Physical music overtakes downloads

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VideoGameCritic
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Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 25th, 2018, 6:55 pm

Just stumbled upon this article which shows physical cd/vinyl sales beating digital downloads in 2017.
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/ ... s-for.html

It's important to note that music online has moved to the streaming medium, which is by far the biggest money maker.

Still, I think it's telling people are spending a lot less money on digital music downloads. Maybe it's starting to dawn on people they aren't getting much for their money. I wonder if we'll see this kind of trend in the gaming world?

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

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pacman000
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Re: Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby pacman000 » April 25th, 2018, 7:17 pm

Physical copies may have had higher sales than digital copies in 2017, but both digital & physical sales are down. :(

In other news, Apple may have plans to phase out music downloads, believing streaming is the way of the future: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/1 ... downloads/ Honestly, it sounds more like a rumor than good reporting, but you never know...

Either way, I prefer to own content. Physics copies > Digital Copies > Streaming

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ptdebate
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Re: Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby ptdebate » April 25th, 2018, 8:39 pm

I don't buy music digitally. I do pay Apple $15 a month for unlimited music streaming (with family sharing) for the simple convenience of listening on the go. At home, I have a beautiful Audio Technica vinyl player that my girlfriend got me for my birthday last year. In my personal (amateur) perception, it's the best sound quality I've ever gotten from a device. I have it hooked up to a pair of Bose companion speakers.

Physical music is absolutely preferable. CDs also offer great sound quality, but they face the problem of rot over time. The early CD-ROMs from the 80s are starting to become unplayable. Vinyl, on the other hand, stands the test of time. Sure, minor degradation occurs through normal use, but if you take care of your collection, vinyls will last you a lifetime.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 25th, 2018, 9:19 pm

I realize music streaming is growing very fast, but isn't this more comparable to listening to a radio station as opposed to actually buying an album or single?

Robotrek
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Re: Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby Robotrek » April 25th, 2018, 9:40 pm

Kids don't buy music anymore, Dave! They all steal it. That's why concert ticket prices are through the roof. If nobody is buying the music, you have to make money somehow!

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ptdebate
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Re: Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby ptdebate » April 25th, 2018, 9:48 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:I realize music streaming is growing very fast, but isn't this more comparable to listening to a radio station as opposed to actually buying an album or single?


I agree with that statement. The availability of streaming does not dissuade me from buying physical albums I like. Radio is free, of course, but the way I justify paying for the streaming is that life is too short for ads.

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Re: Physical music overtakes downloads

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 25th, 2018, 10:00 pm

Robotrek wrote:Kids don't buy music anymore, Dave! They all steal it. That's why concert ticket prices are through the roof. If nobody is buying the music, you have to make money somehow!


There's actually a lot of truth to this. Most kids I talk to have no concept of spending money on music. I think this has devalued music to a major extent. To most people it's disposable. Movies have headed down the same path.

Video games started down that path with the emergence of free-to-play mobile games, but the market has held its own. That's because gamers realize that high quality games ($60) are actually worth paying for.


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