Let's say you hear, or become aware of, some music you like. How do you normally proceed regarding buying it?
Do you immediately go and buy it? Do you even pre-order stuff? Do you buy on spec, or do you need to hear part of all of it before buying, even if it's from an artist you tend to like?
Do you wait a while before buying, in the hope that prices will drop, or just buy anyway so you can immediately enjoy listening? Do you buy in a hurry, because of worrying that the item may no longer be easy to obtain later on?
Do you tend to buy more or less regularly, or do you go on occasional buying sprees, punctuated by lengths of time during which you buy little or nothing?
Does it depend on whether the material is newly released, stuff you've heard for a while or maybe something released some time ago but which you have only just discovered?
Tell me your buying habits, and I'll tell you mine.
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good idea for a thread bob_32, i'll be interested in reading other responses here...
ok,
so if an artist I know/like and trust releases an album I will usually buy it the day it hits the stores...
if its something ive heard on the internet and really like I will buy it within a couple of weeks of release...
if its something ive heard and just like I will add it to a "to purchase" list to purchase before the end of the year...
if its something I don't mind but wouldn't mind owning at some point I will wait until it drops in price....
if its something by an artist I like but I don't like the album much, I will eventually purchase it from a discount bin in order
to keep the album collection of the artist complete..
if its an old band that ive recently got in to I will start buying their back catalogue piece by piece
if its an artist im only vaguely aware of I will usually purchase a compilation first to work out from which albums/period
of their career I like their music most, from there I will have my studio album starting point....
also,
with artists I really like, for example, Paul Weller/McCartney/Neil Young/Nick Cave/Elvis Costello who I normally buy
upon the day of release and ive been underwhelmed by their last two or three efforts(which I now have by these artists)
I will listen online in the future to hear I should purchase them straight up or wait a while...sort of 'once bitten, twice shy' attitude.
I don't care from what genre an album is from or even if I previously disliked an artist, if I like what they are releasing at that time I will
buy the album....
I never say never to any artist or genre as I believe every artist has at least one good album in them waiting to come out.
I guess that's why I listen to the most random things on Spotify....
when I get giftcards for birthdays and Xmas I usually ask my mate Tem who runs a music department if he can recommend an album
he thinks I should own for whatever reason...
sometimes he comes up with something I absolutely love that I would never have heard otherwise and that leads me to discovering another cool artist...
other times he recommends something that I think is average but ok, on rare occasions he recommends albums I distinctly hate (Portishead/Radiohead)
come straight to mind...
overall though, I trust him.
how's that for an answer bob_32, good enough explanation mate????
"BTO....Bachman,Turner,Overweight
They were big in the 70s....for five minutes,on a Saturday,after lunch..." - Me 2014.
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through the years
as a kid saved up my allowance for the monthly Dylan, Beatles, Stones single
of course I could never keep up
peak buying years were probably the 70.s
fresh out of the military I was catching up
had to have everything
but I was also a married man with a family
my allowance was coming from a different person
and there was still a limit
purchasing trailed off during the early 80's, as I was in a dead zone for music (central Florida)
picked up again mid 80's after that problem was remedied by a move to Massachusetts
where there were plenty of radio stations to choose from
most of my purchases up through the 90's were driven by radio
then came this internet thing
jumping to the finish
I swore off new buys about a year and a half ago
cold turkey and I'm doing fine
on cloud 9
when I can hear anything I want any time I want, on a computer
there's really no point for me
I am home all the time so I always have that source
When I was in my teens and early twenties, I would buy music I liked without waiting. I was not the sort of person that needed a new album every week, so money was not a problem.
Some time later, it may have been in the early 80's, I started to realise that very often I would buy something I loved as soon as I heard it, then after a couple of years I would I tired of it a little - not that I came to dislike it, it just did not have the initial impact. At this point in time most of what I bought would be artists you would hear at least occasionally on radio, and who might sometimes make the charts. I decided to adopt a policy of not buying any music less that about two years after first hearing it, figuring that if I still loved it after that time then it had staying power. Meanwhile there were plenty of gaps in my collection that I could fill.
This policy served me very well for a long time. A couple of things happened to change that.
The first was that I simply heard very little on the radio that I wanted to spend money on - and at that time radio was still where I heard most new music. We are talking about the period from about the mid-90's, until 2007. (Yes there is a reason for the specific date of 2007.) During that time I bought maybe as few as one or two CDs per year.
The second was the discovery, from a discussion on an internet site (not a music site!) of a whole world of progressive music, the genre often dubbed "neo-prog", of which I had been unaware, simply because it was completely ignored by every radio station i knew of and I did not see the albums in the stores. Specifically, it dates from my discovery of an album by a band called Porcupine Tree. I had not heard music as exciting and dynamic as this in a long time - progressive, but not in the sense of copying 1970's progressive bands like Pink Floyd or Genesis, this was progressive rock of the 21st century. I investigated further, and discovered that this band had been around in one form or another since 1989. I sought out all their studio albums; I joined the unofficial Porcupine Tree forum, and through that I discovered many other bands that are progressive in the true sense of the word. Much of this music I had to order from overseas, either directly or via a local record store. Also via the internet I learned of many artists who had been around a long time but of whom I had been unaware, people like Linda Perhacs and Judy Dyble, In some cases their albums become rare and hard to get, only to be reissued when the artists gained a second-generation following courtesy of the Internet.
I changed my buying habits completely. Now, when I hear something I feel I must have, I do not know how much longer the item will be available, or available at a price that does not require me to remortage my home. Hence, I investigate buying options straight away. If Amazon wants $50 for it, I will probably pass it up, depending how much I want it. If it's $100 I won't buy it - but I'll keep it on my wish list and keep an eye out for somewhere offering it for a price more affordable. For something I want badly enough, i will pay $40-$50 (incl. shipping) if necessary. I don't consider this splurging, not when I only do this maybe every few months, and there are some people who buy dozens of records a month, spending much more than I do even if they get them all for only $10 a pop.
I will nearly always insist on hearing at least a portion of the music before buying it. I have no qualms about using Youtube or Spotify for this. If I like it enough to find myself returning to it, after 4 or 5 listens I tend to think it's time to either buy it or to stop listening.
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Sadly with my newest favorite, the late beautiful precious Billy Joe Royal that is, I have had to go with whatever is available and I hate it. One of my most favorite albums of his may have only been released on a record because that was the only format I was able to find it on. If only it had been converted to a CD like so much of his other music was, I love him SO much!!!
God bless you and his family always!!!
Holly
Listen to my most favorite singer here sometime, James Otto that is!
James Otto Sweet Heart Wrote:Sadly with my newest favorite, the late beautiful precious Billy Joe Royal that is, I have had to go with whatever is available and I hate it. One of my most favorite albums of his may have only been released on a record because that was the only format I was able to find it on. If only it had been converted to a CD like so much of his other music was
Holly Hang in there long enough and it may happen. I was like that for many years with Bob Lind. The number of hours I spent fruitlessly searching stacks in record stores hoping to find his albums... then hey presto, come 1998 or so a CD compilation gets released that consists of his first two albums plus 3 "bonus tracks".Same with Linda Perhacs (not that I even knew about her until about a year ago).
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When I started building my music collection I would ask my family to consider music (Records) for presents. There was always a list of "desired records" that my Mom had in her purse. My parents and my Aunts and Uncle would refer to the list and help out when they found a title. This continued as my primary source of new music until I had my first job.
Once I had an income I would budget enough money to buy an album once a month - eventually moving to an album every week.
With more money and an increased interest in a wider variety of music I would buy locally (small town records stores and department store music sections) and save for my bigger purchases when I would go to the city - I had quite a route established for import shops and specialty record stores. Most visits to the city would net an armload of new finds.
Now I shop at the very few brick and mortar stores I can find as well I do shop online. Not really a music downloader but have been known to support new bands by downloading their music from their stores (bandcamp being the most common).
I have never stopped looking for new music to me. I used to find out about new music by visiting with people around me and asking whoever was in charge of the music at a gathering what was the song they just played and could I look at the record. When I started searching out new music I would buy music magazines. More often than not the latest recommendations made by my favourite performers. Recommendations from friends and family are also a big one for me. I used to also buy albums when they looked cool - not so much anymore as the physical albums are just not as common and the depth of music available is sadly lacking... Soundcloud and YouTube are regular research tools for me and I often find something I'd like to hear more of.
I have been burned a few times by favourite performers trying something new that I did not like but more often than not I find something I like about the latest release so I usually buy the newest release of my favourites.
I also use music forums as a way to find new music. Recommendations and descriptions by others will often influence me to research and either watch for, order now or avoid a title.
When I find a new music store (to me) I really try to support them. The purchases tend to be a stream of conscience thing for me - I'll find something given enough time in a store, haha.
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21-08-2016, 23:40
(This post was last modified: 22-08-2016, 00:14 by Oceansoul.)
If there is an album I want to get, I usually set aside money until I can get it either in a store that sells the album nearby or online. I tend to be an risky buyer too as in I might buy an album I'm interested in yet not be sure I'll like it or blindly so I try to keep that side of me in check. I can't buy albums all the time not when a brand new one costs me almost $15 or more which doesn't sound like much until you have to save money to afford groceries. Sigh, so I try not to buy new albums without being certain I want them.
Sometimes if there is a sample song or two available for me to check out the album then I'll decide if it'll be worth it. I listen to music online (legally) and on Spotify, YouTube, you know the typical places which can help. So when I want to support an artist/band/musician I enjoy, I'll go throw my money at them. :biggrin:
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Music Head Wrote:cool
the evil guy's back
Thanks, Mr. Music Head!
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