i have never been a fan of buying files over discs, but i think reality might finally win in 2010 now that it's such a hassle to find a record store. curious to know what you all are up to.

i buy cds...often i guess, esp. compared to a non-obner music geek. but not as often as i did 10 years ago. i've never purchased a download.

steal files, buy LPs

once again, only buy vinyl, and dl free off the net to preview.

Only buy vinyl if given a choice.
But I'll often buy a CD for support and rip it if that's all they're offering.

I am buying less overall altogether, due to the economy and me having #2 due in about a week or two.
I like the idea and may embrace buying vinyl, as it has value..
cd's, while they remain the bulk of my collection; i buy em, rip em, and put em on a shelf never to be taken off again...
I don't think i will ever adjust to a strictly digital platform...

where do you live?

even my rural hometown of 6,000 residents has a record store. and there're at least 2 other stores within 20 miles. but maybe i've just always been lucky with my location. now i live in a large city with numerous record stores.

i still buy CDs regularly, though rarely ever new. (i bought the amesoeurs CD new, but i can't remember the last new one before that.) i'm much more likely to buy a record. the one quirk i do have is that i stick to a pattern. for instance, everything i own by spoon is on vinyl. so if in a few months i come around on transference, i'd no doubt buy the record. and everything i own by richard hawley is on CD.

I still buy CDs pretty regularly, but I've cut back and am trying to cut back more. I now download (paid) stuff a little more than I buy physical stuff. I rarely buy vinyl anymore because I have no time to listen to it. If I do buy it, it's typically stuff I've already downloaded that I really, really like.

I used to hate the idea of buying digital files since usually they can be found for free pretty easily. That, and I think they have significantly less value than a physical copy with artwork and liner notes. But I need to limit what I take in and listen to, and paying for downloads allows me to do that plus letting me forget about considering whether or not to buy a "legit" copy later. (I hardly ever bought legit copies of stuff I got off of soulseek or otherwise for free, even if I really liked something and felt like I *should*.) I kind of like supporting emusic, too, even after they've raised their prices because they and Amie Street are pretty much the only ones doing digital the right way.

my boss, who has fairly decent taste, announced today that he's getting rid of his massive cd collection and going all digital.

he's giving shit away for free, so within three days i should have up to a dozen new discs, which will likely be the first (and possibly last) time i will add to my stagnant CD collection

vinyl and DLs for me

I only buy the cd if a)the vinyl is overpriced, or b)its the only other format avail. besides digital.

Been buying more vinyl for the past 2 years. Cds are mostly for older releases. I just picked up some used cds the other day at a record store.

We don't have a local record store anymore around here. We just have a FYE. The local independent record store went under recently. So, its up to me to go into Balto/DC to go to a decent store.

Traveling to a CD store isn't an issue for me since I have to travel for everything, so I've always gone an hour or more to shop at a good record shop. I still exclusively buy CDs (nowhere near as many as I used to, though), but am slowly getting into more vinyl.

I download (free) to determine if I want to buy and have only bought individual song downloads.

I buy CD's for the discs that I am excited about, primarily from my favorite artists. I haven't been buying many since I have a huge library and have plenty of stuff that hasn't received the proper attention. I've been pulling out old stuff.

I rarely bother to download anything because it's a pain to rename files and get them to a format where I can just drop them in my library. I don't have much time to listen to it anyway.

I very rarely purchase CDs anymore. Occasionally I will to support the local shop but I'm to the point where I almost can't stand to have a physical copy anymore (unless it's vinyl).

I download, emusic etc. but one reason I hate digital is that It tends to make music too easily tossable in the sense that I may delete it one day(even by accident), but realize I want to go back to it later. It doesn't happen much but it happens. And I always dig the hard liner notes etc. I don't want to have to go through building a jewel case cover art etc just to keep a hard copy of the digital.

someone last night tried to convince me that streaming is the way of the future

I'm sure record labels would like it if that were true.

I don't even own an iPod or any other sort of mp3 player.
My turntable is out-of service.
Therefore...

I buy loads of CDs all the time, but it's only because I have a "record" store nearby and they sell used discs. I buy maybe 3-6 new discs a month, and 1/2 of those I burn & take back for credit. The rest I buy are all used.

South Street used to have 8 or 9 places to buy CDs, and now I think it has 2. and only one of those has a lot of new material.

I call bullshit.
How can you not have an mp3 player? Do you not have a cell phone either?

i don't have an mp3 player either.

for ease of not having to press/promote physically, and by generation of penny royalties, or what? i don't get it (but that's another story).

I'm assuming it would be pay-per-listen, and then record labels think they wouldn't have to worry about copying, but what's to prevent webrips?

god that sounds like a nightmare, and the further dissolution of music.
from what i've seen, streaming royalties account for a fraction of digital income.
part of the trade-off is not having to worry about copying, but then what the fuck is what if no one actually has what they're listening to?
i would rather give the digital recorded asset away for free and encourage it to be copied.

I guess I'm thinking that streams would be either pay-per-listen or subscription-based. The only thing that would prevent webrips would if the newest and best media players (ipods, etc.) only supported streaming rather than the playing of actual files. I mean, I can't imagine a scenario where that could feasibly happen, but I can definitely see how streaming could give labels a little more control as opposed to files that can be copied and shared infinitely.