Tidal and buying music

Just wondering what other people do as my better half asked me the question “If you have Tidal and access to all of that music, why do you still buy it”. OK that had me stumped for a minute, she understood about buying records as they sound so much better. But I still purchase CD’s and download stuff. Obviously it’s good fun rummaging around in the charity shops as you never know what you might find. But I use Tidal to search for stuff and try it out and if I like it I’ll buy it, but is it my imagination that albums and tracks on Tidal do disappear or are not playable due to copyright restrictions and the ever changing nature of licensing etc.

When I do buy a CD it’s ripped on my old truth Unitiserve SSD and the CD filed, probably never to be played again.

Tim

I like music, it’s a key part of who I am.

Spending $20-$30 per month on a subscription doesn’t come close to covering the pleasure I get from listening to music. I’m fortunate to be able to afford more.

Spending on physical media, concert tickets, merchandise and even digital downloads I can otherwise get via my subscription puts money into an industry I want to see supported.

Ian

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+1

Though I don’t get out to gigs much, I like to buy downloads and physical media (and occasional other merch), both new and secondhand, in addition to streaming, to put a bit more back into the industry that I get so much from.

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I feel I’ve made a rather large contribution to the industry over the past 50 years. I have a substantial library (not huge by the standards of others on audio forums, but still). There are quite a few works and/or recordings I’ve purchased more than once,

I listen to streaming services to enjoy music I suspect I will never listen to again (or rarely). Music that if it disappeared would cause me little or no regret. I have maybe 15 albums of Vivaldi, a very small portion of his output. It’s fun to randomly choose others on works of his on Qobuz, but I would be content with just my 15. And to be honest, there is very little new popular music that interests me, and I get what I need from the radio (WFUV in NYC - albeit at 128 KBPS).

Every so often I will find a recording on a streaming service or the radio that I want to own, but that is not the main reason I listen.

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Discussed to death years ago on the old forum here: Naim Audio Forum Archive - Music Ownership vs. Subscription Streaming

I don’t think I’ve changed my opinion at all in 8 years.

I have a dj friend always bemoaning about his stacks of plastic.
He says he will sell it, but I like to remind him he will only use the cash to buy more.
I’ve told him to find a remote forest. Dig a massive hole. Wrap them all in bin bags and bury them.
Using a covert sign to mark the spot and some way of encrypting it’s location for future treasure hunters to decipher.

Whilst I don’t subscribe to any music streaming service, my answer to that question wound be because I want the music I like to be available to play whenever I want, and in perpetuity. Services like Tidal may come and go. Their catalogues are known to change from time to time, sometimes with music disappearing, whether because of licensing changes or any other reason, and internet interruptions are not unknown for many people. The last thing I would want would be to go to play an album I love and particularly fancy hearing only to find it unavailable, whether that be temporary or permanent. My store of ripped and downloaded music, well backed up, is a resource for life.

Thanks for finding it, I did search but was unsuccessful.

Tim

I am discovering music on my iPad, using Bandcamp, ITunes, Qobuz or YouTube.
Then I buy the download album , sometimes the whole album, sometimes only tracks.
I am no more interested in streaming Tidal, neither Qobuz, which sound lesser and which give me headaches because I have to click and click and click again, before finding something interesting.

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