yeah, i don't get it...buying used cd's is now a bad thing?

maybe a new thread is in order...how many cd's in your collection did you buy used?

me: easily over 50%.

That's the same question I had. The only reason I buy the cd is so that the artist can get the money from that sale. If I don't go to a show because they don't come nearby, then I am more inclined to buy the cd. But, I don't see the point in only profiting the record store.

i have been given maybe 5 burned CDs. and i eventually bought two of those on vinyl, so it's 40%.

technically: the artist doesnt make any money off the cd.......

makes more on the shirts, etc...

i have no prob buying used

there was this band named verbow that i saw (capitol records or maybe it was some other major...dont remember) like 3 years ago....talked for awhile. come to find out the 10 dollar cd i bought from them went right back to capitol......so.....

This is specific to label though, isn't it? I mean, I don't really know how indie labels work. I guess I went off the idea that per cd a band got a particular percentage or "point" based on sales.

the point is it only costs you $5 vs. $20...and when you have a family, mortgage, car payments, etc + a music addiction...you do what you have to to get your fix.

all about how much debt you go into making the record, promoting, etc.....that taint free

most bands make their money off merch - shirts, etc.....from alot of bands that i have met not just verbow...

no. trust me. I understand why people buy used. I have done it myself. I was just stating my idealistic goals for purchasing music. I remain a hypocrite.

touring is really how they make their money anyway..

do them justice - go to the show + buy a shirt. who cares where you get their cd (used, new, downloaded)

generally I agree with this. But, it's not too easy to go to a show where I live. My only real option is to buy the cd. Other than ordering shirts and what not off their site. However, some do not make that very easy (see Mono's merch site).

I actually had this discussion the other day with some people I work with when they said that Buckcherry had a song about being millionaires, and I said I doubted highly that they were millionaires. Albini's article from now like 15 years ago was spot on about how if yr a new band you sign but then you have to have a big name producer (then Butch Vig) produce yr record, which is expensive, then the studio time, plus tour expenses, etc. Another example was when Blink-182 was blowing up, and they were selling all those copies of their albums. I read an interview with Mark Hoppus, and he said about how much in debt the band was due to all the production, etc of the album. Granted these are major label examples, and smaller labels work differently.

here we go....i dug up a quote from a well respected band around these parts

"It was somewhere in the thick of that fog that I understood that I'm really in the T-shirt business," Cooley [of the Drive-By Trukcers] said. "Merchandise is now the only way a band can make money. So I tell people that I sell T-shirts for a living, and play music for fun. I also sell stickers and beer Koozies, too. You want to buy one?"

I know from my experience that the merch is where the money is for just about any band. The royalty level on any CD is so low that it's hard to make any money at all on selling music, but there's no royalty for merchandise.

what about the actual show itself and ticket sales? Does that all go to not just the venue but the label as well?

No in and of itself its not a bad thing. I buy stuff used a lot too but not of stuff I have a download of (although I don't really download much other than from emusic anyway).

It just seems inconsistent with the response everyone seems to make in threads about downloading that they always buy the stuff they like after downloading to support the artist If you're buying used, the artist doesn't get a penny from the sale and neither does the label. It seems particularly likely that your downloading does hurt the artist and the label since you said you feel more like you can wait until you find it used to buy it since you already have a copy to listen to.

I'm not trying to lecture or judge, I'm just surprised. I've found myself in a similar spot a few times where I was going to buy something used that I already had a cdr of and put it back thinking, why am I buying this when I don't give a shit about the liner notes, already have the music and am not in any major way helping the artist or label. Other than the occasional ysi, I don't download much but if I was to buy something I had a download of I'd buy it almost solely to support the artist/label and thus probably buy a new copy.

i think it's more like a bigger chunk of merch sales go straight to the band than ticket sales because there are booking agents, tour managers, and whomever else.

so when you do buy used, do you then eventually buy it new to support the artist/label?

another interesting read (yeah yeah mtv whatever, still.....)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/152977 ... lines=true

I though I was the only one. That's one thing you can't replace, but I don't think you can get with a used copy, either. It's gotta be a brand new, fresh outta the cellophane, store-bought copy.

i am sorry but for people harping on you (elephantstone) and on others about buying a used cd is just plain ridiculous....

just to clear things up. I am not trying to harp on anyone or give them a hard time.

I can't tell you how many full albums I have downloaded from a nameless source on Obner. I am not in the business of judging. I am just trying to figure it all out.

it's cool...i don't feel like i'm being harped on or anything. i can totally see their side of their argument in an "idealistic" world as Hegel's put it.

i do have a hard time believing that anyone would put down a $5.99 used copy in great shape to go get the $18.99 new copy....

it was mostly targeted at billy OG

I buy almost every album I get now used. It's just easier for me to browse the used bins a few months down the road or go to the annual Homer's .99 sale every year. I pick up at least 20 EP's and LP's for what one new LP and EP would cost me regularly. I think you are being a smart consumer and insuring that an already exorbinantly priced new album doesn't go up in cost.
I figure I save something like 200-500 dollars a year on not buying new cd's and with that I attend a show, buy merch and drink. Thus I'm supporting more people locally with my cash than I would be buying an album at Best Buy.