Quote:
Originally Posted by Lateralus
To be honest I think this kind of practice is kinda outdated. Most people I know buy their music digitally, and are still supporting the music scene by legally purchasing digital downloads. Physical copies are becoming less of a demand because like Pete said, they are generally more expensive than digital downloads (as you're also paying for the packaging, cover art, and distribution), less convenient, and not as efficient in terms of sustainability. And I don't have a problem with this at all, I buy most of my music digitally. It is just the way society is going.
As far as supporting record stores, over here there aren't really many independent record stores that specialise in purely music. There are mostly chain stores that sell music (CDs) as well as DVDs and other audio/visual devices and items. They are in no threat. All of the smaller, independent record stores I know of make their money by selling obscure stuff that you can't get online, concert tickets, and other merch.
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How can you justify this statement when 90% of what gets sold through indie retailers belongs to independent labels? Who's going to pick up those albums once indie retailers are gone -- big box retailers and chain stores? It's not just about the music retail industry getting smaller and smaller. Indie retailers are a major artery for those independent labels to distribute their music. Without their support those labels will undoubtedly fail -- just look at Def Jux.
And I don't know if you're aware of this but record labels themselves receive about 8-12 cents on the dollar per online download. The artists themselves: much, much less. With almost 90% of that money funneling directly into iTunes and Amazon's pockets, how can you justify spending egregious amounts of money there and still call it "supporting the musicians"?