i absolutely prefer going to actual stores for music. specifically, i love going to record stores – i love music on vinyl – but it’s pretty expensive, and i’m pretty much jobless.
but stores that sell music in any physical format are the best. first of all, i absolutely hate only having the mp3 version of a song. hate it. music is personal, and maybe i’m just being silly, but just seeing the song come up on my itunes? absolutely not satisfying. and wait, paying for something i can’t even hold? no thank you. also, i’m a total sucker for album art, and having it just as a ‘jpeg’ online does not do it for me.
then there’s the whole aspect of just clicking onto an album and buying it, or even worse, buying part of it. albums were not made to be split into little pieces. an album is an album and a single is a single. there is an intended difference. if a band only has one song i like, i might download it. but if i actually like a band, there is no doubt about it – i will buy the album.
i think the internet is a great way for smaller bands to sell their music, because i guess it’s cheaper and easier for them to get their music out, but as for buying everything on mp3? i won’t do it.
i could literally write a (poorly-structured) book on my hatred for the way technology has affected music purchases