crazed

1. Could you describe yourself a little bit? Where are you from? How old are you? What do you do for a living? What kind of music do you mostly listen to?

I'm from Indiana, 57 yrs young, unemployed (though I have a pt time/temp job starting in August at the university). I listen to a lot of different kinds of music: blues, jazz, rock, world, soul, funk, indie, psych, prog, country, electronic, pop, metal, whatever- I love to mix it up genre-wise.

2. As a music lover, do you still buy CDs or vinyl records? Why or why not?

Yes, I buy more than my share of CDs & vinyl. I have a pretty good home music system and love the sound of CDs & vinyl.

3. What would encourage you to pay for music if it is currently not the case? Is customized content relevant to you (special editions, bonus tracks, one-on-one with artist, etc)? Would you pay extra for this? why?

I only buy special editions & bonus tracks if I can hear them in advance and feel they're worth the extra cost. Which is not often and when it is, I buy the CDs used at a bargain price when I can find them.

4. Do you feel that file sharing software are cannibalizing music sales or on the contrary, promoting them?

I see both sides. I'd hope people can pay when they really like music. But if they can't afford to, I can understand that as well.

5. Until the end of the 90's, the music industry had been based on a business model that didn't include the Internet. Nowadays, things are a lot more different. How do you feel about the new ways of providing and selling music, such as ITunes, Rhapsody or Spotify? Do you use them?

I don't use iTunes, Rhapsody or Spotify. I have bought downloads from Amazon and through Bandcamp. I have mixed feelings on the results of the sound quality.

6. How do you mainly discover new music and artists today? What kind of channels do you mainly use (Radio, Shows, Spotify, Youtube, etc.)? Could you describe the different processes you adopt to discover new artists?

Music forums, online reviews & shops, music magazines. If the review or music description looks interesting, I'll check out the artist through whatever site(s) they offer samples on.

7. Do you follow artists that you like through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? Do you try to connect with them, by commenting or "liking" their posts? If so, why?

No, I have no interest in social networks.

8. Are you a member of an online community about music? If so, what do you get from being part of this community?

Besides Music Banter, I'm a member of several forums, though most are genre-specific. There's a lot of great discussion, suggestions and fine folks on the forums, and even though I read more than I post, I completely enjoy being a part of each community. Considering that most of my friends in real life listen to music from a certain era (the '70s), if it weren't for these forums I'd have no one to chat with about all the great music that's out there regardless of era, genre or style.