2008 was the year that my music buying and listening...

Posted by: Bruce Woodhouse on 18 December 2008

...changed in a few ways.

I started buying downloads more often (approx a third of what I buy now). I started buying odd tracks at times too.

I went to my first classical concert, and bought a bit more classical than before. I've got better at finding classical music I might like.

I listened to more music radio, and used my iPod via a PC or my office system more (partly because my main system got damaged and was out of action over 3/12).

I bought less from established artists and more by new ones.

I wonder how much of this will continue into 2009. I wonder if my next music system purchase will be an HDX? When it was launched it seemed irrelevant to me. Does not anymore-in just a few short months.

Bruce
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by Huwge
Bruce,

which online retailers are you using? iTunes is the usual suspect and I have only ever else used the download facilities from an artist or band's own website, e.g. Bill Frisell, Over the Rhine, Cowboy Junkies. Would be interested to learn which other sources may be out there. For some reason I seem disinclined to use Amazon.

Thanks,
Huw
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by Bruce Woodhouse
iTunes so far, and it always seems to work well. Simple to keep organised on the PC-and I often burn a disc for the house too.

I might try Amazon-they are being quite keen at the moment on price. Just the odd one from an artist website-Calexico was one I recall.

Bruce
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by Andy1912
.... went vinly (or back to vinyl after 2 decades or so) and bought me more smiles an hour than I have had from CD ever.

Magical Cool
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by MilesSmiles
I started to more seriously collect German and Japanese CD 1st Pressings.
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by Mike7
quote:
Originally posted by Andy1912:
.... went vinly (or back to vinyl after 2 decades or so) and bought me more smiles an hour than I have had from CD ever.

Magical Cool


Yep - me too!
Have also been discovering lots of 'new' electronic music, which unfortunately not many people seem to like.
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by mikeeschman
2008 is the year i looked at my turntable, and saw something from another age whose time has passed.

it's also the year i found multiple cds that are better recorded and played than anything i have on lp.

makes me a little sad.
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by JamieL
2008 has been the first year since I started buying music that I didn't buy anything from a shop, all music was bought either on-line or from stands at concerts.

Nearly all bought on CD, a couple of vinyl, and some Flac.

I will not pay for MP3s, unless that is the only format of the release, the last one of those I bought was 2006, and that band now release on Flac.

I hope this means that in general, more of what I spend goes to the artist, or to small specialist sellers, and less to middlemen.
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by Bruce Woodhouse
er, what is Flac?!

Bruce
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by BigH47
Something to fire at incoming RAF planes?
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by mikeeschman
flac - codec similar to MP3, but "lossless" in that it completely preserves a file's audio fidelity (at the price of a larger file size than "lossy"). FLAC is free and its source code is open, so users and developers are able to view code and extend its functions.
Posted on: 18 December 2008 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by Huwge:

For some reason I seem disinclined to use Amazon [for downloads]


I largely buy CDs for the superior sound and because I'm still fond of the physical artifact. I like books, too.

But when I buy the occasional download, I've found that Amazon's 256kbps mp3s sound better than iTunes' 192kbps mp3s, and as far as I can tell, are not proprietary as iTunes' are.

By the way, anyone curious to check out the wonderful music on the ECM label could do worse than to pop for the Amazon download of the Rarum Box Set 2, a smorgasbord of 12 discs worth, 124 tracks, culled from a wide selection of artists: $18 ... such a deal!

Granted, a huge part of the ECM aesthetic is sound itself, the sonic quality, and while this would seem to be obviated by a compressed format, these definitely sound "good enough" to enjoy the music, and if a particular track or artist really floats your boat, you can always get that CD for full sonic fidelity. Highly recommended.

As far as LPs, I've got about a thousand of them, some duplicated on CD but many not. However, I haven't owned a turntable in over a decade, which is sad, and something I repeatedly vow to rectify but just haven't gotten around to. What I really need is a decent but inexpensive (oxymoron?) USB turntable so I can digitize some of these LPs.

All best,
Fred