Some food for thought: Why I keep buying CDs

Tonight I came across the latest All Songs Considered  article on NPR's website in which the article poses the question Why Would Anyone Keep Buying CDs?  I thought this would be a fun topic to discuss on my blog tonight.

For me personally I prefer buying CDs over mp3s. If I had the money, I'd buy a record player and invest in viny instead but reality is that I don't have the $$$ to buy a quality stereo system, let alone room for one so for me it is CDs. I'll occasionally download mp3s. I think it is near to impossible to deny digital technology's role with music. Can't put back what came out of Pandora's box, in this case it is digital music. I will download the occasional mp3 here and there. When I pre-ordered the new Mr.Kitty album Life via bandcamp  I automatically received a free download of the album to listen to while I waited for the physical copy of the album. I like to say on record I like the option of giving music consumer a free download version of the album he or she ordered online from the artist's bandcamp page or website. After all there are people who dig the convenience of mp3s. Just something to consider.

As a music consumer, I love frequenting my local record stores. There are something about going to The Electric Fetus or Cheapo Discs that makes my heart skip a beat. Downloading music cannot replicate the joy I receive from perusing the CD racks at the Fetus or the clacking sounds of plastic when I flip through the used CD bins. I can spend hours at Cheapo Discs flipping through their used CD bins. That is one reason why I keep buying CDs.

Secondly, I often like to buy directly from the artists themselves whether at shows or pre-orders online (like the new albums from  Helalyn Flowers and Ayria). When I buy directly from the artists, I feel really good about myself because I am directly supporting the artist. When I do pre-orders from the artists themselves, I like to spend extra on the goodies they would include with the album like the three CD version of Ayria's Plastic Makes Perfect and White Me In/Black Me Out by Helalyn Flowers. Both were personalized/autographed by the artists themselves and included some free goodies like a guitar pick and poster cards. You just don't get that with mp3s. What it boils down to really is the physicality of owning music. For the younger generation, call me weird but that is just how I roll. lol

Finally, I still buy CDs because I just prefer the general sound of them over the compressed sounds of mp3s. That is just my personal preference.

I am not going to knock Mp3s. I do like the convenience of downloading music (LEGALLY). As someone who grew up with 8-tracks/vinyl/cassettes/CDs in her generation, I'm just accustomed and have grown to love owning physical copies of albums by my favorite artists. I do though strongly believe that if you are going to download music, do it legally. That is someone's art that they spent good money on creating and they deserve to be compensated for it.

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