[Nicwix]

The survey: "I use MP3s for ..." showed that around two thirds of Head-Fi-ers regularly download MP3s. And yet most people still buy lots of CDs (or LPs - for those so inclined).

Personally, I have tended to buy more CDs since I started downloading MP3s - from a real physical CD shop where you can touch and feel the medium !!!

Given that we can download MP3s for (almost) nothing:
1. Why do we still buy physical CDs?
2. Will we continue to do so in the future?

Nix

ps Now playing: Dire Straits: Money For Nothing (and your chicks for free) - superb quality production from around 1980

 

[dhwilkin]

Choice 2. I would have selected the "support" choice as well, but I'm not doing it to support the recording industry per se, since the industry in general needs to get a clue, but I do it to support the musician/artist.

 

[Nicwix]

I can generally find and download at least some tracks of almost any artists I like, but will continue to buy CDs (for the foreseeable future) because:

1. It is very hard to find good quality MP3s - especially of the more obscure stuff that I like

2. I generally only listen to whole CDs - and it's a lot of time and trouble to compile a complete, glitch free, reasonable quality CD

3. I like the cover, packaging, lyrics, notes, etc, which adds to the whole music experience - especially the more innovative ones

4. I do want to support the recording industry, primarily the artists, but also (to a lesser extent) the distribution chain (since electronic music distribution still doesn't really do it for me)

 

[Driftwood]

I think those were pretty good choices.

I don't really use mp3s because
1, I like to own the actual cd.
2, It is too much trouble (and time) to rip the cds I own, and downloading them yields too many of really really poor quality, plus the fact that if I own the cd, why do I need the mp3?
3, I like to support the artists that I listen to.
4, I have this "collector" mentality that forces me to buy multiple copies of the same cd if they have different catalog numbers or any other visible/audible changes.
5, a lot of the people I listen to are hard enough (nearly impossible) to find on cd, non-existant on mp3.
6, the nice fuzzy feeling I get when browsing through my cds.

Driftwood

 

[Nicwix]

Thanks Driftwood

I think I see thing pretty much the same way - what MP3s and online reviews (eg Amazon, Head-Fi) do for me is help me to find new music that I really like.

Until recently there were almost no recent artists I really loved (I was still back in the 70s) - now there are dozens I have found.

Rgds - Nix

 

[CaptBubba]

I use mp3 only beacuse radio is useless now. Its the same songs over and over and over and over and over and.....

If I like what I hear on mp3, I'll buy the cd. If I don't I'll delete the mp3.

 

[ai0tron]

I couldnt give a flying **** about the recording industry. I hope those rights trampling COMMUNISTS die painfull deaths!!!

And still I buy cd's, because I hate listening to music while my computer is on.

If given the opportunity to copy a cd I will on most occassions. However if the cd is trully excellent I always end up buying it.

 

[RMSzero]

Quote:

I hate listening to music while my computer is on.

Ha! I don't have anything that makes music aside from my computer in my dorm room!

 

[HD-5000]

The sound quality on CD is good and better than mp3, but ironically I download a song just to "try before I buy", but I end up listening to the mp3 so much that I get bored of it and forget about buying the CD!

 

[Trawlerman]

It's interesting to note that at the moment, 40 percent of us have voted that MP3 is not of a good enough quality.

This echoes my sentiments exactly. Even if you rip your own MP3s with Lame/EAC at 320kbps the quality is still lacking. Hell, Minidisc is hardly a really high quality format yet it still leaves MP3 for standing.


I take the point of being able to get the latest albums for free. And being able to demo the latest albums before purchasing. The latter being a terriffic idea. To me the only saving grave is that you can often download long since deleted albums from usenet that are unavailable elsewhere. Again this is a terriffic idea.



My father is very much into MP3 music, but alas it is not for me. I've got a high-end system that I have invested a great a deal of time/money on to get the high quality sound that I crave. Why would I want to take a step backwards by going to MP3? As I said in an earlier post, this is the 21st century and we now have SACD/DVD-A and a whole host of high quality formats that produce sound of such a quality that MP3 just looks silly alongside. I realise that not everybody wants that, just look at the sales of boomboxes/streetstyles for the evidence but why should we put up witgh inferior sound quality.

Look at it another way. Some of the most desitrable consumer products on the market at the moment are the Large Screen & HDTVs. People demand quality from these and kick up a fuss when the quality is lacking, and quite rightly too. Why do people put such a high priority on TV yet couldn't care less about music?





Sound As Ever

 

[chych]

First three reasons apply to me... and the bulk of my cds do not come from the RIAA so screw them! I also like owning originals, not using the computer to play music (mp3 uses processing power, my computer is 4 years old and I force it to run the latest and greatest... plus my rig is based around the cd player), and keeping hard disk space free...

I don't think quality is too much of an issue, I honestly cannot discern between a decently ripped mp3 and the original (decent means, to me, 192kbps LAME CBR Stereo)... Finding the songs is quite a problem too, and given my musical tastes, it is even harder.

 

[Audio-Me]

I download stuff I haven't heard before first, then buy it. I like to own my material, not leech it... Many say that they can't tell the difference of 320kbps mp3 and the original, well I unfortunately do notice the degration. It doesn't help that most of them that said there's no difference were using sb live (ick!).

Support recording industries? The majority of them can kiss my ass! They not only rob their consumers, but the musicians/vocalists as well!

Kev - I care about the audio, not the video (not nearly as much anyway).

 

[sapphiremodena]

Quote:

Originally posted by dhwilkin I would have selected the "support" choice as well, but I'm not doing it to support the recording industry per se, since the industry in general needs to get a clue, but I do it to support the musician/artist.

I agree, I think the record industry sucks, but want to support the artists much more than the industry. Although if we do not support the industry, then eventually there will be less new and rising artists. That's just my prediction.

 

[Trawlerman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio&Me Kev - I care about the audio, not the video (not nearly as much anyway).

That's great man but unfortunetely not everybody is interested in audio like us enlightened souls on this board.

Ever notice how many video you see on the MTV that are stunning but have absolutely no bearing on what music is? Quite often the video is all there is. See Shakira to understand what I mean. Great video that totally detracts from the totally dire music.




Sound as ever

 

[coolvij]

I said quality was my qualm, in addition to morality issues......which....well....they're the kinda things that detract from the total nirvana I occasionally slip into while listening to music.

Tho, I burn CDs from the library, which I replace whenever my funds build up......so.....I guess I'm a hypocrite.

Meh.