I’m an old school gal, most people already figure that out the moment they meet me. In the digital world where you can easily read books off of a kindle, you can rent and stream movies and TV shows on Netflix or Hulu, and you can download digital music files or stream it on Spotify, amidst it all, here I am enjoying physical media.
I love reading physical books, having DVD box sets of movies and series, and I love to listen to music on CDs.
Don’t get me wrong, I still buy music digitally from time to time, but if it’s a band I really love, I go physical. People tell me that streaming/digital is more convenient, but as I have said before numerous times, I care more about ownership, quality, and security than convenience.
So, why do I love CD’s despite their lack of popularity?
My collection isn’t that large compared to others because I’m very selective with what I add to it. Some bands I don’t have all of their discography like Megadeth for instance, I bought one of their albums and disliked it so I sold it.
Although vinyls are making a comeback, I prefer CDs because they’re cheaper and easier to store. Plus I love the little slide-out booklet that contains any art, lyrics, promotional photos and thank you notes from the band members. The latter makes me feel like the band appreciates that I bought the album rather than streamed it.
Of course there are disadvantages such as taking up storage space. I want to be able to take my collection with me when I move out of my parent’s home one day, so that’s another reason why I am selective with what I add and sometimes I even remove what I don’t listen to anymore. Then there’s also the matter of plastic waste so. Say I didn’t want a CD anymore it’s not really a reusable thing! If there were CDs I didn’t want anymore, I would end up giving them to charity or trying to sell them on eBay.
I also see music as a work of art rather than just something to listen to while eating or commuting. I like to really take in the sound in all its forms: melody, bass, riffs, vocals, beat, etc. If that’s not passive listening that streaming provides, then I don’t know what to call it.
The other great thing about my CDs is they tell a personal story of my expanding music taste. It has evolved from pop only to pop along with rock, metal, and other genres. I always enjoy going through my collection to pick something to listen to. Sure, it’s not as convenient as scrolling through Spotify and instantly accessible, but I honestly don’t mind doing extra tasks that take a few seconds to access my collection.
The last great thing about physical music is you can listen without any disruptions. When you stream, there’s always the risk of the servers going down and most streaming services require an Internet connection. What are you going to do if the Internet is down for whatever the reason? The other issue is a big one for me, licensing. Spotify cannot license every song that has ever existed. Sometimes songs, albums, and even entire artists either get pulled from streaming or just don’t want it to be there. So in that case, I’d be screwed. The ultimate solution to have access to my music at all times without any disruptions is to buy it.
That way, the music is mine forever and nobody can come between me and my music. Music is like art to me and plus I love to support my favourite bands by buying as it ensures my money goes directly to them. If I were to talk to any band member of any band, they would likely share with me how much they appreciate fans supporting them directly.
Don’t even get me started on Spotify’s tiny income they give artists.
When I tell people that streaming isn’t the ultimate bulletproof solution to preserve your music cause of the issues above, nobody takes into account that none of these issues would be present if you just bought the music, they just instead choose to mope about it.
Oh well, I guess I’ll just be the last one standing who likes to own their music.
👽Emily
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I personally think it helps that CD sound quality tends to be higher than that of digital downloads – especially with unmastered older versions of famous albums.
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Yes exactly. Another reason why I buy them.
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Agree entirely. The comment ‘I don’t remember the the last x I brought’ often bemuses me. As you said with streaming the need for a constant connection renders it useless in situations like air travel though this can be tempered somewhat by uploading onto a device of some sort.
The one bit you didn’t cover I’ve long felt is the notion of owning something tangible and physical over the temporary pleasure of listening once and then being gone. It grants you that sense of…pride? or accomplishment? You have shown faith in the band by owning that physical cd.
Lovely article and some great points 👍🏻
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Yeah like I said, I tell people that they won’t have to worry about losing access if an album is not on Spotify if they just bought it. That’s also a good point showing faith in the band. It creates something between you and the band that streaming will never accomplish.
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I’ve had to take to streaming, and have a family Spotify account, purely because with 5 of us living in a 2 bedroom house, there just isn’t the space for much in the way of physical media and that’s without taking into account that my tastes vary wildly from that of my partner’s or our eldest daughter (the younger two are still in their Disney stages of life)
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You don’t need to defend your decision to stream in order to seek my approval. I just have a lot of issues with streaming because of how precious music is to me. I lost trust in streaming after Netflix took down the G1 Transformers series before I could finish watching it. If you lack space, you can always download or have a small collection instead because ask yourself this: what are you going to do if your favorite artist or band was taken off of Spotify? There’s only one other way you would be able to listen to them if that were to happen. Take a moment to think about that.
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Oh I totally agree, and one of my favourite bands and (Mad Capsule Markets) aren’t available on any streaming service AFAIK, they’re certainly not on Spotify, which is a huge shame as they’re no longer together either.
I did have hundreds of CDs but had to make space for toys of all things. I regularly walk past the local record shop and swoon over the contents of their window as discovering bands is one of my favourite past times.
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My entire music collection is cds. I have a Find It media binder that I purchased on Amazon. I ditched the cases and booklets and put all of my music cds in my binder. I’m fast approaching 200 cds. Fortunately my cd binder holds 272. I’ve always loved the physical aspects of my music collection. I started way back in 1978 and was buying cassettes and vinyl from Columbia House Record and Tape Club and the local neighborhood shops. Fortunately many years later I discovered Ebay,Amazon,and Second Spin. I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never been a fan of downloading and streaming music. I choose to buy entire albums rather than singles. Thanks for sharing your love of music.
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Wow, you’re dedicated! I would do the same thing but I’d still keep the booklets because I love the art and lyrics within them. I miss the days of going to the record store but Amazon does have a good selection. We’re dinosaurs living in the present but we’re proud of it, my friend.😀
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Lol! I am constantly playing my music cds. Every single one gets played. I stopped listening to music on the radio years ago once I discovered YouTube. It has become my radio,I spend hours listening to music on it. About the booklets I forgot to mention that I kept the booklet to Stevie Wonder’s album Songs In The Key Of Life. The album’s title has always spoken to me. I also kept the booklet to Kirk Franklin’s album The Essentials. Why We Sing is my favorite song by him. It always brings back memories of my mother. Never forget the past my friend. Music can bring up some of the most precious moments. Take care and may God continue to bless you my friend.
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YouTube is a good music discovery tool, plus no pressure to pay ten bucks a month to use it. 😉 like I said, music is an art and a personal journey for us both who value it more than something to listen to on a passive level. 🎶 I’m not religious but thank you anyway.
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