Downloading music, yay or nay?

GhostInTheRuins

Do you download music instead of buying cds?

I'm just wondering because it's happened to me so many times when talking to people about music and someone says "yeah I have that album, it's great". When I ask them could I borrow it they say they don't have the cd because they downloaded it.

I love having the actual cd and I don't get the same enjoyment out of listening to something downloaded (Maybe I'm crazy ). I've even on ocasion bought banged up used out of print albums off ebay instead of downloading them. Am I in the minority here?

So what do you do?

klaus flouride

Yeah, I know what you mean. You don't value the music as much when its all for free and theres tonnes of it. I can remember putting money aside because i really wanted to get a particular album, or trawling through shelves of bargain c.d.s looking for that diamond in the rough - nobody does that nowadays. I miss it to be honest.

kaimera

Always an option 'C'.

Depends on what I'm looking for. Getting music just for the sake of saying I have x amount doesn't appeal to me. I only get it if I'll listen to it so much so I went along and deleted a few gigs of stuff I didn't listen to.

noby

If I was to vote I would vote A, with a little bit of D and E. Oh and C, but not necasserily in an illegal way, as seems to be implied.

machiavellianme

I have about 2500 cd albums and then something hit me. I spent a fortune amassing a collection of rare, out of print albums and for what? Sure its nice to support the artist but a lot of my collection supports ebay sellers too. Maybe I got older and realised spending 10-40 euro a week on cds is not as productive. Now, I still buy the cd but I make sure that its one I really like first by previewing it online if possible. I have far too many in my collection that has 2-3 quality tracks and 10 filler that I skip. Having said that, at the end of the day, for most people its about enjoyment and not about having a collection so if someone only downloads, let them on as it keeps them happy. Who cares whether people have a huge cd or mp3 collection as long as they're happy with their chosen media?

mickoneill30

I always download and usually pay. It's pretty handy to put a few albums on my MP3 player, then if I want to hear them from the sitting room I just play them through the Xbox. If I want to hear them at my PC I just play them on that. I don't have a stand alone CD player anymore.

I think Radioheads model might have a future. Download the album and pay what you think it's worth.

Ghost Train

I don't really buy much music anymore unless it's something that really appeals to me. It's just seems too expensive and doesn't seem worth it for what you're getting. Will still buy the odd album

I don't really download either though.

These days listen to some music on satilitte radio, a few hours of podcasts a week, concerts of tv

can goto the cinema two or three times instead of spending the same amount of money on a cd

Or feel better about buying a dvd, usually cheaper, two hour dvd with high quality surround sound & extras seems better value than 50 or 60 min cd with maybe 5 songs I like.

Dodge

Haven't bought a CD in about 3 years. Haven't listened to one in about 2 and half years.

Will try and get what I want for free but not afraid to pay for it