I use Bandcamp regularly to discover new music and think it only fair to the artist to buy downloads or physical media of albums or collections that I would wish to listen to frequently. The same with downloads on Qobuz.
Music that’s really important to me I buy on vinyl.
I stream to discover new music and then if I like something I will buy it, often in both vinyl and digital form.
My first choice is to buy vinyl. But for classical and anything only otherwise available on CD I prefer to download the best quality I can get. Whatever I buy is integrated into my digital library which is mostly accessed via a randomly sorted giant playlist.
Not for a long time now.
I think I have approximately 300 HD albums from various sources over the past 10 years.
Always bought CDs during the same period too.
From a Classical, Blues and Jazz point-of-view, the recording/mastering quality is so high via CD that I’m tending to just buy Red Book mainly with the occasional SACD.
I do like owning my album choices though and not particularly interested in streaming.
That’s just me 
I tend to stream from tidal via my atom HE
if an album impresses me alot i will buy it on CD and rip it to my core , sounds a little better to my ears 
, and i do still like to collect a physical copy
2000 plus now , i have a problem 
I have not bought a physical recording for years now, Qobuz and Radio P are my music sources. My vinyl collection was sold off and my CD’s just sit there gathering dust. If you had said to me 20 years ago this was the way I would source music I wouldn’t have believed you!!
Tried streaming a few times but always end up cancelling after a month. For some reason I feel disconnected to the music.
Prefer downloading and commercial free FM radio where I’m familiar with the hosts and enjoy their occasional informative comments between tracks.
I have two streaming subscriptions. Qobuz on main system and Apple for more portable listening.
If I like something a lot I will buy cd and rip to Core.
For 50 years I purchased an average of about 40 albums a year. Last year I bought 9. This year none so far. I don’t download.
Having library of over 2000 helps.
Stream to explore. Download the ‘keepers’. I will always want to own the music I enjoy most
Bruce
I have more than 1,000 CDs ripped to a NAS and MS OneDrive (mainly for safe storage), and probably around 500 LPs, but I am now entirely content to listen to digital music via Qobuz, Deezer subscriptions.
Its a generation thing, ask a 20 year old how much music they download, as opposed to streaming.
Another example, my father still records TV. I dont even own a device that can do that, i just stream tv. And i haven’t owned a dvd or blue ray player for at least 10years.
If my fathers a dinosaur, must be a neanderthal compared to the yoof
Yes, it is a generation thing, but it is also a mindset, some are conservatives, some readily take advantages of some conveniences of new advances in technology.
I am still investing in and improving my LP12 with some of the latest gadgets from Linn and Lejonklou, buy and play LPs whenever I can & have the time, but time has become a precious commodity.
Always struggled with downloading albums so I listen to both Qobuz and ripped CDs in my Core if I like an album I will buy it and rip it.
As good as Qobuz is I generally prefer listening to CDs ripped on my Core.
I’ve downloaded quite a bit of hi res music from Qobuz since getting a sublime sub. Their rips are top notch and streamed locally sound better than from the cloud. It’s also nice knowing I have an ample library of music to enjoy that doesn’t require an internet connection.
I enjoy streaming but tend to buy cd’s and rip them, especially if they are early pressings before the “loudness wars” compressed the hell out of commercial music. Streaming services can’t be trusted to maintain an artists catalogue and the internet can’t be trusted to always work either. In addition, by buying cd’s you know the “source” of the recording which streaming services can’t be verified on. If an album is unavailable I will download a copy, usually from Bandcamp these days, although I tend to do for the cd/download package, just in case. I do like to own my music and hold it in my hand.
Is it killing music though - doesn’t appear to be the case to me based on the unbelievable amount of new releases I see every week just on Qobuz. I’d never be able to buy all the stuff I hear via streaming and I also wouldn’t have seen half the bands I’ve seen if it wasn’t for streaming.
I have a Qobuz subscription but I still prefer to buy downloads.
I like to own the music I listen to - it gives me more of a relationship with the music.
Qobuz is used to review the albums then if I like what I hear I’ll shell out on the album.
Interesting question.
Started with downloads from iTunes, later 7 digital, Bandcamp, Linn, Amazon then primarily Qobuz due to the excellent Sublime discounts since we could have a UK subscription, along with a few less frequently used ones for classical and Juno.
As much as I prefer ‘purchasing’ a download I buy less these days for several reasons:
1 - I’ve bought many things ‘on offer’ which I rarely listen to
2 - Cost of living price rises meaning I’m ‘tightening my belt’
3 - Perhaps most importantly, I had an old naff NAS for local streaming but really can’t be bothered to maintain one, backup storage or invest in a fancier new one. I even have several options available to serve audio including Raspberry Pi setups, old Macs etc, but it’s all hassle I can do without these days.
I haven’t downloaded anything for years. I’ve had Tidal, Qobuz (which I left due to a crazily organized music library), and still Tidal.
Me too