Why buy cds?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29916
Printed Date: July 19 2025 at 03:34
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Topic: Why buy cds?
Posted By: sularetal
Subject: Why buy cds?
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:04
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First of all mp3 are really in our lifes. You can download (illegally) almost every cd in just a few minutes (even rare ones). I’m not going to lie here… I have one it many times but only cause I can’t afford buying the cds at all. The best I can do is buy 1 cd every week and I do it by saving money from other stuff that I do (for example I go out with my friends and try not to spend anything, eat home etc). I know it’s really nice to have the cd. You have the booklet, the lyrics, good quality (not like the crappy mp3s) and it’s really nice to have the cd somewhere in your house. Especially in prog (as well as other genres), having the cds is really nice since you never listen to tracks but always to albums. On the other hand, I really don’t like the fact that from the 15 euro that I give, the musicians take only a very little part. I know, the owners of the music store have to be paid, the record companies have to earn money but the musicians? If there is one reason to buy a cd that would be to financially help the artist. Artists in general know that it’s tough to live from their work (IMO it shouldn’t even be called work). Not saying we aren’t supporting them by buying cds but there could be better ways. I don’t know… It’s just that to me music is not a product… Admins: feel free to move this thread. I wasn’t sure were to put it since it doesn’t really fit in the non-prog music.
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Replies:
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:17
| The high price of CDs in stores is a reason why I always try to buy as many albums as possible through online stores. The prices are often lower there, especially on Prog albums. I also buy many albums on vinyl, because it's cheap and because the sound is better. Rare albums in high demand are of course very expensive on vinyl aswell, but I have found many rarities at low prices aswell. |
Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:17
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MP3 is not in my life and will never be. It's the worst format ever (along with others compressed formats).
But maybe one day records will disapear as everybody turns to this crap. |
Posted By: Australian
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:19
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It’s more a question of what’s right, stealing the music or buying it. I for one have a very heavy conscious and knowing that I supported something illegal really gets to me. Though, I have no problem with burning CD’s…  ------------- 
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Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:19
Luckily, there are lossless formats aswell. |
oliverstoned wrote:Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:19
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Usually I recommend Napster in this situation ... but as you live in Greece, that's not an option. Well, let's hope that Napster expands to other European countries soon!
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to: 
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Posted By: the icon of sin
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:36
I'm fine with burning CDs, at least it's something keeping the format alive...even MP3 CDs are fine by me, a long as they're made up from other CDs... I don't downnload music legally or illegally - maybe it's something about the presentation of a CD, physically holding something as opposed to looking at a computer screen to access your music. There's little doubt they are a dying breed, and i'm doing my best to clean out second-hand record shops and keep the disc from disappearing. |
Posted By: T.Rox
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 05:41
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One would think the price of CD's should reduce as we move into the online world ... but maybe they don't because people STEAL the artists' and record companies' livelihoods.
I have no problem ripping my own CD's to mp3, or recording my LP's to mp3 to allow me to listen to them at the computer either at work or home, and to protect my investment. But not to distribute to others.
I sometimes download the odd item to check it out, then I order the CD if it is any good. If I don't order the CD I delete the downloaded files.
I do use eBay a lot to get my CD's, which can be a cost effective way of buying your CD's. I have bought about 450 CD's on eBay in the last 18 months and have only had one arrive damaged, and one where I have been ripped off by a con artist, and a handful that have been of a poor mastering quality (always a problem when buying without the opportunity to listen to the music), but overall eBay has been a pretty good experience where I have picked up some fairly rare CD's from all over the world that have broadened my music horizons ... and most of the CD's I have chased have been as a result of Prog Archives reviews ... so thanks for the input, reviewers.
Another drawback of the mp3 world: often not getting to hear an album in its entirety, or without unintended gaps between tracks.
I suppose the answer to the fundamental question of this thread is: CD trumps mp3 ... and vinyl trumps CD ... so if sound quality is what you are after then seek out a quality LP pressing, failing that then seek out a CD, and lastly an mp3. ------------- "Without prog, life would be a mistake." ...with apologies to Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 06:52
I would have agreed with this up until 3 or so years ago, wrt the UK. However, retailer price wars as the food supermarkets flex their muscles moving into cut-price chart CDs and DVDs as sidelines, and internet selling mean I've seen prices I pay drop significantly, plus I have a couple of good local 2nd hand CD shops. Perhaps it is also a case of learning where the good deals are, over the last 5 years. Recently I've purchased John Scofield's Uberjam, Gambale, Hamm & Smith's GHS 3 for 6 quid each plus nominal p& p, and Richard Thompson's 1000 years Of Popular Music (2 CDs & a DVD) for just over a tenner. Legally I have been buying quite a number of CDs for around 6 quid for several years - and quite a number which are not freely available in the UK. This has been through Amazon.UK's marketplace and usually coming from Caiman USA, i.e. US imports into the UK, without State tax, and without UK VAT or import duty - the secret being to keep the price of package contents to below 20 quid or else VAT and duty will kick -in (also the UK post office double those costs for handling thru' Customs).
I do use MP3s but have learnt if I like the music I should then buy the CD, since too often the MP3 lacks some of the sonic quality of the CD.
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Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:04
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Why buy CD's?Because it feels right to have th CD, I can feel it and know that I have bought the album and paid good money for it. I have a few mp3 albums saved on my PC and it doesnt feel like I actually own them. There are other obvious bnefits to having the CD (it sure as hell cant be deleted by accident) the most important I find is the booklit with the artwoork and liner notes in. Though I get the feeling that eventually we may have to get our music through online downloads (legall of course) I ont be looking forword to it. As a side noe, I do agree with the fact that CD's in store are way to expensive (mst prog albums in HMV or Virgin Megastore are £17) I almost exclusively buy CD's through Play.com and Amazon.co.uk now so that I can get them for a decent price. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: alias10mr
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:08
I will not mess with someone's livelihood. If a person came to me and said: " Listen, teach your class, we're gonna film it and that's what we'll use in all classes so we won't be needing teachers anymore. " Different scenario, yes, but the point is creating music for artists is their passion AND THEIR JOB. Contrary to what was said at the beginning of this thread, making music and playing gigs is work. Artists should be paid for their work, it's as simple as that. Whether you download music or buy it retail, you're putting food on the table not only for the artist who slaves to create but peripherally to all who work on the product. I buy retail and use ITunes, if and when I download. If I can't afford it, I wait till I can. That's the nice thing about music...you can buy something that came out in the 70's now and still appreciate it  .
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Posted By: Bob Greece
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:15
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You may already know that in Greece you can buy new CDs for 6 Euros from Metropolis. They're not the latest stuff but they have a huge collection of classic prog.
As for CDs vs MP3s, I always buy CDs and rip them to MP3s myself. I don't feel like I own an album until I have the CD myself. You can't put your collection of MP3s on the shelf and look at them. As many people have said, it's nice to have the little CD booklet and the artwork to look it.
As Sleeper said, I'm not looking forward to the demise of the CD but I'm sure it's days are numbered and it won't be long before it disappears. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/BobGreece/?chartstyle=basicrt10"> 
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Posted By: darksinger
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:25
my friends had two computers that they loaded tons of downloaded music off of napster and other programs. both of those computers are down and they work from laptops that do not have the tons of downloaded music. i have over 500 cds. i also downloaded stuff from itunes and free legal download sites, which are for the most part on my ipod. if my computer goes down, i have my music. if i need a new computer, i can load my music back on. go me. ------------- 
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Posted By: T.Rox
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:27
I'm still mourning the loss of vinyl  ------------- "Without prog, life would be a mistake." ...with apologies to Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:36
I'm sure the CD format will eventually be superceded, but as and when it is, I hope it is by something better than MP3. Back on thread - I daresay we all own 'burned' CDs & probably CDs created from downloads, too; illegal? Certainly; a modern version of the old 'home taping is killing music' argument? Of course - but still illegal nonetheless, so let's be careful here that we are not seen to be condoning illegal activities. So, why buy a CD? In my case, it's simple - packaging and quality, pure & simple (also, having access to sites like Amazon.com where you can buy relatively new titles at knockdown prices, and old catalogue albums for next to nothing is a major advantage...) ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: andu
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:39
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the situation changes in poor countries. like mine. myself i work fulltime and for that i earn about 250 euros per month, of which 90 go for rent and the remains allow me to live from one month to another - and the prices are here quite the same as in the EU. and 250 is quite good here, as my parents earn around the same amount, after a life of hard work. this beeing the case, i buy one record a month, but always something cheap. i can never spend over 10 euros per month for music. that's why almost everything i listen to comes from torrents, friends and other sharing solutions. i'd love to buy original product's, but i can't, and i also can't stop needing music after i'm somehow exposed to it. i know it's not very legal, i can only wait for the moment when i'll be able to give back what i took. it's also imoral, now that's much more difficult to deal with ("mea culpa, but..."). ------------- "PA's own GI Joe!" 
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:52
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Because you're more likely to actually listen to a CD than to a hard-drive full of downloaded mp3s (whether legal or not).
The problem with having "gigs" of music is that you hardly ever listen to most of it, and all those little files become much of a muchness, devaluing the great music that some contain. When you listen to a physical medium, such as a CD, you benefit from the superior sound that CD has over mp3 (although I agree that the lossless formats almost invalidate the sound quality argument). You're (probably) also more likely to listen to it in its entirity as an album, plus you get those other useful bits and pieces like information about the recording and lyrics that you can peruse as you listen to heighten the experience. However, CD will never sound as "good" (pedantics read the same) as vinyl, and the large vinyl packaging gives a much "warmer" overall experience. And you can actually read the lyrics, where they've been included...  ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: T.Rox
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 07:55
The real difference between the "tape at home" scenario and the downloading of tracks from the internet and the burning of CD's is the ease with which the latter takes place. And the abiltiy to make one copy after another after another fairly quickly leads to much of the music piracy we see in many market places around the globe.
As I said earlier: I make copies of my CD's for my own use to protect my initial investment (which I am fairly sure I am allowed to do) ... I do not make copies for others. ------------- "Without prog, life would be a mistake." ...with apologies to Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: Neil
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 08:12
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I like to buy the CD if it's music that I know I'll want to keep. It's nice to have something tangible that you know belongs to you if you understand what I mean. MP3 and other format files, whether licenced or not, seem so fragile and non-existent. If your hard drive fails you can lose everything. Also the fact that mp3 coding does compress the data by throwing stuff away does put me off it as an original source. I'll record my CD's as mp3 to listen to on the move because if I find that they sound bad as mp3s I can still return to the CD.
I think that the CD will continue for a fair while yet as a media because the optical disc technology that has followed (DVD etc) uses the same principles and is compatible with original CDs.
As for the legality it again depends on the type of person you are. I would happily download the odd track without paying, knowing that if I liked the band I would be buying their CD. Bands could and will benefit from that if their music is good.
The other side of the coin is those who download whole albums and then burn fake CD's to sell. That is definitely bad for the music industry and should be tackled legally. ------------- When people get lost in thought it's often because it's unfamiliar territory. |
Posted By: Prog-jester
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 09:30
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When I lsiten to MP3 I'm less attentive than when I'm listening to CD...just my 5 cents .Besides MALS(a Russian prog-label) have hundreds of MUSEA CDs at their catalogue,and I've already got dozens of them by 5,5$ only!
I have a lot of MP3s I must confess,but if I really like the band I try to find their CD.Also I usually try to find CDs of the new bands which are highly praised on Archives(to be in a trend ).If I don't like the band,I usually leave a MP3-copy - just for the record.
Why buy CDs? OK,imagine that you're prog artist.You have no band and live in the small town,where no-one knows about prog(actually I'm talking about myself now  ).You've managed to record an album,and some record label have released it.You've got hundreds of thanks for the music from all over the world,but your label says that only 10 copies have been sold...(and this is true).So, you've spent 500$ on recording and 100$ on printing demos and sending them everywhere (prices we have in our region).You've got 10 copies sold - this is 150$ max.You're lucky if label just throw you away without any money penalties...
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Posted By: sularetal
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 09:35
| I will give you one example... Anathema is a band that I really love and I would like to have their cds. However something has happened with the record company they had a contract and even if you buy their cds the members of the band won't get anything. Moreover anathema's members are in a really bad financial condition. Buying their discography would cost me around 70 euros. What would you do? Give 70 euro to people that don't have anything to do with the reason you like anathema, for just to have the cds in your collection and not in your hard drive, or try to donate a few money through their site to them? |
Posted By: sularetal
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 09:40
That's what I'm saying really. Buying cds should be a way to help the artist "survive" and continue offering pleasures through music. Therefore I think it's more important to buy riverside cds than zappa's (since he has died).
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Posted By: superprog
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 09:45
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i've no beef w anyone who downloads music simply bec she/he just cannot afford the stoopid prices at rip-off chains like HMV (who stock mainly crap nowadays anyway) and who may not have means to purchase cheaper cds online. but i do know of quite a few cheap little b*****ds in my town who love to proclaim their love and knowledge of all kindsa cool and 'weird' music BUTnever spend a penny bec they see no need to and so they can take that money and buy new shoes, handphones, clubbing etc..........in fact the sh*ts like to boast abt how much stuff they can download and collect.
how freekin retarded is that????? but what is worrisome is how many young ppl esp in Asia have that mentality nowadays.............
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Posted By: Stars Die
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 09:52
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I always try to buy Cd:s, but i am one of the few i know that does that. It just feels right to do so, I wouldn't steal a cd in a shop, so I don't setal them with my computer either. Besides, the feeling of actually having the album physically is completelt different from just having mp3s. ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 10:00
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Anathema is an isolated case. For the majority, you are supporting the artist. With Zappa, you are supporting his legacy. I like having a hard copy too. I have bought quite a few album downloads, but I always immediately rip them to a disc. Besides, what happens if your computer crashes? You lose everything. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: SolariS
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 10:41
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I used to download the majority of my music while I was in undergrad. Now, I'm making money (though not much), so I buy all of my music. I personally don't feel right downloading music when I have the money to buy a few cds every week. I always buy used cds though so my money goes farther. -------------  
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Posted By: Pulse
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 17:50
Not really. The average music listener won't use lossless formats for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is complete ignorance. Do you really think that the majority of people know about audio formats? They won't know the difference between a 128kps bit rate mp3 file and a lossless files unless you tell them. Even if you do tell them they're not likely to understand. And I highly doubt they'd be able to figure out how to rip the files from a CD to a lossless file type Lossless files also take up a huge amount of memory. Windows Media Player says it's an average of about 600 MB for an album ripped into a lossless WAV format. I wouldn't have any room left on my hard drive if I ripped all my albums to my computer in a lossless format. The last reason is simply the inability to do it. When you download music from Napster you get a 128kps WMA file (correct me if I'm wrong). You can't decompress a compressed music file. You'll always be stuck with a low quality. Just my two cents... |
Posted By: Arsillus
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 18:02
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Yeah, CDs can be expensive, but get over it. You just have to bite the bullet and go with it. It's the best way to go. Sometimes we just have to realize we can't get everything we want, or as much of it as we want. It's easy to feel like a victim with the prices and everything, but that's just the way it is and there's not much you can do about it. |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 18:33
| CDs all the way but I don't begrudge anyone from an alternative. I just like CDs- I like the quality, notes and packaging, all of it. Plus I like supporting music in general rather than reducing it to some quik-fix like cup 'o soup or something. |
Posted By: tuxon
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 18:39
four O' clock time for a cup of prog, more compagny's should do it. ------------- I'm always almost unlucky _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Id5ZcnjXSZaSMFMC Id5LM2q2jfqz3YxT |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 18:55
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I live in real world not in Wonderland.Posted By: space_craft
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 19:15
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If the media is not to be downloaded why was it invented in the first place? MP3 files are crap, but you can decode them into something a bit more listenable, FLAC is a great format, but takes ages to download.
Points all round, the internet has given us the freedom to do , more or less (at least in civilised counties) what we want. We can get what we want online. Music is big business, but not as big as porn which is free to download (whatever floats your boat).
I have never seen a poor musician, except those who missed the grvy train from the 70's backwards, but there are many of those who are disgustingly rich.
Nmae some musicians who have been made poor by downloading, and i'll show you 100 groups who didn't.
It's all about personal choice, not what rhetoric crap music companies spew time and time again.
Show me a music comapny that has gone to the wall, because of illegal downloading...there are none, nor will they ever be, because enough people wiil go into music shops, or shop online, and buy what they want.
Each to their own condone nor condemn..........a bit like boring religio.n
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Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 19:21
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What I love about the net is the direct contact I have with an artist or small label, but I still purchase their product and am usually happy that I did-- they paid for it so why shouldn't *I* ?
...and the suggestion that music is not work is folly |
Posted By: space_craft
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 19:25
| You're not suggesting that manufactured bands music is work? |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 19:31
| Not sure what you mean by 'manufactured'. If you mean 'pre-fabricated' and foisted on a gullible public like Zep was accused of, that's still work, hard work at that. If you mean 'artificial music' that is composed by someone on a machine, there are some brilliant artists doing just that and working their butts off. |
Posted By: space_craft
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 19:46
| Spice Girls, Sclub7, Backstreet Boys, Westlife, Bouzone, Take That....the list is endless. |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 19:50
| But to say that these people dont *work* - and work hard - at what they do is misled. I don't like any of the artist you mention but that's not the point. I could say the same about Kurt Rongey, Thomas Metcaff, David Bagsby, but they are all superb progressive musicians and deserve every penny of what they earn. |
Posted By: space_craft
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 20:03
| Name me a poor musician...who has been robbed(?) by illegal downloads? |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 20:08
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That's not the issue I'm addressing-- music is work, period. It's like thinking that gardening isn't really work because you're outside with all the lovely flowers, or that data processing isn't work cause you're just sitting there. Are there musicians who've been hurt by downloads? I don't know, but you're making an assumption.
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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 22:51
Good point, I don't mention moral or economic issues, honestly I believe Downloading is a way of Propaganda, I don't sypathize with the music industry at all, so that's not the point.
I hate Britney Spears and boys/girls bands, but don't tell me they don't work, stealing from the rich is the same crime than stealing for the poor, Britney and her crappy music have a market, they exploit it and that's absolutely legal, she travells most of the year and only knows airports and hotels, she earns the last cent she gains even if we believe her music is crap.
That stupid Robin Hood syndrome of believing that stealing from rich people is OK is just BS.
A person who invents something, writes a book or compose a song is entitled to the last cent his/her contract allows him/her and illegally downloading is a felony, if you believe the law is stupid, then send a letter to your congressman and ask him to propose in the congress that music should be free.
But while it's illegal to download, you're forced to accept the law, as simple as that.
If somebody wants to download, do it at your own risk, but this is a LEGAL SITE, we don't want to know about it, we don't encourage this activities and this thread should be closed because encouraging illegal activities is placing Prog Archives in risk.
Iván -------------
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Posted By: cuncuna
Date Posted: October 16 2006 at 22:56
To fill them with MP3...  ------------- ¡Beware of the Bee! |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: October 17 2006 at 02:45
Most modern prog artists. As long as you're not selling millions of albums (like Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis did), you are millions of miles away from the "MTV Cribs" type of lifestyle. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
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Posted By: The Whistler
Date Posted: October 17 2006 at 02:50
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How odd...this topic is linked to the closing of the Tower Records topic...it's like a concept, uh, not an album. Thingy. ------------- "There seem to be quite a large percentage of young American boys out there tonight. A long way from home, eh? Well so are we... Gotta stick together." -I. Anderson |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: October 17 2006 at 03:22
Yup. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: October 17 2006 at 03:37
No-one has been made poor by downloading - that is NOT the issue. Musicians have not been receiving money that's due to them because of downloading - downloading music without the artist's permission is STEALING. STEALING is what Record companies have been doing from musicians for generations - are you now saying that it's time the general public got in there for a piece? The only musicians that will remain will be the ones that the Record companies sponsor if that is the case, as no-one will be able to make an honest living out of music. For every rich musician you can name, there will be at least 100 poor ones. The fact you've never seen a poor musician clearly proves that you've never been a musician. Being a musician is like being a professional lottery player. ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: superprog
Date Posted: October 17 2006 at 03:45
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if not sure abt the music or no money go ahead and download.
but once u do like it and have cash in hand pls rem to put it back in the hands of those who live off their work or who have expended considerable effort to bring u such art for yr pleasure................
moral: be not the cheap sh*t and respect music and musicians
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Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: October 17 2006 at 03:46
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Progarchives does not support, condone or encourage illegal downloading of music.
The site rules make it clear that illegal activity is not acceptable in this forum, nor is the facilitating or encouraging of illegal activity.
This thread has been closed on the basis of legal advice received.
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