Community poll forum: In what format do you buy your music most often?

I go the subscription route (WMA DRM), where each month a fee is paid so that I can download as much music as a I want along with the associated licenses. Of course the licenses expire rendering the music unplayable if the subscription ever lapses, so I don't own the songs, but that's fine by me particularly since I'm not the one paying the subscription fees.

When I do purchase songs it is usually by CD, which I rip to my computer and sync with my PDA. However, I still have plenty of records, cassette tapes, etc laying around that I am converting to digital format.

John

Traditionally, in the past, I had bought CDs. My first music purchases were vinyl, until 8-tracks hit the market. From there, I progressed to cassettes and then to the occasional CD purchase. Through the years, my need to purchase and collect music was less rational.
After the purchase of an incredible sound system for my computer, I began downloading music from ITunes (at $.99 a song). I already had the software for burning CDs so ITunes gave me the option to choose what I put on a CD. I like a variety of music so I wanted CDs that offered an array of different artist and genre (types).
My daughter is young, single, works in the medical field, and goes to college so her monies budgeted. Periodically, we have pajama parties at her apartment to maintain our friendship, shop (I buy, of course), and watch movies. We also listen to some of the latest music (that she has a better feel for) and some of the oldies, which is my expertise.
I noticed that she downloaded and burned an extreme amount of CDs and questioned her buying so many songs via internet. She is the one that set me off on a different course. She learned from a friend about LimeWire and had been using it for months. It is a free service and offers the same music as ITunes.
After finding out about LimeWire, I began my using it exclusively. I have burned quite a selection of CDs for myself. I also have a sister that feeds me information on specific songs that I download and burn for her.
LimeWire is very user friendly for searching, downloading, and sorting music. The only dilemma faced was to move the downloaded songs from the LimeWire software program file to My Music folder. I have been and remain a dedicated LimeWire consumer.

I buy mostly mp3s these days, but only those without DRM as I have 4 mp3 players of varying ages, PCs at home and at work and a CD player in my car which can cope with mp3s. I refuse to buy music which I cannot play on all these devices. Luckily I buy mostly classical music these days (from eClassical), and have already converted my pop CD collection to mp3 format (THAT took a long time as I have several hundred CDs).

Having invested in players for these media, I look for those formats - especially surround mixes. Although fresh titles are so rare I think the formats are comatose if not O.P.D. Otherwise I buy used CDs from stores or new CDs sold directly by artists @ live shows.
The theme is getting the best quality original & repurposing it for the ways I listen - downmixing 5.1 to stereo AAC/MP3 for iPod & in-car listening and frequently crushing the dynamics for the often brutal car/subway listening environment.

Why buy music when you can download for free?

I once accepted the whole ''support the artists who live off the music'' thing, but I realized how plastic and artificial that idea is. Art should not be created above all everything else to make money. You should be able to listen to an ''artist's'' work anywhere, anytime.

I suppose the medium here is artists making money off concerts and memorabilia. The issue was created by the recording industry because of falling profits.

Music has been sadly turned into a business trying to maximize profits. Too often when a musician is introduced, the first (and sometimes only) thing mentioned is how many albums they sold. It's a gauge of success, but I'd much rather hear something about the actual music!

Personally I like CD and the freedom to put the tracks on your mp3 player, listen to it in all its glory of a premium stereo or in the car.

Yes Dad -

I'm sorry I left the radio on so loud in your car.

My uncle said today's music sounded like a bunch of plumbers shouting down a drain pipe. That was in 1969. This is probably what he thought of much of your collection! I was 7 when I first heard that comment.

Personally, I found a lot to like in Limp Bizit and Linkin Park. Tool is cool. I've taken my daughters to concerts by these artists and ... while we have a generation gap, it's not over the music!

Buy the new Weird Al CD that came out recently - you'll laugh to the lyrics lampooning society AND be exposed to the real songs that your kids are enjoying.

Don't be such a stick in the mud!

Your message "touched my heart". I have been sitting here reading all the messages and found that I was completely lost in the mix of acronyms used for music formatting.
I do hope you enjoy your iPod and have the benefit of learning about the latest music formats. Personally, I do not even know what an iPod is. Until this morning, I had thought it was like a "Walkman", which I do have.
I had felt so proud of myself for having the ability to download songs from internet and burn them to a CD. Now, it appears I am not "up to date". Despite my elaborate sound system for my computer, surround sound for the TV, a moderately expensive stereo set-up for the den/house, CD player with great sounding speakers in my SUV, and two separate Walkman,...I must not have what is the latest in music devices and find myself clueless with how to go about bringing everything up to a "modern" level.

I used to download the odd new song from Napster to see if I like a band or album and then would go and buy the CD's of stuff I enjoyed but since RIAA started with their suing and the rest of their garbage I quit buying music altogether and know listen to what I have and download from bands that have no affiliation with RIAA.I will never again buy music until the dinosaur that is RIAA dies!!

I look for the old vinyl stuff, the kind of music you can't find anywhere but in the old record shops. Vintage 1950's, sound tracks and obscure recordings by artists before they became famous.

When I was a kid, I made cassette tapes of songs and albums I'd come across. I could make a lot of tapes for $10 back then - and it's the same now.

For the albums I wanted to keep, I purchased a copy sooner or later (usually sooner!) so I could have the ''real thing'' - the best sound, all the artwork - who misses the 12'' LP jacket and inserts?

Today I'll grab an MP-3 of something I am curious about. If I like it, I will want to hear the entire album, and I get the CD. It's permanent (I don't trust ''burned'' cd's), the commercially made CD is more rugged, the (small) artwork is there, and most importantly, I am putting some $$ with the artist.

If you listen to it, and want to keep it - PAY for it!

(I've been happier with the highest quality M4A Ipod setting than most MP-3's I've found. Yes, I enjoy carrying my music and podcasts around on a little 4gig Nano.)

I can relate to the cassettes:

Maxell UDXL-II tapes - I still play a few of them in my 1991 Toyota Camry. Most still play without squeal even today.

** Remember trying to get tapes for $2 or so, in 1980? That's like $5 today, I guess. The last spindle of no-brand CD's (which sound exactly like name-brand cd's!) cost me about $7 for a HUNDRED.

Yes, traditional music distribution is doomed. Maybe for good reason - how much of my last $13 went to the artists? But until the system changes, it's either buy it at Best Buy (Amazon, I-Tunes store) or rip it off. PULEEAZE: The artists I like deserve the support I give!

(I think I'll pull out a few CD's tonight and leave the IPOD alone

Kev

I buy music in WAV format whenever possible. There are a number of sites that sell their music that way, the most notable being magnatune.com IMHO.

And then, I rip them to Mp3