The Christmas ipod & CD's vs downloads

Christmas has passed and I finally own the new toy I’ve been wanting for so long, the ipod. Not just any ipod either, I had to get the biggest one possible, the 60 gig ipod. You see, I have a CD collection of somewhere around 600 CD’s that I will now be able to take with me everywhere I go. And to me, that is exciting!



After going through the whole process of importing my CD’s and finding album artwork then receiving some itunes money (thanks Mom and Dad and Mark!) I started to wonder which method of getting music was the best.

Since the first CD I ever owned (Led Zeppelin II and/or Steve Miller Band) I have loved tearing off the plastic, then delicately removing the CD from the tray and listening to it while pouring over the liner notes and artwork. The smell of the newly printed paper, the perfect-ness of the CD and jewel case, the anticipation about whether or not this album will become a new best friend or not are all great things about buying a new CD. I just love it! New music is always very exciting to me. This is why I own as much as is reasonably possible for my musician’s income.

Then along came the mp3 revolution. I jumped in there right away checking out Napster and finding some great songs. It always seemed like a great way to find new music but I never felt like it was quite right to be able to get all of that music for free. So when itunes came along and made it accessible and legal, I felt like that was what I needed to support. I may not be able to download any song I want for free, but a 30 second clip is usually enough for me to be able to tell if I like it or not. And at 99 cents a song, it sure seems like a deal to me.

So now I have the ability to listen to clips of just about any song I want as well as check out what other people think of that song and what other songs they like. This is great for a guy like me who loves to find new artists. Plus, there is a lot of content available online that can’t be bought in stores. Album artwork and sometimes videos are often included when you buy new albums too.

With all of this in mind I think I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to buying ‘albums’ the CD is still preferred. When it comes to buying singles or checking out new bands or finding content that can’t be found anywhere else then online is the way to go. For instance, I just bought a Jack Johnson album of 22 songs that are all in video format for $10. I think that’s a great deal that I wouldn’t have been able to find in any store!

So I’m not sure what your preference is. Just keep supporting the artists you love by buying their music one way or another. That way there’s a chance you’ll hear more!

GL