[darktruth]

This will be an interesting topic to discuss and it's not a debate, you can start a separate topic on this if you like.

The question here is do you guys go and buy the physical music cd's or buy it by downloading it from online music stores? For me I tend to buy the physical cd's for music that I really liked listening to, maybe it's because I'm a collector but I feel it's more worth the money to actually buy music that you can physically keep along with the artworks. I know some people prefer buying it online because it's more convenient and cheaper for them than going out to get it when there's the possibility it's not even in stock.

Another reason that I don't really like buying music online are all the security and licenses you need to obtain to be able to listen to the music, it's kind of strict on the buyers because you payed for it yet you cannot use it as much as you would like (like limitations on how many times certain tracks can be played, burned etc). In a similar way, this is like the copy controls incorporated into the cd's but even with that there are ways to bypass it, this is not to also mention the recent lawsuit brought against SonyBMG (I think it was that company if I remember correctly) with the security risks from those copy control software installed onto your computer once you insert those music cd's in.

This is also interesting to see the new ways of buying music as in the UK and US, downloads are now counted towards the music charts and it looks like in the near future compact music discs won't exist anymore and everything will be online.

[Moelman]

I prefer buying the CD in stores. Even though I rarely use the actual CD because I just rip music onto my iPod mini, I like having the CD because it shows that I actually bought it.

Also, its good to have the CDs just in case you lose the music on your computer from a hard drive crash, etc.

[Scar da Kookee]

i like to have mp3's and or download em

but at times its so nice to have a legit copy

[Mr. Weasel]

I like to have something physical for my money
Like Moelman I only use the CD´s to rip music from them, but in case of a harddrive headcrash or something like that it´s good to have the source in store. Of course there´s also the problem that some downloaded files are usable only on the machine they were downloaded to, another problem that´s nonexistent when you own the CD.

[FirestarterCL]

I definately prefer to buy actual CDs over paid-for downloads. Like has been mentioned already, there's a few BIG problems with downloaded music. There's DRM limiting what I can do with something I paid money for, or the fact that it'll be lost forever if my HDD dies, and the complete lack of booklets and coverart.
Also, even though I can't always tell the difference, CD music is just inherently better quality than the low bit-rate stuff you get from iTunes or whatever.

Plus you cant beat shelf presence, it's awesome to have a bunch of CDs lined up on a shelf.

[Lynk Former]

You can't beat actual CDs for quality, well vinyl beats actual CDs for quality but *shrugs* my point it is't the most simple way to get high quality music. But MP3s are just too damned convenient...

The perfect music file in the future would exist digitally as a file similar to an MP3, but be completely uncompressed, retaining the full waveform.

XD Too bad I wo't live to see the day.

[darktruth]

Another advantage to buying actual cd's is that once you're tired and sick of it you can sell it back to 2nd hand music stores lol and find that maybe some of your music cd's are quite valuable XD.

[tai]

when paying for music i prefer the CD. it means i can have a hard, physical copy of what i brought, and in most cases if i want in in MP3 or whatever i can just rip it and have a clean MP3 file instead of a DRM-infected legally downloaded one.

however, wanting the actual CD does have dis-advantages, especially when what i'm after has been out of print for years.....

[Blue Confusion]

CDs over bought downloads. I rip them to mp3 and store the CDs, but at least I have the choice of the bitrate I encode at, and can make as many copies of the tracks as I need (in case of hardware failure, sharing between my computer and my laptop, etc). Storing the CDs can be a bit annoying when space is a luxury concept, but it's still far less hassle than fooling around with purchased downloads.

[Analog]

I prefer the 8-Track tapes myself

But CD's beat downloads these days.

[darktruth]

What's the 8-Track tape? I thought it was the 8 inch cd you were talking about but now I'm confused lol.

[GabeXorn]

I prefer to buy the cd rather then download it, as soon it gets home it's on the computer. I have a few albums where the artist would prefer if you download it rather then buy it, but those a few and far between.

I will however download one or two songs before buy the album to get a feel for it.

[Analog]

What's the 8-Track tape? I thought it was the 8 inch cd you were talking about but now I'm confused lol.

Hehe... sorry Darky, went old school on ya again :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_track_tape

Just check out the link above for some history and details. I remember listening to 8-tracks at my Dad's house as a kid growing up. Not real good quality, and actually I own it's successor, cassette tapes, even today. In fact, I still have more cassette tapes than CD's now.

Now if somebody asks me what a cassette tape is, I'm gonna start to feel *really* old then :P

[Maverick]

When you buy mp3, who gets your money? the artist or the discographic?

[darktruth]

Neither lol, well maybe a little but I assume most of the money made would go back to the record label (depending if the artist does have one) and maybe the site offering it.

[Lynk Former]

The money which is made goes back to the record label, then the record label takes part of that money and hands it over to the artist(s) as royalties. That's pretty much the jist of it.

[darktruth]

Ahh but then there's the songwriter's royalties in the case if the artist didn't write that song which then would mean the artist would get probably the least money from it.

[Maverick]

I thought that the money from mp3s went all to the artist....then I would choose buy the CD.

[Lynk Former]

@ darky: I know, there are a lot of people I haven't mentioned who also get a cut, but I thought I'd keep it simple.

@ Mav: The way I explained it is how it's done with CDs as well. The thing is that it may not seem like the artist is getting paid much, but then again the artist gets so much free stuff out of it and they end up spending their money on what they want while the company has to pay paychecks and production costs while still trying to make a profit so they can get MORE artists to continue the cycle.

[tai]

well, i legally downloaded music for the first time a few days ago from RipIt.

i must say their collection was kind of impressive but was lacking a few things i wanted. of course the downloads were DRM'd .wma files. and i REALLY dislike any form of DRM too so i had to uh, remove it

cost put me off it too, with most songs at $1.69 per track, i'd rather go buy the cd single or something if what i want is easily avalible.

and finally, their website is only compatable with Internet Explorer. god i hate IE

the only time i'd use it is if i really want something i can't find anywhere else, and they have it.

[darktruth]

Another downside to buying music online lol but I get the feeling all the singles and cd's will cease to exist within the next decade as it's proven singles and albums sales have dropped tremendously over the last few years with the introduction of itunes and other online music stores. I guess a lot of people want the convenience of buying stuff at home rather than go out and get the physical cd.

[Ishita_Kanzar]

If we're talking about buying the CD and comparing it to paying for to download a legit music file/album/single, then the CD wins (for me). However, if I don't know whether or not I'm going to like some music, I generally download it first, because then I'm only going to waste time/money on just a few tracks, and not on an entire CD. If I do like it, I end up buying the CD version, cos then I can continue filling up my CD rack. ^^

[Seph]

Well when I have the money to buy something I get cds so i can put them on my xbox, other than that i use limewire and bought in bulk blank cds.

Don't judge me

[Natsuki]

I do a bit of both, I sometimes buy the CD's itself and sometimes download tracks.

I tend to buy the CD for the hardcopy of the music and the better quality. Also, if I really like the band/arstist, it's good to know that you're being a good fan to them by paying them (aswell as all the people that helped create the music)

I usually download music I can't get in the shops or for try-outs. It's rather awkward not having a Japanese/Chinese music section in the stores here, since I like listening to that kind of music alot.
Also, I would rather download a track to see if I like it or not, I don't see that much of a point in paying double for a track I "might" like, if I like it, I might cnsider buying it as a hard copy.

But if you're asking preference, I prefer buying the CD's to be honest... I don't mind paying for the quality, it's ust the price of it is a bit too much sometimes.

[Rebel]

I'd rather buy than pay downloads, like most have said, hard copies are great to have around in case of accidental file deletions or soemthing, also it's nice to have that extra free space on my PC, but still know I'll never lose a copy of that song.

I download other music to try it out, like I wanted to hear some Nirvana recently and wasnt really willing, or able for that matter, to buy it, so I downloaded some, listened to it, realized it sucked and then deleted it all. I usually buy music I like that I download, though you cant always do that, like I wanted the Nightmare Before Christmas CD, but they dont make it anymore, so I downloaded it. I often use downloads to pick up a single song(not paid mind you), I dont like the idea of paying a $14 sign up fee and then 99c for a song when thats likly to be the only single I'll buy in the next 6 months.

[Maverick]

If CDs are going to come with rootkits included I'm going to download always...

<_<

>_>

sony sucks