exactly!!

SO it's not all negative is my point.

umm
 

Usually both.

Either works for me.

BUT, (and this is a big but) I am a huge supporter
of the music industry. If you are going to downlaod your music I think that you should
pay for it. Itunes is way cheaper then going to HMV. Why can't you dish out $10.00 for
an album or $0.99 for a song. I mean come on.. Are you that cheap??

Ghehe, are you that deaf? :D
There's no way I'm going to pay for compressed audio ;).

I'm so torn on this issue. I watched the movie "I Need That Record" the other night about failing indie record stores and it made me even more torn. It seems like no matter how you buy your music, someone is getting screwed. I had been buying my music from iTunes but then my computer crashed and I had major problems saving my music after that. So I got really mad and vowed never to buy from iTunes again. I try to buy albums when I can but it gets expensive so I tend to download individual songs YouTube. I know it's wrong but I'm addicted to music and addicts will do anything to get the thing they crave. I have one little indie record store in my area, but they're on the other side of town tend to be expensive so when I do buy an album I buy it from Barnes and Noble. I know, I'm horrible to support the big box stores. So, that's where I'm at on the issue.

I actually was really nervous and felt guilty when I began downloading (actually deleted everything I downloaded three times(thankfully not much)), but I eventually got used to it.

I made a compromise with myself some time ago. I have... problems.. with when an album costs more than €15, because you just know that Most of the costs are just the record company seriously skimming off the top, and I don't like to encourage that sort of behaviour. However, due to the sheer volume of music I listen to, and the fact that it can take a while to find a popular album for less than 15 euro, I do the following:

1) Download the album illegally. Yeah, ok, not the nicest thing to do, but given that I have a choice otherwise between not listening to the band at all or buying an album I can't afford, surely it's better for the artist to get listening time of some sort?

2) I assess the album, deciding how much it is worth to me. If I don't like it, it tends to get deleted. If I think it's meh, I'll put it on my "alright albums" list, if I really like it, it goes on the "albums to get" list.

3) The next time I have money and I'm near a good record store, I go in search of the albums that I downloaded and liked. If I see them for a reasonable price (below 15 for a really good one, a fiver or so for an alright one) I will buy them, because the artists deserve the money, and also because I like having the physical album and the album art.

This way, a lot of bands that wouldn't normally get exposure get listened to, and I might go to gigs by them and pay for tickets that way if I think they're worth it, and those bands that actually release really good music get paid when I have the money to do so. For me, it's the only cost-effective way to listen to a lot of music - if I were to buy every album I listen to I a) wouldn't have no money to eat and b) would end up with a lot of crap that I'd never listen to again.

If you want to support the record company, buy the record.
If you want to support the band, go to gigs.
It's that simple.

And, as far as I'm concerned: If you want sound quality and awesome artwork, get your hands of downloads and buy the vinyl :D.

Actually it's not that simple in Ireland anymore. For the larger venues, a particular company (MCD) pretty much has a monopoly on gigs and their organisation. As a result, gig prices have skyrocketed here as they've started skimming off the top. For the more mainstream bands, there's no way to give all the money straight to them anymore. That, and Dublin, popular as it is to some extent, is not the first place that more obscure bands tend to travel to :P

Same here. Organisation is called Mojo.

Those are all Cd's you own??
I must say.. I am very impressed and slightly jealous.

Convience is the only excuse I can give for buying off itunes.
My credit card is handy and my laptop is open 24/7

You mean the link?
They are all vinyl records, apart from the tab at the bottom saying "CD's" :D

Vinyl yes.

How dare I be so new age.. with the cd's and the compressed audio.
Terrible ;)

Hahaha, yeah sorry I'm a vinyl guy.
My ears just keep convincing me.
(doesn't keep me from upgrading my CD player and soundcard every once in a while, though :D).
Yeah, these are all records. I buy a lot of new stuff on vinyl and I go to thrift stores, second hand record stores and yard sales quite a lot.
Started collecting back in 2000. Not about to stop anytime soon :D

cassettes

I buy when I can but im to lazy i download.

Bahah I'll admit records are awesome.
My father has quite the collection which I tend to dig through every now and again
Tons of old rock and roll.. the occasional country record.

..It might even be more extensive then your collection :P
but some how I doubt that.

Classic Rock records is where the moneys at. I love listening to some old ZZ Top or Deep Purple on vinyl. Music that was made for that medium.

Still collecting :)
This is about 10 feet of records.

i have this habit of downloading first and then when i like the song or the album i buy a cd or vinyl. does anyone here do that too?

some of my friends say it's unfair that i should buy the cd regardless.

If I can get it for free, all the better. I've got better things to spend my hard-earned money on (bills, my child, food, gas, etc). If I can't get it for free then of course I will buy it, no qualms there, but not if I don't have to. I could give a rat's ass about "supporting the artist." They see an unfairly low amount of the proceeds anyways. Even if I get their tunes for free, they will still end up thousands of times richer than me in the end. If they're that hard up for money then they can get a "job" job like the rest of society.

on an umbrella description - if it's available on CD here in the stores, I'll buy it
if not, I'd download

or if the discogs are just too big to buy them all (limited space in my room), I'll torrent the entire lot

I will generally download a few and if I like em enough go buy their whole lot and listen and listen.

i am proud to say i have never downloaded a single song, i always buy the cds i want, i like the artwork, the lyric sheets, the recording details, everything about the hard copy

What, that you should buy the CD even if you don't like it?
I Don't know mate, but since I've got access to the internet I buy a LOT more CD's because I do exactly what you do. So there you go :).

So, how do you get to know the music that's on the disc then?

crikey! don't you have a sense of adventure?

most of my impulse buys I don't even know what to expect

you get to know the music that's on the disc by buying it and playing it.

He is so confident in his purchases that he will just buy it and find out later on if he likes it or not.

You sort of have more money than I got I guess.
I'm not going to spend money on stuff I may dislike :D

I dunno, he probably likes everything or something.
I am really bothered if I buy a record that I seem to like, but don't play it in the end.

Yeah, having money to spend on stuff like that every once in awhile is kind of fun it's almost like taking a risk/gambling

^^precisely

Yeah, I tend to do that too. I'll end up buying a couple tracks, listening to more of the album on YouTube, and if I'm really into it I'll buy the CD.

EDIT: I didn't read the whole title. I do buy my music, and I used to illegally download it. I'm going to repay it back.

Usually I check out one or two songs, and I if I like them enough I'll buy the whole album.

I play safe. I spend a lot of money on fun stuff, but I don't do impulse buys that often.

yeah but some musicians too say that it would be better for them if people buy an entire album instead of several songs. they get less than 20% royalty i think so the more you buy, the more they earn. of course at the back of my mind i keep thinking "then make better music so i'll buy more of your songs" however, we all know no one is perfect and no one can satisfy anyone all the time.

the act of buying an entire cd then is an act of support for the cause (cause being music) instead of supporting one artist alone.

fixed

I download from the band's sites if I download or from taper friendly bands on Etree.
I prefer records( CD/LP) over MP3 as a personal preference.

Buying from the artist is the best way to make sure he/she receives the money. (@ shows or on their sites) But I do frequent record stores when I can find them~

I like to download an album or song just to get the feel for it, but then I will buy the album off iTunes, or i'll buy a physical copy.

I still CDs are records. I like the album art, searching through shelves for used/rare stuff at the stores. I've only bought stuff from iTunes when I get gift cards from other people.

Record companies have been ripping off artists for decades and now when I do it to the record companies they say I'm 'stealing'

:laughing:

If you really want me to care you shouldn't have overcharged me for CDs for 2 decades.

Isn't payback a wonderful thing.