Digital Downloads vs Physical Media

DavidW · January 30, 2024, 08:00:05 AM

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 07:54:17 AMLet me see if I understand you correctly. You buy physical CDs which you want to digitize. This way you'll end up with both the physical CDs and the corresponding digital files. Why, then, go through all the time-consuming trouble of ripping the physical CDs when you can buy downloads in the first place?

MI did the same thing and I thought it was odd. He wanted the physicality of it, but then immediately rips it and puts it on a shelf to forget. Might as well have saved money by buying a flac! I was also amused by how proud he would be of finding something rare or oop just for me to say "oh I just streamed it! it was easy to find."

drogulus · January 30, 2024, 08:01:16 AM

It would make sense to get rid of my physical media before long. I might have to move and it will be a big enough chore just to box up all of the books, whereas my HDD collection can be stored in a single smallish box. In an ideal world a fairy godmother (played by Tilda Swinton) would waft the discs to my new home.

Florestan · January 30, 2024, 08:08:49 AM

Quote from: DavidW on January 30, 2024, 08:00:05 AMMI did the same thing and I thought it was odd. He wanted the physicality of it, but then immediately rips it and puts it on a shelf to forget. Might as well have saved money by buying a flac!

Precisely, money and time.

DavidW · January 30, 2024, 08:13:26 AM

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 08:08:49 AMPrecisely, money and time.

When I used to rip my cds it was just way too much work. Like I was buying myself work to do. As an experiment because it was so cheap I bought the Pettersson edition with the coupon code from eclassical. I just hit download several times, and then copied it over to my thumb drive, back into my streamer and started playing it on my stereo. Quick, easy and cheap!

I get buying cds to play. I get buying downloads. But I can't stomach buying cds to rip them anymore.

Florestan · January 30, 2024, 08:28:41 AM

Quote from: DavidW on January 30, 2024, 08:13:26 AMWhen I used to rip my cds it was just way too much work. Like I was buying myself work to do. As an experiment because it was so cheap I bought the Pettersson edition with the coupon code from eclassical. I just hit download several times, and then copied it over to my thumb drive, back into my streamer and started playing it on my stereo. Quick, easy and cheap!

I get buying cds to play. I get buying downloads. But I can't stomach buying cds to rip them anymore.

I don't share the mystique which some people attach to physical CDs. They are just means to an end and the end is listening to music. Whether the music emanates from a CD or from a digital file is immaterial to me. I can very well understand people enjoying the physicality of books or women/men, but CDs?

Henk · January 30, 2024, 08:34:27 AM

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 08:28:41 AMI don't share the mystique which some people attach to physical CDs. They are just means to an end and the end is listening to music. Whether the music emanates from a CD or from a digital file is immaterial to me. I can very well understand people enjoying the physicality of books or women, but CDs?

It's all the same: desire though with women sex is involved.

Henk · January 30, 2024, 09:23:37 AM

Quote from: Henk on January 30, 2024, 08:34:27 AMIt's all the same: desire though with women sex is involved.

@Florestan

The cover art also counts. The backside with tracks listing. Analogue is superior.

Can you see now? Do you agree?

Florestan · January 30, 2024, 09:45:35 AM

Quote from: Henk on January 30, 2024, 09:23:37 AMThe cover art also counts. The backside with tracks listing.

Takes five seconds to find them on the internet.

Henk · January 30, 2024, 09:51:10 AM

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 09:45:35 AMTakes five seconds to find them on the internet.

The internet is a mess. A cd is original.

The only fair reason to use downloads and streaming is imo for environmental issues.

Florestan · January 30, 2024, 09:57:22 AM

Quote from: Henk on January 30, 2024, 09:51:10 AMThe internet is a mess. A cd is original.

The only fair reason to use downloads and streaming is imo for environmental issues.

Well, to each his own. The important thing is that music be listened to; whether from CD or FLAC is a matter of personal preference.

Henk · January 30, 2024, 10:03:09 AM

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 09:57:22 AMWell, to each his own. The important thing is that music be listened to; whether from CD or FLAC is a matter of personal preference.

I agree.

Holden · January 30, 2024, 11:39:37 AM

One thing to take into account when considering download/stream/physical copy is that oop CDs are hard to find but quite often are available for streaming. Conversely, some CDs (Hyperion for example) are not available either digitally or streamed though Hyperion is remedying this situation.

classicalgeek · January 30, 2024, 01:08:47 PM

Quote from: 71 dB on January 30, 2024, 02:44:03 AMI like how DH advocates CDs and encourages people to buy these cheapo boxsets.

I like that too. Even though he's said he streams and buys the occasional download, he's an unapologetic 'physical product' guy. As for me, I've bought many of these boxsets over the last few years - since I was essentially building my collection from scratch, it made a lot of sense!

Quote from: 71 dB on January 30, 2024, 02:44:03 AMSame here. Streaming is good for exploring music, but physical media is happiness for me.

Exactly! There's a 'rush' when a package of CDs finally arrives at my front door, the thrill of unboxing and opening the discs, of filing them with the rest of my collection, that downloads can't compete with. There is another reason I like having the option of streaming, though: when I'm at the office, and I don't have access to my CD collection, it's really convenient to just open Spotify. So I'll continue to subscribe to at least one streaming service, but as you say, "physical media is happiness" for me as well.

Quote from: 71 dB on January 30, 2024, 02:44:03 AMWe who love physical media are perhaps a minority, but we exist and we are not going anywhere. If anything, people are returning to physical media like you did.

I do hope you're right about that! I'm a little wary that as the market for classical music gets younger (as the older generation dies off, sadly) that we'll see more and more titles released exclusively as downloads. Though that might not necessarily be the case at all! I'm 48, so I probably fall in the middle of 'older' and 'younger'.

Quote from: Holden on January 30, 2024, 11:39:37 AMOne thing to take into account when considering download/stream/physical copy is that oop CDs are hard to find but quite often are available for streaming. Conversely, some CDs (Hyperion for example) are not available either digitally or streamed though Hyperion is remedying this situation.

I've seen it both ways - I've been able to stream many albums that are out of print on CD. Conversely, there are still a lot of titles that are OOP on CD and not available for streaming - case in point, the Bertini Mahler cycle!

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 07:54:17 AMLet me see if I understand you correctly. You buy physical CDs which you want to digitize. This way you'll end up with both the physical CDs and the corresponding digital files. Why, then, go through all the time-consuming trouble of ripping the physical CDs when you can buy downloads in the first place?

I guess for me it comes down to the thrill of collecting, of having something tangible to look at and, yes, admire.

I don't know how likely it is that I actually get around to ripping my CDs - like I said, it would be a monumental task at this point. It would be really nice if vendors offered downloads (for free or a minimal charge) with the purchase of physical media - I think Presto Music might do this?

That said, for some people the 'collection' part of the equation is not as important, and they're perfectly happy with downloads - and good for them! Because, as you said...

Quote from: Florestan on January 30, 2024, 09:57:22 AMWell, to each his own. The important thing is that music be listened to; whether from CD or FLAC is a matter of personal preference.

And I couldn't agree more!

DavidW · January 30, 2024, 02:13:11 PM

I think I have the cd rips of the Bertini Mahler cycle on one of my old hard drives. Time to start plugging them into my pc...

Archaic Torso of Apollo · January 30, 2024, 05:30:23 PM

I must be a complete weirdo, because I've never bought a download in my life. Nor do I intend to. Physical media for me (CDs, LPs).

At one point I started ripping CDs to a hard drive, but it was such a lengthy process that I gave up.

A caveat is that for the last several years I haven't bought much - maybe 10-15 units per year on average. I'm looking to slim down, not bulk up.

springrite · January 30, 2024, 05:58:34 PM

Quote from: Archaic Torso of Apollo on January 30, 2024, 05:30:23 PMI must be a complete weirdo, because I've never bought a download in my life. Nor do I intend to. Physical media for me (CDs, LPs).

At one point I started ripping CDs to a hard drive, but it was such a lengthy process that I gave up.

A caveat is that for the last several years I haven't bought much - maybe 10-15 units per year on average. I'm looking to slim down, not bulk up.

Same here. But I did rip quite a bit to listen to portably (around 2T worth). I listen to CDs at home and have my headphone on the rest of the time.

PS：I have purchased very little in the past decade. I had 5000+ CDs before then. That is one of the reasons why I am not buying downloads. (Well, I did buy a few, but very few. I am in China and downloads from overseas sites are very slow as well... one of the many disadvantages of living behind a certain curtain.)

steve ridgway · January 31, 2024, 12:05:11 AM

I prefer to buy FLAC downloads and reduce clutter in the house but will buy used CDs and rip them if they're cheaper. The tags are all wrong in either case and CD ripping takes little more time than converting the FLACs to M4A.

DavidW · January 31, 2024, 06:25:33 AM

Quote from: steve ridgway on January 31, 2024, 12:05:11 AMI prefer to buy FLAC downloads and reduce clutter in the house but will buy used CDs and rip them if they're cheaper. The tags are all wrong in either case and CD ripping takes little more time than converting the FLACs to M4A.

I decided to now take the Florestan route, and if I have one album, one folder not care about the tags and just enjoy the music.