Purchases Today

[Madiel]

One of the reasons for my departure from CD buying is deciding who am I going to leave my collection with after I'm gone. What a massive burden this will be for anyone even if this is someone that likes classical music

The honest, brutal truth is that if someone considers it a burden, they will just dump it. Possibly in an actual dump.

I suppose there's an argument that it's more environmentally friendly not to collect stuff that will eventually become landfill. But against that you have to weigh the considerable energy costs involved in running all these streaming services (and probably also the sites that store downloads for purchase, though I'm not sure whether having the data just sit there waiting for access has a similar energy profile).

https://musictech.com/news/industry/taylor-swift-streams-equal-carbon-footprint-of-20100-households/

I understand Spotify is aiming to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Which is a fair way away.

[DavidW]

The honest, brutal truth is that if someone considers it a burden, they will just dump it. Possibly in an actual dump.

Sometimes sons and daughters hold on to their parents' belongings after they pass, filling up their house with stuff that had sentimental value to their parents but not to them. It creates a daily burden on them, but they feel as if it is a betrayal to get rid of their parents' things. When they finally do, they find that nobody wants even the things that were supposed to be valuable, and they end up in either a charity shop or a landfill.

In John's case, he faces it even worse. It is not just the general public's lack of interest in CDs. His CDs are so esoteric that likely not only is no one in his family interested, but probably no one in his entire city. He might even have difficulty selling them online. How much interest could there possibly be in rare out-of-print Penderecki recordings, for example?

For me, it would be a library of out-of-print books on advanced origami, most of which are not in English. Many people would enjoy learning to fold a crane. But tracking down books from different countries containing models that take hundreds of steps to complete?

[Number Six]

Sometimes sons and daughters hold on to their parents' belongings after they pass, filling up their house with stuff that had sentimental value to their parents but not to them. It creates a daily burden on them, but they feel as if it is a betrayal to get rid of their parents' things. When they finally do, they find that nobody wants even the things that were supposed to be valuable, and they end up in either a charity shop or a landfill.

In John's case, he faces it even worse. It is not just the general public's lack of interest in CDs. His CDs are so esoteric that likely not only is no one in his family interested, but probably no one in his entire city. He might even have difficulty selling them online. How much interest could there possibly be in rare out-of-print Penderecki recordings, for example?

For me, it would be a library of out-of-print books on advanced origami, most of which are not in English. Many people would enjoy learning to fold a crane. But tracking down books from different countries containing models that take hundreds of steps to complete?

My sister's Father-in-Law has been an amateur stage magician his whole life. He has a massive collection of books on the subject, many of them quite rare. I have seen a few, and they're beautiful.

But his kids are not gonna want them. And neither is anyone else, apart from serious collectors or maybe a museum.

It's a tricky thing, amassing a lifelong collection of something.

[Florestan]

That's where downloads come to the rescue. My whole music library is contained within three external HDDs (I'm actually in need of a fourth) and two laptops. If my son will have no need for my music after I'm gone, he can simply format the drives and use them for his own needs and pleasure. 

[ritter]

I cannot understand this preoccupation with "posterity". I've amassed over the years my library and CD collection for my personal pleasure. I like being in my home, surrounded by my books, my music, and my art. If when I'm gone, my children want it, fine. If they don't, fine as well. They can keep what they want, sell what they can, or simply throw it away if they so wish (or have no other choice).

[Roasted Swan]

My sister's Father-in-Law has been an amateur stage magician his whole life. He has a massive collection of books on the subject, many of them quite rare. I have seen a few, and they're beautiful.

But his kids are not gonna want them. And neither is anyone else, apart from serious collectors or maybe a museum.

It's a tricky thing, amassing a lifelong collection of something.

When I was young (teenager)I really enjoyed doing magic shows at home.  I was never any good - didn't practice enough(!!) but I did love the old books on how to do it.  Actually most of them are really not at all helpful explaining the various sleights or feints - it would just say "now do a thumb roll" without really saying how but I loved the actual books.  I still have a very small collection of those books and they are much treasured if little read - but isn't that the way with many specialist collections.......

I'm still hanging onto the hope that some future grand/great-grand child (none in the offing yet) will be a brilliant violinist/string player for whom my instruments, music collection and CD's will be an amazing reference library.  If not................

[Madiel]

Sometimes sons and daughters hold on to their parents' belongings after they pass, filling up their house with stuff that had sentimental value to their parents but not to them. It creates a daily burden on them, but they feel as if it is a betrayal to get rid of their parents' things. When they finally do, they find that nobody wants even the things that were supposed to be valuable, and they end up in either a charity shop or a landfill.

In John's case, he faces it even worse. It is not just the general public's lack of interest in CDs. His CDs are so esoteric that likely not only is no one in his family interested, but probably no one in his entire city. He might even have difficulty selling them online. How much interest could there possibly be in rare out-of-print Penderecki recordings, for example?

For me, it would be a library of out-of-print books on advanced origami, most of which are not in English. Many people would enjoy learning to fold a crane. But tracking down books from different countries containing models that take hundreds of steps to complete?

Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to have any sons and daughters to give ANY of my stuff to, and as yet I've not even gotten around to making a will (yep, the lawyer in the family is the one without a will) because I really haven't figured out whether to just throw absolutely everything at the nephew, niece, step-niece and step-nephew in some sort of proportion (probably not just a quarter each) and leave them to sort it out.

One need not get into composers as "esoteric" as Penderecki to wonder whether there'd be any interest in my CD collection, full stop. Classical is esoteric enough. But certainly, who's going to want the Holmboe CDs I acquired in Denmark? What about the signed Tori Amos items? How many people in Australia are going to be interested in my DVDs of a Danish TV series that never even aired here? Or the Hans Christian Andersen book actually in Danish, which doesn't even get the benefit of subtitles?

But I agree with @ritter, the purpose of that stuff is what it means to me, there are slight regrets if it doesn't mean anything to the next generation but in my case it's not even going to be stuff that anybody grew up with so the sentimental value is going to be SUPER low. Given the way the property market is, by far the most exciting thing I'll be leaving anybody is the actual house. Someone might want the piano if I manage to keep it in decent condition. There might be a few things of practical use**, a tiny bit of art (will anyone want the framed versions of the photos I took?), and that's about it. Someone will probably be paid to cart off the vast majority... and all of this is on the assumption I manage to stay in my own house and don't end up in a nursing home where they'll flatly tell me there isn't room for the CD collection.

Can you tell it's 2am on Good Friday? 

**I inherited my grandmother's washing machine 10-11 years ago and just replaced it a few weeks ago. Which was slightly sad. The number of things I have of hers is gradually diminishing. But she's the only grandparent that I consciously have things of, as she was both the one we were closest to and also the one who lived the longest.

Believe it or not, I still have half a bottle of shower gel from her, not because I'm deliberately saving it but because I only use shower gel once or twice a year.

[JBS]

Has anyone checked into donating their CDs to a school or college department of music or local library to add to their holdings?
I've been mulling over that option but haven't done much about it because I hope to live more than a little bit longer and I might move after retirement, meaning the reference point for local might well change.

[DavidW]

Has anyone checked into donating their CDs to a school or college department of music or local library to add to their holdings?
I've been mulling over that option but haven't done much about it because I hope to live more than a little bit longer and I might move after retirement, meaning the reference point for local might well change.

Local libraries usually don't accept large donations at a time because they are frequently swamped with books. If the books are not popular, they will end up at the book sale, and after that, the dump for recycling. And more often now universities are putting more emphasis on digital content and licensing and less and less on physical books.

[Kalevala]

@JBS My local library accepts them, but as far as I know, puts them all out for sale [I could be wrong here.  You might try contacting whomever is in charge of the arts/music section and talk to them].

K

[vandermolen]

When I was young (teenager)I really enjoyed doing magic shows at home.  I was never any good - didn't practice enough(!!) but I did love the old books on how to do it.  Actually most of them are really not at all helpful explaining the various sleights or feints - it would just say "now do a thumb roll" without really saying how but I loved the actual books.  I still have a very small collection of those books and they are much treasured if little read - but isn't that the way with many specialist collections.......

I'm still hanging onto the hope that some future grand/great-grand child (none in the offing yet) will be a brilliant violinist/string player for whom my instruments, music collection and CD's will be an amazing reference library.  If not................

Ah - another think we have in common - magic shows!
As a 13 year old I was packed off to 'Bar-mitzvah' classes at the West London Synagogue in Marble Arch. I hated them and learnt no Hebrew (in the end my much cleverer older brother had to write the portion out in English phonetics which I learnt by heart and smuggled in past the rabbi). However, the good thing about Marble Arch was the magic shop there (c.1968). In charge was a very kind man who demonstrated all kinds of magic tricks to me which I then enacted out in front of my family. I recall a 'magic box' with a secret sloping mirror inside into which things like coloured handkerchiefs would 'disappear'. A small guillotine which would apparently slice off my finger and a trick card pack. Happy memories!

[nico1616]

One of the reasons for my departure from CD buying is deciding who am I going to leave my collection with after I'm gone. What a massive burden this will be for anyone even if this is someone that likes classical music and by stopping CD buying cold turkey, I have, at least, eliminated some of the problem.

CD buying shouldn't have turned into this and, to be fair, I should've stopped years ago, but it truly became an obsession. When the obsession outweighs the actual listening of the music itself, it's time to call it quits. The fact that I still have CDs in plastic wrap is ridiculous to me now. This shouldn't be the case at all!

That's great that @nico1616 is continuing to buy CDs and find bargains. I just hope he has the space for it all, because this is another reason why I had to stop.

An interesting point you are mentioning here. I also have so much cds that I will not be able to listen to them in a lifetime. We moved 3 years ago and then I sold a part of my collection (approx. 25%), because of the kilos and the fact that I could not imagine me listening to everything. However, I regret some of my sold items and have even bought back a few. Until one year ago, I hardly listened to pre 1950s recordings, but I became interested after I found some of those old Bayreuth Wagner recordings in the thrift store. Last month I found a cassette deck in the thrift store, alas most of my cassettes were put in the dust bin years ago. Luckily I have some left, and it is also a great way of listening to music and another way of collecting.
So I changed my mind, it is great to have a library where loads of items are waiting to be picked out one day, or maybe they never will. You can never predict what you will be listening to in 10 or 20 years time...

[Madiel]

So I changed my mind, it is great to have a library where loads of items are waiting to be picked out one day, or maybe they never will.

A very long time ago, somebody said to me that the whole point of having a library was that you hadn't read everything in it.

They were talking about books, but the sentiment is similar.

I make a concerted effort to make sure I've heard everything in my library at least once, but some things do sit there for rather a long time before being heard again. And sometimes, it's the sheer freshness of my reaction that's the best part.

[Spotted Horses]

@JBS My local library accepts them, but as far as I know, puts them all out for sale [I could be wrong here.  You might try contacting whomever is in charge of the arts/music section and talk to them].

K

I donated a lot of books to Goodwill. At one point I realized that I brought the wrong box and donated books that I intended to keep. I went back and asked what happened to the books, would they appear at a store where I could possibly buy them back? I was told that almost all books are sold for pulp. A small fraction are picked up as possibly worth selling. I wouldn't be surprised if the same were true for library donations.

I brought a big box of CDs to a used record shop. They said to come back.  When I returned they gave my the box back and said they had picked out 2 or 3 they would purchase from me (for less than $10 as I recall). After that I donated basically all of my CDs to the dumpster. (I have the FLAC files on hard discs.)

I have always regarded CDs as cumbersome and ugly (so much plastic) and now only keep a few of the nicer box sets that have an attractive and informative book.

[Kalevala]

I donated a lot of books to Goodwill. At one point I realized that I brought the wrong box and donated books that I intended to keep. I went back and asked what happened to the books, would they appear at a store where I could possibly buy them back? I was told that almost all books are sold for pulp. A small fraction are picked up as possibly worth selling. I wouldn't be surprised if the same were true for library donations.

I brought a big box of CDs to a used record shop. They said to come back.  When I returned they gave my the box back and said they had picked out 2 or 3 they would purchase from me (for less than $10 as I recall). After that I donated basically all of my CDs to the dumpster. (I have the FLAC files on hard discs.)

I have always regarded CDs as cumbersome and ugly (so much plastic) and now only keep a few of the nicer box sets that have an attractive and informative book.

Ouch!  Actually, on all of your comments.    My local library used to have an annual booksale (donations) though that was pre-Covid.  Nowadays, they have a perpetual sale of books, CDs and DVDs (also some mags) in one area.  I'll have to ask them sometime as to what happens to the books that they think won't sell.  There are several stores in the area which buy used CDs.

And lucky dumpster!

K

[Spotted Horses]

And lucky dumpster!

My trash can wasn't big enough. I had to sneak across the street to the Veterans Center the nights before trash pickup and put them in their huge dumpster.

[Spotted Horses]

After listening to a significant part of it, I've decided that Annie Fischer's Beethoven Sonata set is really special, and it's "important" enough that I want to have it in my collection. This was facilitated by my noticing that, although the physical set is out of print and commands a kings ransom used, Qobuz has lossless downloads for $20. (Presto has it for $81.50!)

[DavidW]

I donated a lot of books to Goodwill. At one point I realized that I brought the wrong box and donated books that I intended to keep. I went back and asked what happened to the books, would they appear at a store where I could possibly buy them back? I was told that almost all books are sold for pulp. A small fraction are picked up as possibly worth selling. I wouldn't be surprised if the same were true for library donations.

That is truly sad. That motivates me to use Thrift Books (they take books for credit!) and the used book shop in Columbia.

[Madiel]

In many places, keeping files on your hard disc when you haven't still got the original source is not legal.

In theory anyway.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

An interesting point you are mentioning here. I also have so much cds that I will not be able to listen to them in a lifetime. We moved 3 years ago and then I sold a part of my collection (approx. 25%), because of the kilos and the fact that I could not imagine me listening to everything. However, I regret some of my sold items and have even bought back a few. Until one year ago, I hardly listened to pre 1950s recordings, but I became interested after I found some of those old Bayreuth Wagner recordings in the thrift store. Last month I found a cassette deck in the thrift store, alas most of my cassettes were put in the dust bin years ago. Luckily I have some left, and it is also a great way of listening to music and another way of collecting.
So I changed my mind, it is great to have a library where loads of items are waiting to be picked out one day, or maybe they never will. You can never predict what you will be listening to in 10 or 20 years time...

And you also bring an interesting point: one of the great pleasures of my life is having amassed a large CD collection. As you touched on, even if I don't ever get around to listening to something, the fact that the recording is sitting there to be discovered is why I'm glad I've accumulated all of these CDs. Perhaps I'm being nostalgic here but when I pull out a recording and hold it in my hands, I get an enormous satisfaction from it. I can flip through and read the liner notes. Look at the cover art and just take in all the care and attention that this physical product received. The sensation is even greater when it's a beautifully-assembled box set (like one of those deluxe or collector's editions).

You're exactly right in that people don't know what they'll be listening to in the future, but by having such a large library, you can rest assured that, if anything, it'll be an interesting selection.