Support your favourite musicians - stop streaming
Feb 5, 2022 17:00:20 GMT
MikeMusic and Barrington like this
Post by Slinger on Feb 5, 2022 17:00:20 GMT
Nobody is going to stop streaming, the title of the thread is nought but a cheap ploy to draw you in. 
I'm talking about CDs mostly these days though, although it could just as easily apply to vinyl, and cassettes, which are experiencing a limited revival I read earlier today. Even FLAC album downloads can count.
Do you know what you don't get with streaming? The joy of collecting, the joy of "ownership," which some of us have never lost. Yes, I know that with streaming you can choose virtually any album in the known universe that's been released during the last millennium, but you can't get quite a few of the CDs and vinyl I own (or, some would say, want to
).
You might be able to listen to - for instance - the latest Del Amitri album. I can not only listen to it, but I have an autographed copy which I bought from the band's own website, thereby putting money into their pockets rather than Spotify's. I own that, and it's comparatively rare.
Gary Moore - How Blue Can You Get, the "Deluxe" edition came boxed, with 4 guitar picks, a couple of coasters, and more. There are more, similar, examples.
I've got the first two parts of a trilogy (I'm waiting to hear when the final part is to be released) by ex-Whitesnake guitarist, Bernie Marsden, Kings, and Chess. They are also autographed and come with a guitar pick bearing the name of the album(s). Again, Bernie Marsden's CDs were purchased from Bernie's own site, and put money back into his pocket directly and the extras were only available that way.
I can quite understand why things like that might not matter to other people, but I think it's cool, and it appeals to the ancient record collector - I actually used to buy Record Collector magazine every month back in my vinyl days - in me.
On a side note, it's also great to be able to swap the odd comment with Bernie, the Del Amitri guys, and quite a few others (Stray guitarist Del Bromham for one) on Farcebook. Albie Donnelly, leader of Supercharge, and a very tasty sax player, is another Liverpool fan.
There are many more examples, like purchasing the two newest Gryphon albums via Bandcamp as downloads, for instance. Until I became "friends" with one of the guys from the band I didn't even know they were still recording. OK, not actual physical media, but it's an alternative way of putting a damn sight more money back into the artists' pockets rather than filling the coffers of a streaming giant.
There are many more examples of physical media I own that "normal people" have never heard of, and that would probably never pop up on a streaming service as a "suggestion," for me. I like keeping my ear to the ground these days, and "friending" some of the guys (usually guitarists) whose work I enjoy. Perhaps you saw the comment (posted here) I made to Gordon Giltrap a while back, suggesting a duets album featuring him and his mate, Albert Lee. It was decent of him to answer at all, let alone give the suggestion some degree of credence. I look forward to living long enough to buy the CD.
I actually met Gordon, years ago, and he's a thoroughly nice guy, so I wasn't surprised at all that he took the time to reply.
I should say, here and now, that with very rare exceptions, I do understand that being "friends" with someone on Farcebook is about as real as moon cheese, but most of the guys I "know" are my age, or older, and still have a healthy respect for their fans (some of them are probably just grateful that some eejit remembers them) and do take the time to answer queries, and swap comments with us fans. Daft perhaps, but it also serves to make one feel more connected to their music. There is perhaps one guy whose albums I own, Jim White, who I think I could probably call more than "just" a Facebook Friend, but that's awfully rare.
Anyway, before I ramble on too far, I'll tell you one last thing you don't get with streaming. You don't get the shiny new Davy Johnstone (Elton John's long-time guitarist) CD, that you'd forgotten that you'd pre-ordered, pop through the letterbox to start your day off with a smile.
I am an inveterate collector of the various physical manifestations of the music I enjoy or even am simply prepared to take a chance on enjoying, and have been for 50 years. It's a safe bet I'm never going to change. Streaming is still ripping off artists.
I'm talking about CDs mostly these days though, although it could just as easily apply to vinyl, and cassettes, which are experiencing a limited revival I read earlier today. Even FLAC album downloads can count.
Do you know what you don't get with streaming? The joy of collecting, the joy of "ownership," which some of us have never lost. Yes, I know that with streaming you can choose virtually any album in the known universe that's been released during the last millennium, but you can't get quite a few of the CDs and vinyl I own (or, some would say, want to
).You might be able to listen to - for instance - the latest Del Amitri album. I can not only listen to it, but I have an autographed copy which I bought from the band's own website, thereby putting money into their pockets rather than Spotify's. I own that, and it's comparatively rare.
Gary Moore - How Blue Can You Get, the "Deluxe" edition came boxed, with 4 guitar picks, a couple of coasters, and more. There are more, similar, examples.
I've got the first two parts of a trilogy (I'm waiting to hear when the final part is to be released) by ex-Whitesnake guitarist, Bernie Marsden, Kings, and Chess. They are also autographed and come with a guitar pick bearing the name of the album(s). Again, Bernie Marsden's CDs were purchased from Bernie's own site, and put money back into his pocket directly and the extras were only available that way.
I can quite understand why things like that might not matter to other people, but I think it's cool, and it appeals to the ancient record collector - I actually used to buy Record Collector magazine every month back in my vinyl days - in me.
On a side note, it's also great to be able to swap the odd comment with Bernie, the Del Amitri guys, and quite a few others (Stray guitarist Del Bromham for one) on Farcebook. Albie Donnelly, leader of Supercharge, and a very tasty sax player, is another Liverpool fan.
There are many more examples, like purchasing the two newest Gryphon albums via Bandcamp as downloads, for instance. Until I became "friends" with one of the guys from the band I didn't even know they were still recording. OK, not actual physical media, but it's an alternative way of putting a damn sight more money back into the artists' pockets rather than filling the coffers of a streaming giant.
There are many more examples of physical media I own that "normal people" have never heard of, and that would probably never pop up on a streaming service as a "suggestion," for me. I like keeping my ear to the ground these days, and "friending" some of the guys (usually guitarists) whose work I enjoy. Perhaps you saw the comment (posted here) I made to Gordon Giltrap a while back, suggesting a duets album featuring him and his mate, Albert Lee. It was decent of him to answer at all, let alone give the suggestion some degree of credence. I look forward to living long enough to buy the CD.
I actually met Gordon, years ago, and he's a thoroughly nice guy, so I wasn't surprised at all that he took the time to reply.I should say, here and now, that with very rare exceptions, I do understand that being "friends" with someone on Farcebook is about as real as moon cheese, but most of the guys I "know" are my age, or older, and still have a healthy respect for their fans (some of them are probably just grateful that some eejit remembers them
) and do take the time to answer queries, and swap comments with us fans. Daft perhaps, but it also serves to make one feel more connected to their music. There is perhaps one guy whose albums I own, Jim White, who I think I could probably call more than "just" a Facebook Friend, but that's awfully rare.Anyway, before I ramble on too far, I'll tell you one last thing you don't get with streaming. You don't get the shiny new Davy Johnstone (Elton John's long-time guitarist) CD, that you'd forgotten that you'd pre-ordered, pop through the letterbox to start your day off with a smile.
I am an inveterate collector of the various physical manifestations of the music I enjoy or even am simply prepared to take a chance on enjoying, and have been for 50 years. It's a safe bet I'm never going to change. Streaming is still ripping off artists.
