Buying used physical music

Been sort of feeling bad lately buying used music on Amazon for like $3 a CD when none of it goes to the artist whatsoever.

But not quite bad enough to drop $17 for a new CD with expensive shipping where still barely any money goes to the artist

Should I be feeling bad? Should I be just buying used? Is this a first world problem and I need to shut up?

lol

Don't feel bad; the CD is 'used' because it sold in the first place and provided the artist with a profit at that original point of sale. A lot of artists are uploading their back catalogs to Bandcamp now so if you feel guilty about buying second-hand hard copies it may be worth checking to see if you can purchase directly from the artist/label that way.

  On 8/20/2015 at 9:55 AM, Goiter Sanchez said:

Don't feel bad; the CD is pirated because it sold in the first place and provided the artist with a profit at that original point of sale. A lot of artists are uploading their back catalogs to Bandcamp now so if you feel guilty about pirating it may be worth checking to see if you can purchase directly from the artist/label that way.

  On 8/20/2015 at 9:55 AM, Goiter Sanchez said:

Don't feel bad; the CD is 'used' because it sold in the first place and provided the artist with a profit at that original point of sale

  On 8/20/2015 at 9:55 AM, Goiter Sanchez said:

A lot of artists are uploading their back catalogs to Bandcamp now so if you feel guilty about buying second-hand hard copies it may be worth checking to see if you can purchase directly from the artist/label that way.

this

  On 8/20/2015 at 5:35 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 8/20/2015 at 9:55 AM, Goiter Sanchez said:

A lot of artists are uploading their back catalogs to Bandcamp now so if you feel guilty about buying second-hand hard copies it may be worth checking to see if you can purchase directly from the artist/label that way.

 

this

 

yes i wonder what's the point in buying cds when you have mp3 and flac...

there's this dude from my class who wants to buy every afx cd so i told him, i would sell him mine, but he said no, he wants them new!!! new cds???

what's the difference between new and old cds i asked him , i could understand if he was buying vinyl...

i should remind you he's in the same course i am, music technologies so it's very dumb of him wishing that...

Cds are more round than flac/mp3 thereby providing a more well-rounded listening experience.

i do this a good bit at lrs. usually only if it's an older/harder to find release.

feel okay since i'm supporting small businesses like the do gooder hipster i am (or try to be)

i'll scan the used dance section of my local shop tomorrow when scooping deejay selek

  On 8/20/2015 at 6:04 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

there's this dude from my class who wants to buy every afx cd so i told him, i would sell him mine, but he said no, he wants them new!!! new cds???

what's the difference between new and old cds i asked him , i could understand if he was buying vinyl...

 

i should remind you he's in the same course i am, music technologies so it's very dumb of him wishing that...

I think I've stumbled upon threads among audiophiles about old hi-fi CD players (Nakamichi, Sony, Onkyo, etc.) from the 80s and how they "sound better" with redbook CD-ROMS than CD-Rs ripped onto computers blah blah blah etc.

  On 8/20/2015 at 6:04 PM, th555 said:

Cds are more round than flac/mp3 thereby providing a more well-rounded listening experience.

lol

  On 8/20/2015 at 6:04 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

there's this dude from my class who wants to buy every afx cd so i told him, i would sell him mine, but he said no, he wants them new!!! new cds???

what's the difference between new and old cds i asked him , i could understand if he was buying vinyl...

 

i should remind you he's in the same course i am, music technologies so it's very dumb of him wishing that...

Collectionism, fetishism... It doesn't make much sense but it is what it is

Good luck finding sealed copies of some of his older stuff tho

*buys shrink wrapping machine*

*lists all idm CDs in collection on discogs as 'sealed'*

Buying a CD/vinyl new is most effective if pre-ordered or around release date, as it helps bump it up the charts (should it be elligible). Otherwise, the effect will be neglible, unless bought directly from the artist's website.

Personally, my opinion of buying a used CD is I'm giving a new home to an orphaned disc. It's come from perhaps a bad or unloving home, and I'm giving it a new place to live, where it will be cared and loved for. Otherwise, all those 2nd hand CDs just go in the trash. That seems far sadder to me than buying new.

The absolute best way is to buy the album/merch from artist in person at a gig, so money goes directly in pocket (depending on how much the venue/record label demands from the artist for being allowed to sell stuff). It's a pretty good feeling to buy a vinyl direct from a band and know that you've funded their drug habits directly, instead of the drug habits of some record label slob.

  On 8/20/2015 at 10:02 PM, hello spiral said:

*buys shrink wrapping machine*

 

*lists all idm CDs in collection on discogs as 'sealed'*

Probably half the amazon sellers do this anyway lol. I know most of the resellers clean the CDs so they look brand new...which I'm fine with, because scuffed CDs suck.

  On 8/20/2015 at 10:08 PM, Bechuga said:

.

  On 8/20/2015 at 10:02 PM, hello spiral said:

*buys shrink wrapping machine*

 

*lists all idm CDs in collection on discogs as 'sealed'*

 

Probably half the amazon sellers do this anyway lol. I know most of the resellers clean the CDs so they look brand new...which I'm fine with, because scuffed CDs suck.

lol yeah. Few years ago I bought a copy of Ecobondage on CD from discogs sealed. Seeing as it was released in 1995, I am highly skeptical about it being factory sealed. CD was mint though so meh.

CDs are good if you like to own physical copies of stuff but don't want to bother with old(er) stuff like vinyls and tapes. Usually not much more expensive than the digitals anyway so why not.

I'll get a CD if I really, really love an album and it isn't available in any other format. There are only a few I can think of where this is the case, though, and all of them are limited edition CD-Rs. One of them had to be sent to me personally by the artist because it isn't for sale anywhere.

  On 8/20/2015 at 6:04 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

there's this dude from my class who wants to buy every afx cd so i told him, i would sell him mine, but he said no, he wants them new!!! new cds???

what's the difference between new and old cds i asked him , i could understand if he was buying vinyl...

 

i should remind you he's in the same course i am, music technologies so it's very dumb of him wishing that...

To be fair, older CDs can end up not working at all, which is super frustrating. I have a couple of Stereolab CDs that have "disc rot"/CD bronzing that skip a ton towards the end.

But he probably wasn't thinking of that, so yeah not sure what he's thinking. Remastered versions?

This is one of my favorite things. Fair enough about wanting to support the artists; that makes sense.

But man, as the CD format is dying out you can get great stuff for like no money. I got like 5 CDs today at Goodwill for 10 bucks total.

Just within the last few weeks I’ve gotten some Keith Jarrett on ECM, a couple Bruce Haack, the Mouse on Mars “Twift” single, the entire Bob Dylan “The Original Mono Recordings” box set, some Moving Shadow mixes, Flanger, the Chocolate Industries “Rapid Transit” compilation (Gescom, Prefuse 73, Funkstörung), Plaid, Nightmares On Wax, etc. etc. etc.

Granted those all weren’t two dollars apiece, but it’s still a great way to hear a lot of music. It’s a problem for finding a place in my house to pull all these CDs though. I basically just secure rip them in XLD and then file the discs or play ’em in the car.

Remember when Garth Brooks thought he could stop the used music industry? moron

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-08-13/business/fi-23386_1_garth-brooks

Just gonna drop an ol' Rephlex saying in here

"Support the artists you love by purchasing a new, original, authentic copy"

It's not just about the artist, record labels, distributors, etc. all participate and are deserving of your $$$ in most cases especially smaller labels

No reason to feel bad about buying used direct or other a platform that scrapes a small % off though, since the seller will probably turn around and spend that $$$ on more music, and if it's a small record shop you're selling to they need that $$$$

Something like GameStop is way mo' fucked up, buy new at $60, then sell back for $10-$30 store credit, they sell new for $50, makes sadness for everybody but gamestop

Love bandcamp. Most of the dosh can go direct to artist/label minus bc cut. Second option for me is label specific sites. For older stuff where there ain't digitals available, I'll go the 2nd hand route. I justify it in that I am getting into an artist/band and if they release any new stuff/reissues, I'll pick them up. Anyone ever used Murfie.com? Interesting site and concept.