wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Richard from Texas May 22, 2008 - 02:30PM

  I shop almost exclusively at Amazon.com whether I am purchasing tracks or actual CDs.

  
  
• [2] Mike from Bed-Stuy May 22, 2008 - 02:35PM

  I buy most of my music via iTunes, but I just wanted to comment on something your guest was discussing. The problem with subscription services is that the DRM they use prevents people from doing what they want with the music they've purchased. The limitations often prevent people from transferring music to certain portable players. Additionally, the music can just "disappear" if the company goes out of business, etc. (e.g. MS PlaysForSure)

  
  
• [3] Gene May 22, 2008 - 02:42PM

  Just yesterday I found emusic while googling a song I needed, and while its selection isn't complete, it still had plenty of attractive aspects, and seemed a good value (1st Month--50 free dls for $10, then 30 free dls, cancelable at any time.) I can always fill in from itunes or amazon.

  They are all in mp3 format, ie, unrestricted, un-DRM'd.

  The only nasty problem I've seen is with older music by still-living artists--you can't tell if the music is the original, or was just re-recorded.

  
  
• [4] EBES from Harlem May 22, 2008 - 02:44PM

  When I was younger, my peers and I had very little music among us. We came of adolescence really just at the Napster/other P2Ps boom. The amount of music we expected not only to consume, but own, grew exponentially. The majority of my friends, now in their mid-twenties, have migrated largely away from downloading, but have not completely abandoned it. We simply cannot afford to spend the money needed for the amount of music we want--but we don't want to cut back.

  
  
• [5] Gene May 22, 2008 - 02:52PM

  I used to not spend on music at all. I only got a CD player recently. I would record on my VCR a few idiosyncratic programs from WFMU, WKCR, then when I listened to the VCR through my stero system, I'd record the songs I liked onto audio tapes (c. 200 of them).

  I didn't know where I'd find these songs anyway, nor the artists. In fact, now that I have access to huge dbs of songs, I _still_ can't find most of my faves (Helen Humes' live version of "Old Men are Fine," "Bridge and Tunnel Girls," a wild Japanese version of "Great Balls of Fire," "File Clerk Blues,"

  etc.

  Yes, I have pretty screwy tastes.

  
  
• [6] Carol from NJ May 22, 2008 - 02:54PM

  Some of us buy very little music because we're radio listeners - in the evening you and Terrance offer a wide selection of excellent music, new and old, no effort for me.

  
  
• [7] Jake Moskowitz from Long Beach, NY May 22, 2008 - 02:57PM

  Re Mike's comment above -

  A couple of weeks back, an Emmy-Lou Harris album that I downloaded a few years ago from BuyMusic.com would not play, because it could not connect to their web site ! Apparently the site was down for a while, but now it works.

  Coincidentally, I just received an e-mail from MSN, that any music purchased by download before some date in the recent past would no longer be validated on-line. It advised burning a CD from the computer with a valid license ! So if you moved the MP3 file to a new computer and junked the old one, you're out of luck.

  As it turned out, MSN's online music purchasing process was so complicated and dysfunctional that I bought my music elsewhere.

  
  
• [8] Ted Shred from Atlanta May 22, 2008 - 03:05PM

  I think a large issue is a growing culture of irresponsibility, from the top down in society... I think there was a time when people would feel guilty for stealing from recording artists, (not everyone that creates music plays live, folks!) but it seems like now there's a glorification of pulling one on "the man", or whatever. I did abscond with music in the past, but I always new the ramifications of this and always felt bad and guilty, and was very pleased when I could finally start ethically supporting the creative musicians whose art I appreciate, and yes in part and parcel, the record companies and big bad music corporations that fostered this kind of talent.

  
  
• [9] Jeremy Shatan from NYC May 27, 2008 - 09:24AM

  I have not downloaded illegally since a brief experiment with allofmp3.com (which is a bit of a gray area). I tend to buy mainly CD's and use Amazon but still enjoy going to a great record store like Other Music in NYC. I also have a 40 song/month subscription from eMusic.com, which is great. I've discovered a lot of new stuff from them - and if I don't like something, at .25/song I can delete it without regret (sorry Dirty Projectors!).

  I still believe strongly in sharing music with peers through mixed cd's and people look to me to filter the overwhelming amount of music available these days. I rarely give out complete albums but tend to compile - my "Spoon, Measured" CD must have gained them a few new fans on the dawn of the release of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga!