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Fuck you

As far as a single song vs. an album goes, it was often a budget thing. A few years back I was still paying off school loans and had just paid a down payment on a house. I didn't have the extra cash for a whole album, but I still wanted to get new music and do something for the artist, so I would buy a song here and there as I could afford it. Now I often buy the cd vs just buying a song. I'm just happy that Amazon/iTunes/etc gives us that choice. Not everyone can afford to buy every new album of every band they really like.

There was a time when I did download some music, but that time is long gone for me. I came to a realization....yes, I could get music for free, but the artist would get 0 benefit from my doing so, and if everyone did it, that artist would have to go find a new job. I came to view that my $ is basically a way to vote. The only way an artist can produce a new album is if the old album sold enough copies. I'll find new music via Pandora, or Youtube, or this board for example...and I ask myself, do I like this enough that really I want them to make another album so I can hear more? If yes, then I'll buy the song or maybe the whole album. That's my way to tell the artist and the record company (or whoever) that I want more from them. I don't think a dollar for something I will listen to over and over is too much to ask. Hell, having a beer after work costs way more than that and doesn't entertain me for nearly as long. And if they're playing in my area and tickets don't cost an arm and a leg, even better.

I wonder this thread wasn't closed already. Someone may have said this before. Preferably, I buy CDs and in return receive cases with booklets to look at and include liner notes. Old fashioned, I know, but earning the musician more than a download and giving me more than a download.

Goes well with vinyl, J.B. I'll have to check it out. Lately I've been digging into this (7.5 abv):

It already has: HDTracks itrax Audiostream HD music directory More info at Audiostream I've been listening almost exclusively to vinyl for the last 5 years, but I've heard some very good 24/96 and 24/192 HD digital music tracks, enough so that I intend to get a FLAC translator for my MacBook and try a few out 24/96 files for myself. Digital downloads, the death knell for quality sound reproduction, could also be its salvation. The difference is in the file size and resolution. Everything else is much the same. HDTracks and other such vendors provide a way for high-res enthusiasts to get master-quality audio without a new round of disk formats, standards, and disk players.

You know, guys.... you can disagree with one another without getting nasty. It's precisely the reason the Crucible went away, and this thread has wandered dangerously close to deletion with accompanying vacation prizes for the participants. We're letting it roll for now because there's a lot of good discussion here, but Jeebus, cool it, will ya?

I saw the original letter/article on FB. REALLY long, but it just about nails the whole problem... I'm sure I'm a bit of a dinosaur, but I have a music library, y'know? CD's (formerly LP's) with artwork and liner notes, to give me dates, personnel, performance & instrument details... My iPod (a gift from my girlfriend) is just an amazing mixed disc of mostly things I physically own already. I go to iTunes for individual songs that I have no further questions about... Given my awareness of the musicians plight, if someone I like asks me to burn a copy of something, I'll sometimes offer to buy a copy for him/her. I've offerred to provide cover art for brilliant, struggling musicians for credit in the notes only. I'm not rich - especially not these days. These days, I'm holding off on new music purchases and keeping a list. And given that we're looking at a generational shift in values, enabled by web and gadget-driven conveniences, I wonder how anyone can make the points laid out in the original piece (up there) to these new audiences. Can this letter/article be condensed into OMG, IMHO and LMFAO terms for the non-readers?