Downloading music vs subscriptions

[kosmo vinyl]

Another service that might be on interest is lala.com
 
 I use to be a huge supporter of the site when it was the premiere cd trading site, but have a hard time recommending as a place to trade cds at the moment.  The recent site update was made to emphasis the digital music download and listening aspect and took the focus off CD trading.  Trading in general is going very slowly at the moment for many traders.  
 
 I mention it because without a monthly subscription one can listen once  for free to any full length track available.  After that you can build up a streaming library for 10 cents a track with a discount for buying the rights to stream the entire album.
 
 They also sell DRM free MP3s at prices and similar sound quality to Amazon.

[kosmo vinyl]

Ultimate Spinach @ eMusic

[vansmack]

Kosmo and I agree on a lot of this stuff and have gone over and over our frustrations with DRM, and more importantly, competing DRMs.  Since neither side is going to open them up, there's no solution in sight.
 
 I don't use the subscription services because (1) I don't always have an internet connection and (2) we have devices that are cross-platform (iPods, Windows servers, Xbox 360).
 
 I always try to purchase and download DRM free music, but those are hard to come by.  I used eMusic for a while because I liked the concept.  But I found myself trying out new music that sucked (that model doesn't make sense) or simply purchasing a lot of crap simply because I had credits.  When I stopped doing that the credits piled up.
 
 It's gotten to the point where I try to find a DRM free version of music that I want and if I can't get it, I steal it from a bit torrent site.  Stealing isn't my preferred option, but I won't let the industry lock me down to one standard when they can't even decide among themselves which standard to adopt.  It's simply not fair to the consumer.

[kosmo vinyl]

OTW,
 
 Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Napster or Rhapsody they offer a perfectly fine service.  However, I listen to most of my music at work and as such avoid using music streaming sites, which maybe blocked anyways  At home I tend to watch movies and play video games more.
 
 Having become a Apple computer user those services aren't of much use to me.  And beside I already have enough legal content, so that a subscription to one of sites would just become under underutilized.  Sort of like my subscription to HBO.  I know it's there just not always enough compelling content to watch on it every once in awhile.
 
 Now if I could figure out how to get a Napster UK account working in the US, then I'd rethink that notion    
 
 Oh and speaking of content restrictions, a friend  visiting from the UK is able to use the new BBC download service here, but we can't even sign up for it yet in the US.  hmmm...

[walkonby]

and yet the cds i have here, play just fine in the uk and vice verse.  double hmmm . . .

[Arthwys]

Wait....why is there even a UK version of napster vs a US version?  It's all the same internet.

[kosmo vinyl]

Originally posted by walkonby:
  and yet the cds i have here, play just fine in the uk and vice verse.  double hmmm . . .

well it's more a problem due to content ownership and licensing as the reason why we the in the US can't legally use Napster UK or the BBC service.  BBC is apparently working on opening up their service to us...
 
 the same restrictions exist for certain US video sites not being able to be used in the UK.
 
 the globe maybe smaller due to the internet, but plenty of barriers still exist for the legal flow of content.

[OscarTheWilde]

Good, really good, even bedazzling to see "progressive rock" mentioned on the 9:30 forum.  I'm a long time fan of the genre, but I don't think we ever touched the subject with a ten foot pole back when I was on the this board posting constantly in the late 90s.  
 
 Wait, I think Econo and I discussed Can a little bit.  Or was that Natty?  Anyway, we fashioned ourselves as indie/post-punk hipster snobs.  No other genre need apply, wouldn't you say?
 
 Paul3Mac, I used to like owning the recorded product, too.  Believe me, I've been "owning" them for more years than I care to admit and have amassed a mammoth collection.  That's the problem.  
 
 I had to weigh "ownership" against the enormous hassle of moving my collection every time I relocated.  I just moved from Arlington to Sylvia Spring and it was the last straw.  I'm pretty nomadic and don't see that changing.  The weight and space of my CDs, vinyl albums and books far exceed all my other possessions combined.  (The appliance to help me replace my books with an automated device---not sure of the jargon---is Amazon's Kindle.  That's next.)  
 
 One thing I WILL miss by giving up ownership, and I will miss it greatly---is album cover art (both sides), inserts, credits, lyric booklets, etc.  But that's another subject.  I've been meaning to start a thread on that.  I'll get to it one of these days.  Or has it been discussed already on this forum?

[OscarTheWilde]

Oops. I went back and ready your post, Paul3Mac.  Seems the yung'uns have a different defition of "own" in the context of music.  I forgot one can own by downloading, and not have a physical product.  
 
 Fair enough, but don't you whipper snappers lament the lack of album art and inserts, or has downloading songs by themselves become so entrenched that accompanying visual aesthetics are no longer even relevant?

[Arthwys]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
 
 Fair enough, but don't you whipper snappers lament the lack of album art and inserts, or has downloading songs by themselves become so entrenched that accompanying visual aesthetics are no longer even relevant?

That's a good question, it has me wondering what the 15 year olds are doing these days.  I'm only 10 years past that age myself, but seeing as how I hit the age of MTV watching right as MTV stopped playing music videos, my only connection visually with many bands was the album art.  I remember being absurdly amused by the jumping dredlocked dog from Beck's Odelay album for example.  I even covered my walls with album covers.

[kosmo vinyl]

Seeing as I'm rapidly approaching forty something no whipper snappery from me...
 
 I have been downloading and owning 100s of albums from eMusic since 2001 and quite honestly don't miss the lack of booklets from any of those.  
 
 To me most CD booklets are something I open up once or twice.  I'm not really into reading lyrics or reading the multitude of artist thank yous. Sure there is the occasional a picture worth glancing at.
 
 Now if the album is a retrospective, compilation, collection that has well written liner notes the artist(s) and material then thats material I want.   The booklet in a Rhino Records boxset, such as Nuggets, is one of the reasons you buy such a thing.  Same goes for a rare soul collection as it's nice to know what the story behind those artists, etc are.
 
 Although when DJing it is handy for me to be to look at the cover of an album as it does jog the memory to which track I might want to quickly choose next.   It would be tough for me to DJ on the fly from a huge iTunes library of tracks, as it just becomes a list of song without the visual cue cover art can provide.

[Chip Chanko]

I get my music in this order now: straight from the label if they do downloads, eMusic, then amazon mp3 downloads. I like supporting the label directly when I can. I like eMusic since you can re-download anything you've purchased. While the Amazon store doesn't let you do this, it basically has the best selection. All of these are DRM free.