Where do you get your music from?

[Spudulike]

A couple of years ago I took the plunge to box up my hifi separates and digitise my CD collection. I used a free ripping tool and saved the albums in flac format onto a NAS drive. I now stream them on a wireless speaker (Naim Muso QB) and it sounds brilliant. It's been really good as I've been picking up old CD's to replace my vinyl off of ebay for a few quid each. 

 

However, some of the newer stuff is not such good value. I don't bother with a paid streamer like Spotify or Deezer as it's mp3 unless it's the premium service which is more expensive. Tidal is good as it streams in lossless format but, I think, its over £20 a month. 

 

Where do you get your music from? Do you buy it (in what format) or stream it? 

[purpleronnie]

Always buy it, cd's or vinyl.  I like having the physical product, not being able to hold it just seems like a rip off.

 

[Dr Marco]

Vinyl mostly, and the odd cds

[Samilktray]

Id love to say I buy everything on vinyl or cd but streaming it is just far too easy and convenient now

[Wakeyfox]

Yeah, streaming is so easily accessible. 

 

Last physical music product I got was the streets signed tape on pre release, and then only because my mate sent it. Not even got a means of playing the tape.... 

[Fox92]

If I like the artist I will buy vinyl without no hesitation.

 

If it's an artist I'm just getting into I will listen on Spotify first to see if I like the album. If I like it then I buy it on vinyl.

 

I never buy CD's because I don't feel like I get money's worth. I'd rather stream than buy a CD.

[Dr Marco]

I've got two iPods classics 160 gb each where I've put all my music

I still download a lot (illegally) and put it on them

[Spudulike]

32 minutes ago, Samilktray said:

Id love to say I buy everything on vinyl or cd but streaming it is just far too easy and convenient now

 

16 minutes ago, Wakeyfox said:

Yeah, streaming is so easily accessible. 

 

Last physical music product I got was the streets signed tape on pre release, and then only because my mate sent it. Not even got a means of playing the tape.... 

Which streaming provider do you use? Is it a subscription service? Which format (mp3)? 

 

Interesting to know how others do it. Guessing that streaming to a smart phone and listening on ear phones is the modern way? 

[Samilktray]

33 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

 

Which streaming provider do you use? Is it a subscription service? Which format (mp3)? 

 

Interesting to know how others do it. Guessing that streaming to a smart phone and listening on ear phones is the modern way? 

I use Apple Music and I’ve got to be honest mate I don’t know the format they use or whatever  I just listen on my way to and from work on my AirPods and in the car

 

I do have a reasonably decent record player set up and collection of records but I just don’t really get the time to listen like I used to 

[Mark_w]

I mostly use Spotify, Bandcamp for anything I can't get on Spotify or like enough to want to buy.

[goody2028]

‘Streaming’ I use Spotify all the time. 
 

For vinyl I mainly use banquet records. 

[Mike the Metal Ed]

Apple Music for streaming and discovering new bands. If I want to support them I usually see if they're on Bandcamp because they reliably have FLACs available.

 

Otherwise I've been getting back into buying CDs.

 

To really top off that hipster cred, I recently got a tape deck hifi component and I've been buying cheap era-appropriate cassettes of albums I like too, and I've modified a cheap 4th gen iPod Classic to have 128GB of flash storage.

[Wakeyfox]

2 hours ago, Spudulike said:

 

Which streaming provider do you use? Is it a subscription service? Which format (mp3)? 

 

Interesting to know how others do it. Guessing that streaming to a smart phone and listening on ear phones is the modern way? 

Call me mainstream but it's Spotify for day to day listening  and you tube for live stuff... 

[Spudulike]

1 hour ago, Mark_w said:

I mostly use Spotify, Bandcamp for anything I can't get on Spotify or like enough to want to buy.

 

21 minutes ago, Mike the Metal Ed said:

Apple Music for streaming and discovering new bands. If I want to support them I usually see if they're on Bandcamp because they reliably have FLACs available.

 

Otherwise I've been getting back into buying CDs.

 

To really top off that hipster cred, I recently got a tape deck hifi component and I've been buying cheap era-appropriate cassettes of albums I like too, and I've modified a cheap 4th gen iPod Classic to have 128GB of flash storage.

The FLAC downloads on Bandcamp seem to be as expensive as buying the CD. Not sure of better value alternatives. 

[Mike the Metal Ed]

6 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

 

The FLAC downloads on Bandcamp seem to be as expensive as buying the CD. Not sure of better value alternatives. 

Yeah, music costs what it costs, but 9/10 I don't actually NEED the CD if it's available there, and anywhere I have Internet on my phone, I can just go and download the music in any format I want instantly without having to rip the CD. If I'm buying the CD it's because I can't buy it lossless anywhere digitally.

[kingcarr21]

I have spotify. Honestly i dont really listen to music. Music at the moment is beyond terrible. So many songs being released that are just rip offs of older songs. 

 

Recently ive actually delved into creating a playlist of music from Anime and Old games i used to play. Just to listen to whilst walking the dog. Some Attack on Titan and One Punch Man theme tunes mixed in with some Final Fantasy battle music. 

 

A bit random i know but its nice to hear the songs from games i played and loved as a kid. Its only as i have gotten older that ive realised how important music is in games. 

 

Before this playlist i rarely listened to music. Especially when driving. I hate radio music. The same songs for weeks on end. I just listen to Talksport. Which isnt great but its better than listening to the same songs on repeat whichever station to go on

[rico]

i go around charity shops every couple of weeks, pick up some great bargains on cd, 50p each , 5 for £1 etc.....

[Spudulike]

I often find myself going down the modern music is rubbish path. I avoid most music radio stations as I find the content dull, regurgitated nothingness that I can't be bothered with. This results in my going through the old stuff (mostly Kate Bush back catalogue) and even getting snooty about the new material which is often reworked tunes from the past. 

 

However, my interest is spiked most years after Glastonbury. I don't go but watch it wall-to-wall on TV and some of the bands are new to me which is often enough to follow up and buy their music. 

 

Love seeing young people getting into the old artists like Paul McCartney and Diana Ross. 

[RoboFox]

I used to me much more of an audiophile than I am nowadays. I'm not half as interested music TBH as I once was. Can't remember the last time I heard a new artist that I genuinely like. 

 

It's such a luxury to get to listen to anything that I only listen to the stuff I love.

 

I don't have space for anything physical so everything is streamed via Apple Music - either on my Audio-Technica headphones or Genelec studio monitors. 

[Fox92]

1 hour ago, rico said:

i go around charity shops every couple of weeks, pick up some great bargains on cd, 50p each , 5 for £1 etc.....

This is a great shout. I also do this.

I've picked up some great records at charity shops. And usually they play without jumps.

[Spudulike]

1 hour ago, rico said:

i go around charity shops every couple of weeks, pick up some great bargains on cd, 50p each , 5 for £1 etc.....

 

6 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

This is a great shout. I also do this.

I've picked up some great records at charity shops. And usually they play without jumps.

The cd's in my local charity shops are priced at 99p each or £1.50 for a double. Feel like I'm getting mugged off now 

[Mark_w]

4 hours ago, kingcarr21 said:

I have spotify. Honestly i dont really listen to music. Music at the moment is beyond terrible. So many songs being released that are just rip offs of older songs.

This always annoys me no end

There's an almost limitless supply of new music now. And yes some will lean too heavily on its influences, and what is popular won't match the tastes of lots of people. But to say music at the moment is beyond terrible?! I can't believe that anyone who has the time to actively search couldn't find loads of new music they enjoy.

Edited 11 July 2022 by Mark_w

[kingcarr21]

26 minutes ago, Mark_w said:

This always annoys me no end

There's an almost limitless supply of new music now. And yes some will lean too heavily on its influences, and what is popular won't match the tastes of lots of people. But to say music at the moment is beyond terrible?! I can't believe that anyone who has the time to actively search couldn't find loads of new music they enjoy.

No need to get annoyed. My comment isnt a blanket over all of music. I just meant there are so many songs out over recent times that are just clear rip offs of older songs that its lead me to just put on talksport. 

 

Im sure i could find plenty of music out there i would like. Im just not that interested in finding it. I wouldnt get a look in anyway. My teenage daughter hogs all the music in the house  

[Stadt]

Despite it literally being easier than ever to get into new artists I just cant't be arsed investing an hour into listening to an album - only to dislike it.

[Bellend Sebastian]

19 hours ago, Spudulike said:

A couple of years ago I took the plunge to box up my hifi separates and digitise my CD collection. I used a free ripping tool and saved the albums in flac format onto a NAS drive. I now stream them on a wireless speaker (Naim Muso QB) and it sounds brilliant. It's been really good as I've been picking up old CD's to replace my vinyl off of ebay for a few quid each. 

 

However, some of the newer stuff is not such good value. I don't bother with a paid streamer like Spotify or Deezer as it's mp3 unless it's the premium service which is more expensive. Tidal is good as it streams in lossless format but, I think, its over £20 a month. 

 

Where do you get your music from? Do you buy it (in what format) or stream it? 

I did pretty much exactly what you did, but kept my amp and speakers and play the FLACs through my ludicrously expensive Cambridge audio streaming thingy (can't remember what it's called, sorry) or through the Sonos (speakers in back room and bedroom).

 

We have a single user Spotify licence which gets used a lot more as it's so easy.

 

I do sometimes wonder if the whole digitising thing was worth it, and the main reason it was is there's a surprising amount of stuff that isn't on Spotify.

 

FLAC quality is better but hard to tell on the Sonos and I can never get in the front room to listen to the main set up as laddo is on his PlayStation in there during the hours you could play it without causing a neighbourhood incident.

 

Still buy CDs for my favourite artists, partly because I a) like a physical back up b) a CD ripped FLAC still sounds better than Spotify c) I generally invest a bit more time listening to something if I've specifically paid for it which makes no sense but there you go