Anyone still buy physical music?

[DaDoc]

I don't do mp3, or whatever it's called these days..I want something tangible I can hold in my hands.

Unlike a lot of folks, I kept all my vinyl LP's when it looked like they were over with..And continued to collect them, as one could buy them for practically nothing!

Now that they have come back, suddenly my albums are not only hip again, but fairly valuable!

These days I mostly seek out CD's, right now they're cheap and fairly plentiful if one does some looking..Just yesterday I found a double CD album of the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam from 1999, a great album with some of my old friends playing on it!

I have a vintage Teac reel-to-reel and cassette player as well, but they both need work..I still love tape as well!

 

[Jimi-C]

@Dogs of Doom ,this is why I buy vinyl , Sansui AU 517 ,with pre amp split ,substituted power amp output with a Pyle 8000 watt power amp driving 4 Bose 901s series IV speakers ,KLH Filters for pop & click , a AX-7 audio mixer for other input sources and or , 4 instrument input jacks to play along with other sources or mix on a recording media. A TU 517 tuner.
brought this home from the army back in the day and it's still as Loud and clear as the Symphony . not shown is the other rack with signal processors like a reverb unit , a 20 db signal booster a 16 ban EQ and a Pioneer RT 909 reel to reel .

 

[V-Type]

I forgot All about this band. This song was really well done.

 

[circles]

99% over the Internet, YouTube videos and channels like SomaFM. 1% Transistor radio in the kitchen. I have not bought hard copies in decades.

For those interested in this subject, you would probably enjoy reading How Music Works by David Byrne. He talks in detail about trends in music consumption, among many other things.

 

[V-Type]

@Dogs of Doom ,this is why I buy vinyl , Sansui AU 517 ,with pre amp split ,substituted power amp output with a Pyle 8000 watt power amp driving 4 Bose 901s series IV speakers ,KLH Filters for pop & click , a AX-7 audio mixer for other input sources and or , 4 instrument input jacks to play along with other sources or mix on a recording media. A TU 517 tuner.
brought this home from the army back in the day and it's still as Loud and clear as the Symphony . not shown is the other rack with signal processors like a reverb unit , a 20 db signal booster a 16 ban EQ and a Pioneer RT 909 reel to reel .

View attachment 122359

I still prefer a Vinyl system over any other format for pure Listening Immersion. I have a very old Victor furniture piece Early 60's Stereo system that doesnt even touch what the Above picture produces. But it is similar in that you almost feel as though the band is in the same room with you old school analog style. Kinda the difference some hear between a tube guitar amp and a Solid state amp. A 3d Experience. Btw thats a Bad Ass system. Here's my little Chonk. It looks cheap but sounds Big.

 

[10kDA]

The only time I download mp3s is if I need to learn one or two songs and I don't necessrily want to have the CD for whatever reason. I don't do streaming nor anything like XM or whatever because I really detect their attempts to skew what they send me as a result of "analyzing" my listening habits. I would rather find stuff on my own that I like and then buy it if I can. For instance, the other day I heard a song I had never heard before that I thought was pretty cool on the background music radio station playing at the local grocery store. I did an internet search for the key repeated vocal phrase and found out it was "Dream On Dreamer" by the Brand New Heavies from like 1994. I remember the band's name but if I ever heard any of their songs back in the day, I didn't know it. Also as a result of that search I have discovered a lot of the music I write apparently is "Acid Jazz", a genre the Heavies were known for but is no longer broken out as a separate genre - so the experts say. And all this time I thought my stuff was just hippie music put together as an excuse for extended jams. In any event, I'll check the local Used CD racks first when I look for the CD with "Dream On Dreamer".

Note to self - There is also a band named Dream On Dreamer. Don't buy that. Looks like a boy band.

 

[BluesForDan]

hell, yeah. Ain't nobody going to shut down my library because "they" declared such and such a band to be canceled and have some craven administrators cave in and remove them. Already run into bullshit about songs not be allowed to be played because they're in some bullshit court case (looking at you, Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour, amongst others). Or if some artist throws a hissy fit about some streamers' policies (and I'm looking at you, Neil Young). Fuck all that crap. I buy it on physical media, it's fucking mine and there ain't anything anybody can do about it.

 

[Slogfest]

I bought a Government Mule album the other day. Vinyl rules!...streaming is so easy. Lol

 

[Crikey]

Just curious if anyone else out is still buying CD/Vinyl/cassette/etc or is everyone gone with digital and streaming? I have no desire to go with having a digital collection, and although it takes up more space and requires extra storage furniture, when I want to add music to my library I will find a way to get a physical copy of the music (CDs are my poison) instead of just adding it to a streaming subscription or app or YouTube. Don't get me wrong I do use those sites/apps as a free way to listen to music, and sometimes discover new bands, but when I like something, my instinct is to go and get it. Having something that physically takes up space is like an internal connection to owning and investing in the music that I like and want to support. If the power went off, I'd still have a killer music collection, ya know? (Granted no way to play it, but that's not the point).

Curious to know what other forum members here think, as the gear we're obsessed with enough to join a forum about is much in a similar world where tube amps are these physical things that take up real space, but there's so much of a modeling approach where you can "have it all" but when you look around the room, where's the Plexi or JCM800 or 4x12 cab?

There's an easier way to "have it" - but what do you really have?

Naw. Streaming only

 

[LPMarshall hack]

Haven't bought anything in years.

 

[Jimi-C]

Btw thats a Bad Ass system

Thanks ,it was one of the last ( pre- CD ) dial and knob sound systems before digital took over , my brother calls it the " Enterprise " with all the lights it's got . You are right about how it sounds like you're in the same room with the band and the sound of analog & tubes , there is nothing like the bottom end coming out of a all tube Wurlitzer at the malt shop as it were , in my case they sold " fish sandwiches " instead of burgers LOL , dropped a lot of quarters in those things . My parents had a few of those console stereo systems , they were great , you could stack 45s or albums for continuous play at parties , in the 60s and 70s we danced a lot , that's how you met girls . Ahh the good old days , heck I feel like Richie Cunningham 🤣