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Do you still pay for music?

What do you want to come with an album?

  • More pictures of the band/artist possible with fans and performing

    Votes: 20 31.7%

  • Miniature biography, possibly linking to where I can find the full read

    Votes: 12 19.0%

  • A thank you letter with his or her/bands autograph and stickers.

    Votes: 8 12.7%

  • Other (post below)

    Votes: 23 36.5%
  • Total voters
    63
J

JeffVanter

Guest
Sep 23, 2012
120
3
#1
As somebody who sells his music, I notice people just don't pay for music anymore. Charts that display music sales by each year also prove that people are buying music less and less.

I've been trying to figure out ways independent artists can make their albums more desirable. Like if you made it come with stickers, photos, miniature bio etc.

What would make you want to buy more albums from your favorite or independent artists? Stickers, more photos, a letter to you personally? What do you want to be included?
 
#2
I buy music regularly. There's a CD store in town that sells new and used CD's, and typically I buy several every month. I'm old school, and miss the full sized album (LP) covers, which might contain pictures of the band, biography, lyrics, and other interesting tidbits. I have strong memories of buying an LP, listening to it while following along with the lyrics on the back or inside cover. Unfortunately, with most of the CD's today, the text is just too darn small.

Regarding the poll, I chose the first option, but it's both the first and second.
 
#5
mapleglo said:
I buy music regularly. There's a CD store in town that sells new and used CD's, and typically I buy several every month. I'm old school, and miss the full sized album (LP) covers, which might contain pictures of the band, biography, lyrics, and other interesting tidbits. I have strong memories of buying an LP, listening to it while following along with the lyrics on the back or inside cover. Unfortunately, with most of the CD's today, the text is just too darn small.

Regarding the poll, I chose the first option, but it's both the first and second.
Click to expand...

Thats awesome that you still buy CDs. I do as well but it seems like those who just listen instead of compose themselves, usually just download. I'm trying to find out what people want from the artist other than just a CD or something physical to hold.
 
#6
Kids nowadays just seem to want download stuff direct from Youtube onto their portable device.......for free.

They'll sacrifice sound quality for the fact it's free.

Marketers seem to be all trying to cash in on the mobile small listening device. I-tunes you have to pay but if people can find a way out of paying I-tunes they will...and do.

That coupled with the fact that there is just so MUCH music out there to choose from......it's almost impossible to listen to everything in every genre. So many "types' of music and a million bands playing them.

Marketers IMO are missing out to some extent.


Most kids are tech-savvy....at least when it comes to downloading free music.

Us older folk have money......but many of us will still buy cd's. And we don't listen to old fuddy-duddy stuff. Al least I don't.

And right now there is uncertainty about the future of the cd.

If they happen to come out with preloaded albums on very-high bit rate USB sticks that you can plug and play.....(without having to download it from anything) then I will update my rig and start buying those.

Until then I'm sticking with cd.

Putting stickers on a cd isn't going to make me buy more cd's

I would say the problem for "indies" is getting enough "exposure".........they can't sell if nobody ever heard of them.

So many of then rely on the "viral" aspect of their video on YouTube to get started.

Most of my favorite artists have gotten a little older.

They still make records but the records seem to lack the creativity and enjoyment of their earlier works.
So I just buy their old stuff if I need to replace it.

I'm just not hearing a heck of a lot these days that I want to sink my bucks into.....
 
#7
I still pay for my music but I collect much less music than I used to. I'm actually going to go the opposite direction and say that, in a world full of information saturation, I want more mystery associated with an act. That means no pictures and no bio. I miss the days where I had to let my imagination fill in the blanks where an artist was concerned.
 
#8
I still buy music. I can see downloading something for free, if it's offered, but paying to download something? I don't feel like I've "bought" anything.

Also, I find that if I pay for music, I'm more likely to give it a chance. If it's free, and the first listen doesn't grab me, I may never check it out again. But if I paid for something, I might listen to it 10 times before I finally decide that I just don't like it. This is important to me because many, many of my very favorite albums did not connect with me until the third or fourth listen.

So, for those two reasons stated above, I still find it worth my while to buy CDs. But that doesn't really answer your question.

For me, at this point in my life, I feel that the "ultimate" album package would be vinyl, with a free download card included, so that you can have the album on your device(s) too.

This question is particularly relevant to me because I am planning on bringing my band into the studio this year, but I've been wondering if it's even wise to release CDs anymore. I hear that new computers don't even come with CD drives anymore, so you can't even rip the disc.

So I'll be following this thread, and I hope some good ideas pop up! :)
 
#9
Bassist4Eris said:
I still buy music. I can see downloading something for free, if it's offered, but paying to download something? I don't feel like I've "bought" anything.

Also, I find that if I pay for music, I'm more likely to give it a chance. If it's free, and the first listen doesn't grab me, I may never check it out again. But if I paid for something, I might listen to it 10 times before I finally decide that I just don't like it. This is important to me because many, many of my very favorite albums did not connect with me until the third or fourth listen.

So, for those two reasons stated above, I still find it worth my while to buy CDs. But that doesn't really answer your question.

For me, at this point in my life, I feel that the "ultimate" album package would be vinyl, with a free download card included, so that you can have the album on your device(s) too.

This question is particularly relevant to me because I am planning on bringing my band into the studio this year, but I've been wondering if it's even wise to release CDs anymore. I hear that new computers don't even come with CD drives anymore, so you can't even rip the disc.

So I'll be following this thread, and I hope some good ideas pop up! :)
Click to expand...

You can see where the hurt will lie when you put out for CD for people to buy it. Nobody will! :crying:

edit: I'd actually buy it :)
 
#14
While I still personally buy CDs, the days of "album" dominated sales are over. We've returned to a singles-dominated marketplace, with advertising-based streaming taking over for FM radio.

For the consumer, singles make more sense. I'm no longer forced to pay for songs I don't want. And for every 1 album where the artist really did something cool with the album format, there were 9 others who just threw filler junk on there to justify selling an album rather than a single or two. So I don't really think we've lost something all that special with respect to the format.

I do think we've lost something with the move from physical media to electronic media, however. It's the concept of "ownership". When I purchased a vinyl album, cassette, or CD, feel I have the right to play that music whenever I want, on whatever device I want. I feel I also have the right to loan the CD to a friend (without duplicating it), or even sell it back when I no longer want it. Whoever possesses the physical media has the "right" to play it.

But when I download a song on iTunes, my "ownership" seems less real, and I am now confused about what "ownership" means. Can I sell my copy to others when I no longer want it? Can I lend it to a friend without duplicating it? The lines are blurred, and it's no surprise that kids today don't really comprehend what's so wrong with downloading "free" (i.e., pirated) music.

We need some kind of system that can re-introduce the symbolic value of the physical media into the electronic world. Maybe a "token" or something like that? Some people think this will never happen again, and we're destined to have either subscriber type systems, where you only have rights for a limited time, or streaming systems that are contingent on ads. I think that would be a shame.
 
#17
Well, I'm an old school guy and play classic rock almost exclusively. So today there's almost nothing new for me to buy. And since I already own maybe 700 CD's and probably just as many albums, I already have most all the music I need. Although if there's a song I don't have and want, iTunes is the way I go. Never...ever will I try and get around paying for music I want.

I will say this much however, nothing beats going to the record store as a kid, buying Magical Mystery Tour and getting that cool book of photos inside.
 
#18
I'm proud to say that I'm the only one of my friends (all 17-18 yos) who has never illegally downloaded a piece of music. The excuse they all use is that they buy the music they truly like, but that just makes me wonder how empty their lives are they listen to music that they don't like that much :p
 
#20
JeffVanter said:
Thats awesome that you still buy CDs. I do as well but it seems like those who just listen instead of compose themselves, usually just download. I'm trying to find out what people want from the artist other than just a CD or something physical to hold.
Click to expand...

I buy CD's because I prefer the hard media, as opposed to downloading "soft" media. That may have to do with my "old school" mind set. And while I like the "extras" that used to come with LP's, I still buy CD's not because of the extras, but because I want the music.

I occasionally buy downloads - as an example, the Tal Wilkenfeld CD is $27.94 on Amazon. That's just too expensive for a CD. It's $8.73 on iTunes. Guess which one I'll buy?

I don't believe that any "extras" that might come with a CD will persuade someone to buy it, as opposed to downloading it. Either way though, the band will make money if someone buys the music, despite the format. In my mind, it's the music that sells. Of course, if there's a t-shirt involved, that might change my mind, especially if I like the logo/design.

For what it's worth, all my friends at work, without exception, prefer downloads. Needless to say, most of them are younger than me by far. I could ask around, but from previous conversations, it's what they grew up with, just like I grew up with buying physical media.
 

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