I’ve sold plenty of CDs over the years — but no longer will. My physical media is MINE. Also, new vinyl has gotten absurdly expen$$$ive. When it’s available, if I want to support an artist (almost always independent), I’ll buy the CD. I buy both new and used CDs, still, along with used vinyl. (New vinyl for me is very rare.) And you better believe I buy new blu-rays and used DVDs; if something stops streaming whether audio or video is effectively ceases to exist, and I’m not letting that happen, as much as possible.
You’re right - new vinyl is ridiculously expensive. I want to buy the new Sophie Ellis-Bextor album on vinyl but it’s almost $60 when you add shipping from the UK!
I never used to worry about art disappearing but I’ve seen it happen too much lately to chance it on the stuff I really love.
I used to have a large CD collection, around 2500 discs, and in the late 2000s I decided to get into the digital game. After ripping them all into mp3 (variable bit rate to save storage space; I wish I’d had the space to rip them all to 320kbps mp3 or flac) I ultimately ended up selling or giving them away.
Twenty years later I regret the decision. While I still have access to all of the digital files on my server, I miss having the physical media. Recently, after retiring to the UK, I bought my first really nice sound system which came with a CD player. So I’ve started buying used CDs again, primarily filling in albums that aren’t available on streaming and I’m rediscovering the joy in playing physical media again.
So many great points here. I had a large VHS collection, DVD collection, books, CDs and Cassettes (and vinyl)… I still have them in sooooo many boxes in storage in my basement. They take up a lot of physical space - I have purchased a lot of my favorite films on digital platforms, but yes the digital forms are less permanent. There are some things I just don’t want to ever be without!
I’ve sold plenty of CDs over the years — but no longer will. My physical media is MINE. Also, new vinyl has gotten absurdly expen$$$ive. When it’s available, if I want to support an artist (almost always independent), I’ll buy the CD. I buy both new and used CDs, still, along with used vinyl. (New vinyl for me is very rare.) And you better believe I buy new blu-rays and used DVDs; if something stops streaming whether audio or video is effectively ceases to exist, and I’m not letting that happen, as much as possible.
You’re right - new vinyl is ridiculously expensive. I want to buy the new Sophie Ellis-Bextor album on vinyl but it’s almost $60 when you add shipping from the UK!
I never used to worry about art disappearing but I’ve seen it happen too much lately to chance it on the stuff I really love.
I used to have a large CD collection, around 2500 discs, and in the late 2000s I decided to get into the digital game. After ripping them all into mp3 (variable bit rate to save storage space; I wish I’d had the space to rip them all to 320kbps mp3 or flac) I ultimately ended up selling or giving them away.
Twenty years later I regret the decision. While I still have access to all of the digital files on my server, I miss having the physical media. Recently, after retiring to the UK, I bought my first really nice sound system which came with a CD player. So I’ve started buying used CDs again, primarily filling in albums that aren’t available on streaming and I’m rediscovering the joy in playing physical media again.
So many great points here. I had a large VHS collection, DVD collection, books, CDs and Cassettes (and vinyl)… I still have them in sooooo many boxes in storage in my basement. They take up a lot of physical space - I have purchased a lot of my favorite films on digital platforms, but yes the digital forms are less permanent. There are some things I just don’t want to ever be without!