A reader writes in followup to the previous post:
"Would you be willing to share where you PURCHASE indie downloads? I am thinking of publishing a few songs that I have. But I am unwilling to go the route of itunes or realplayer because of the costs."
First of all, wow! An actual discussion could start here. Second of all, my answer: At risk of bringing the RIAA down on me, the truth is I haven't purchased any. My MP3s have been acquired informally through friends or listservs or found on various labels' Web sites. MP3 blogs are a good source, too. I've nothing against Itunes but most of the things I like are often off the radar of such services.
This may not be much comfort to someone who is actually looking to sell music. But I am probably not their ideal target market anyway. I think of MP3s as a way to sample music without having to make a commitment. While my tastes are buried underground I am still very much in the traditional "try an MP3 but buy a CD" mindset. I still want to have that CD to add to the wall.
(Of course, I am lucky in that I can afford to buy a new CD if I want to. When I was a student, or unemployed, that wasn't the case. But then would I have been able to afford a computer or an IPod anyway? Hmm, chicken or egg?)
I admit this is not a very 21st century perspective (I still buy the newspaper, too). But as I've noted here before, I am a nut for format. I like THINGS. For me, an MP3 is still a little too intangible to pay for, as there's nothing to hold and a crash of the hard drive could render it inoperable.
Probably this is not the answer my correspondent was hoping for. Anyone else out there have any suggestions?
Posted at February 24, 2005 06:47 PM