage was that I was able to download a single track from another album as well. Incidentally, the cover and liner notes were included in the download. In fact you can download the liner notes and listen to samples before you purchase.

Altogether a very satisfactory result.

Rog

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Zhenya
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 01:33 PM

I've all but given up buying music in stores. The selection for the types of music I like most is usually very limited, and the music isn't organized well. Also, I've gotten spoiled by the online ability to hear samples before I purchase.

I go to a lot of concerts, big and small, and almost always buy CDs there, if something is available that I don't have yet. Each one is not only good music to listen to, but a nice memory of the concert as well.

I buy lots of CDs online, from several specialty catalogues: Elderly, Folk Legacy, Thirty Below, Compass, Ossian, County, Cdbaby, Musical Traditions , CD Universe, Smithsonian Folkways, etc., etc.

I also have an eMusic subscription for downloads (no DRM on this site, by the way) and have gotten some other downloads from Tradtunes (Irish, Scottish, English), and the new Amazon MP3 service. I haven't tried the Smithsonian Folkways download service yet, but I'm glad to hear that works well, and will probably try it in the future.

If I'm looking for an entire album, I do always consider whether to buy a CD before I download something. If it's a favorite artist, or I already know the album has great liner notes, I'll go for the CD. For experimenting with new music, when I'm not sure how much I'll like it, I prefer eMusic because the downloaded album is usually much, much cheaper than the CD . I've also been able to find some items that have been out of print and never made it onto CD, but are now available as downloads.

I listen a lot every day, on CDs, iPods, and PC. I do prefer the uncompressed sound of the CDs, but I also love the convenience of being able to get to everything in my large collection quickly, and to shuffle play the music in the digital formats.

I bought my first LP with my allowance money when I was about 11 or 12, in the late 60s, and since then have bought on average about 1 album a week. I've read that as people get older and mature, they stop buying much music, so I have to conclude I've simply never grown up!

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Don Firth
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 01:48 PM

Yeah, I buy CDs, usually on line.

I used to hit a used CD store in my neighborhood called "Second Time Around." They had a pretty good selection of stuff. They had lots of rock and pop, plenty of classical, and some folk. I bought one of Mary Black's CDs there, and one by Richard Dyer-Bennet, plus a whole batch of others, including a whole compilation set of The Weavers. There was also a compilation set of Leadbelly, but someone got it before I did (!#$%&#!). The CDs (thoroughly inspected and declared okay, and money-back-guaranteed) sold for $5.95 to $8.95.

Then one day I headed for the store to browse and found it empty and the store front up for rent. Bloody tragic!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 02:21 PM

It's good to have CDs, as there are often liner notes and images that help me understand the music...and when heading for a road trip, it is nice to just scan the shelves quickly for a handful to play in the car.

Being retired and on a limited income, I *DO* need to be careful and choose wisely, and I sometimes supplement 'real' CDs with out-of-print items that I find on the internet.

A lot of the CDs I do buy are from artists at events, and I have the good fortune to see CAMSCO at a couple of events every year, and browse thru hundreds of items I never knew were even out! (I just bought a wonderful Davy Stewart CD at the Getaway a couple of weeks ago.

But, from CDs and other sources, I make myself custom CDs that I can play in my combo CD/MP3 player, for walks, travel, etc.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 12:13 PM

For several years all CDs have been purchased from their makers.

Haven't bought a CD from a "mainstream" market source in years.

Russ (Permanent GUEST)

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 12:14 PM

When a musician tells me "I have a CD" my response is "Everybody has a CD theses days."

Russ (Permanent GUEST)

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: redsnapper
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 12:18 PM

I buy CDs in a small specialist privately-owned shop with a big "folk" (whatever that is (:>D) !) section. If I want something particular that they don't have they will try and get it for me.

RS

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 12:20 PM

festival stalls and iTunes mostly.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Tootler
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 12:25 PM

After the trouble my daughter has been having with her iTunes and her iPod, I wouldn't touch iTunes with a bargepole

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 01:48 PM

I very rarely buy recordings in any format. I listen to an excellent local independent radio station, mostly when in my car. If you're not in New Orleans, you can listen in to my fave station at http://www.wwoz.org/. 'OZ presents music in a number of different genres, almost all of which I enjoy, and I always get to hear something new, something I never would have known to buy.

My wife, whose tastes are very similar to my own, will very occasionally buy a CD, either online or at the Louisiana Music Factory, the only decent "record store" in New Orleans since the big chains (Tower and Virgin) both opted NOT to reopen their local sites after Katrina.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Kara
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 04:39 AM

Thanks to everyone who has answered this thread. It's great to hear so many people buy from artists.
I am a download person as I'm hopelessly unorganised with physical objects and its so easy to organise music on the computer.
I haven't noticed any major difference in sound quality, but my CD player is not at all state of the art.
I do buy some CDs from CDbaby because they have such a good selection. (Devon Sproul's "Keep your Silver Shined" was my last purchase and it's really good.
I also like to browes the Indiestore where unsigned independent artists can put thier work up for download. So you get stuff that has never been make into CD or is no longer available, and cover notes can be downloaded from there too.(Some of it ain't brilliant but some of it is, and you can listen to whole tracks on preview before you buy.

I listen to loads on myspace too, they've just got a new player that is loads easier to use, and plays all the tracks up and opens in a separate window so you can keep working/playing/surfing while you listen.

OK hope my clicky bits worked as I did they by hand!!!

Kara

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Kara
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 04:44 AM

Looks like the indiestore link worked but not Devon's here it is again
Devon Sproule

fingers crossed

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: DMcG
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 04:52 AM

I mainly buy individual CDs from the artist and box sets from specialist distributors or online. I have bought individual tracks over the Internet but not downloadable albums. I don't think I have bought anything folkish from a 'physical' major store like HMV for more than a decade, but I have bought classical CDs from them.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: autolycus
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 07:24 AM

Always trailing round charity shops, where i pick up LPs,cassette tapes,CDs, and the occasional 78. Used to do car boots.

Whatever looks interesting, or is unusual, or is by Mahler (composer). So might be the songs of Peter Warlock (unusual to find), music of the Jews of Eastern Europe (folk+heritage), music of the 40s (nostalgia), Spike Jones muredering the classics (need I say more), the complete Mahler cycle under Kubelik (for £1.50 :-), a fluke, tho' a consequence of mars in Taurus persistance); (Oh, 'muredering', I've just re-read; very good); Tristan and Isolde under Furtwangler (F. is an amazing conductor); and so on.

The occasional new CD, arbitrarily chosen from a local excellent independant; ditto from the net. Both rather rarely tho' I am slowing down secondhand, rather a lot already, much still unheard the first time (!!!!!!!!!!! yes, yes, I know); majority unheard the second. Not to mention books etc.etc.etc. So I have more psychological space to consider new CDs.

So there's just no time for mp3s.ipods, and other ways of staying poorer and having unpleasant technophobish experiences.

Bad enough going to kind poppagators radio link, only to be faced with a mass of technobabble incomprehensible to me. You mark my words, there'll be a pill for it one day. No doubt explains why I still look thru 78s (no to mention why I don't type 78's).


   Don't worry. I feel fine!!

    Ivor

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: topical tom
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 12:29 PM

I sometimes download songs and burn them to cds. Otherwise, I buy cds at a well-stocked store in the USA.
      I also buy cds at the folk and bluegrass festivals I go to.
      That's about it.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: artbrooks
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 12:58 PM

I buy CDs almost exclusively, although I do get a cassette tape (gasp!) occasionally from an artist or a bargain bin somewhere - and then I put it on a CD for everyday use. Like Bill D, I play them both at home and in the car and, since I carry a laptop while traveling, in the motel as well.

From whence? Artists, of course. CD Baby for duplicating items I bought from an artist and for checking if that person/group has new material (they have Round the House[great group from Tucson], some of Alaska Mike's [Campbell} CDs and Jed Marum's stuff). Amazon.com is a good source for reissues, and they are generally better quality than I'd get if I copied my well-played Judy Collins LPs to CD. I confess to spending a lot of time at the local big-box book store (they have good coffee and don't care if you read books there), so I buy CDs at Barnes & Noble if I have a good discount coupon.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: EuGene
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 02:14 PM

It's very rural here where I live in N. Ark. Ozarks, so the only source for new CDs & DVDs is the nearby Wal Mart, and because of the popularity of computer downloads, they now carry about a quarter of what they had a couple years ago. Needless to say, their selection is very limited, mostly current pop and country. I do occasionally buy a new CD in those genres at Wal Mart.

However, Bill D. has the secret - custom CDs. The main problem I have with album CDs is that I have to buy 4 CDs by an artist/group to get the dozen pieces that I really want. Sure, I could download the individual tracks that I want and burn them onto a custom CD, but as another one of those techno-Luddites, I have never downloaded music.

Like Q and Zhenya, I don't find the music I want around, what with the very limited selection available to me . . . you ain't gonna find Adelina Patti, Django Reinhardt, Feyodor Chaliapin, Billy Murry, Woody Guthrie, Vernon Dalhart, or the Skillet Likkers in Wal Mart. So, I too, hit the charity shop, local auction house, yard sales, flea markets, etc. and find all kinds of used CDs, tapes, LPs, 78s, and occasionally even cylinders, for near nothing and custom make my own CDs like Bill D.

Generally speaking though, the selection in these parts, new & used, from all sources tends toward only a few genres - C&W, Bluegrass, Gospel, Rock/pop, and "easy listening/mood music" - as most folks hereabouts suffer from "hardening of the categories" with respect to their musical interests.

So, what was I to do? Well, if I can't find what I want at those places noted above, then I shop with on-line sellers and/or order from catalogues like Kultur, Bel Canto, Nauck's Vintage Records, Esoteric Records, etc.

Then I put together the equipment to play the music from all that myriad of media, process/clarify it, re-equalize the pre-RIAA stuff, then burn my own custom CDs.

Sure, it's all work, but it's also a labor of love!!

Eu

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: GUEST,irishenglish
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 03:23 PM

Poppagator, I'm sure it was annoying that Tower Records didn't open after Katrina. But more annoying was that all 89 stores in the Tower chain closed in December 2006 for good. As an employee in the Lincoln Center store,New York, in the World Music section, I can tell you it was one of the saddest things. While I have moved on jobwise, we might never find a chain that had as deep a catalog as Tower had ever again, and that to me is sad.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Jim Krause
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 12:14 AM

When, on the rare occasion I do buy a CD, I usually purchase it here. I don't purchase that many CDs in a year however. Just too lazy, I guess. I mostly listen to music over the internet, either Pandora, or Sugar In The Gourd.

Jim Krause

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Kara
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 06:48 AM

I really like to option of just choosing the tracks that you want when you download and making up your own custom CDs.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: the button
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 07:50 AM

I get my CDs from EBay (there's a couple of really good sellers in the UK, who sell new, factory-sealed folk CDs. Because it's a minority interest, they often go for the starting price of a fiver). There's also the ubiquitous Amazon (although they tend not to discount stuff on Topic for some reason), and Veteran, who I would highly recommend.

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: the button
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 08:34 AM

PS This isn't an invitation to start bidding on all the stuff I want.

;-)

Subject: RE: Do you buy music where?
From: Rapparee
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 09:05 AM

From Camsco Music, of course!