I own the iPod nano : 2 GB / 500 songs
I change between 30% and 50% of my playlist one time by week, so it takes me a lot of time to import my CDs and update the whole thing.
I'm glad not owning 10,000 songs on it, it would drive me crazy.
I don't have an MP3 player and I do not store music on my hard drive. But I do have approximately 30,000 songs sitting on my shelves in the form of some old technology devices, you may have heard of them, they're called "Compact Discs" or "CDs" for short and apparently the sound quality is far superior to MP3s.
I have a few thousand songs on my computer. I began scanning all my cds to the harddisk some years ago, but it was boring, so I stopped. Those that I got in, however, are still there.
I also use CDs. Mainly because I still kind of feel that I don't really own an album if I only possess it in the form of a bunch of data on my computer.
After all, if the file got corrupted or something, and I'd have to pay to download it again, how can I really say I own that piece of music? Especially since half of the recordings you can find have a bunch of DRM so you can't even really burn them on a CD.
I have no idea how many CDs I have now. Counting all the ones I'm selling off to reduce the amount for the move, probably around 500-600.
I guess to clarify, 99.5% of the songs on my Ipod come from CDs I have uploaded to Itunes. The remaining 0.5% consists of songs I've purchased online (usually when something is out of print). I listen to CDs in the car, but if I travel or exercise, my Ipod is my baby.
Yeah, I don't consider what's on my computer to be a true representation of how much music I own. It's just stuff that I've accumulated and tried out. I own about 400 records and about 300 or so CD's.
You guys need some perspective. A thread like this is pointless; I don't know any of you personally, and therefore (and with all due respect) I could care less how many songs you legally (or equally likely, illegally) own. And besides that, even if everyone here is speaking the truth - which, from a psychology standpoint is highly unlikely, given the sample - the only thing this thread becomes good for is bragging.
I don't see why anyone would lie about something like this though. I could upload my winamp playlist if you want.. . I think it's interesting to see how much music everyone has.
"I don't see why anyone would lie about something like this though."
Because they can, that's why. People lie, especially when they can get away with it, and also when it'll make them appear to have more than they actually do. Paul - you're a lawyer... tell these people. You probably deal with mistrust everyday.
"I could upload my winamp playlist if you want.. . I think it's interesting to see how much music everyone has."
You mean, "how much music everyone has stolen"? While we're at it, we all might as well share photos of the houses we don't live in, the cars we don't drive, the hot girlfriends that we don't have, etc. None of it can be substantiated. The only thing that you can't fabricate in a place like this is intelligence and musical knowledge. And that's the only thing that matters.
Actually, that really doesn't matter much either. When did you lose track of the fact that music is fun and that talking about music or how many records we have or songs is fun?
Jesus Anthony, how many threads do you have to invade with your holier than thou opinions?
First it was the Best of 2008 thread where everyone was merely expressing their favorite albums of the year. What started out as an interesting thread about the best albums and offered some great suggestions, turned into a condemnation of everyone that had posted because heaven forbid some of those albums may have been obtained illegally. Now it seems anyone that posts their favorite albums in that thread must also include a note assuring everyone that he or she actually purchased the album.
And now you take a fun thread like this one and again try to make everyone feel like losers because we actually care about music and stupid stats like how many songs someone has. Sure anyone could be lying but who cares, its fun to discuss topics like this.
If you want to start a thread about how people who download music illegally are soulless bastards, I promise I will not attempt to overtake the thread and belittle your opinions. And I'm not saying your opinion shouldn't be heard but I really fail to see how your opinions on file sharing have any place in a topic about the best music of 2008.
So please get your sand out of your vagina and loosen up a bit. This is music forum and there's no reason we can't all remain civil. By my count you've already contributed to damosuzuki leaving, insulted Richard because of his mainstream tastes, and insulted Moonbeam several times because he didn't share the same view of The Beatles as you.
And you may finally ask why some person who's never posted would say something now. Well I may never actually post but I have been a frequent viewer of the AM forums and have gained some great suggestions from everyone here. I consider my musical knowledge too limited to contribute to many discussions along with the polls conducted but consider them a great resource for new musical discoveries. I'd just like for it to continue that way, cause this can be a great site for someone like me or Moeboid who's "to hear new music" threads have been as informative to me as they hopefully have been to him. (Though Anthony couldn't resist also taking a shot at him for his lack of Acclaimed albums owned, and the fact there was nothing in it for him.)
So please keep your negative opinions to yourself. If you feel the need to vent about how terrible downloading music is or how stupid people are who actually like to discuss how many songs they own, please do so in another thread. Some of us enjoy reading the opinions of others on different music topics no matter how stupid you feel the topic might be.
"how many threads do you have to invade with your holier than thou opinions?"
Well, as many as those threads that require it. (I'm purposely ignoring the rhetorical nature of that question). And wow, I've got quite the dossier - thanks for keeping track, Jay. I'm flattered. Just wondering... since you're counting and all, how many times have I uttered the phrase "too much _____ for it's own good"?
Moonbeam - I assume the worst about people because frankly, I'm a realist and that's my nature. And generally, people aren't as moral and decent as they claim - and this is several years of psychology talking here (although, you can choose whether or not to believe that that's my actual background. I don't care either way.)
Honestly though, I'm a nice guy and my intention isn't to shit all over these threads by preaching the gospel that illegal downloading and P2P filesharing is evil and to condemn all those who engage in it. What I do hope to achieve, however, is that by occasionally letting my voice be heard (which may be too loud and/or too frequent and/or too harsh, by my own admission) I'm motivating those who engage in filesharing/P2P to reevaluate their actions, which may result in them spending more money on music, which means more artists being compensated for their work, which means we can keep talking about music.
My opinion on illegal downloading (which has seeped into these recent 2008 threads and this one) stems from the fact that as a musician, and it really upsets me to know that there are people here who frequent this website, but seldom compensate the very bands/artists that make a site like this exist. We wouldn't even be talking about any of these bands, had the public not bought their records. And what really kills me is that right now, there's probably some amazing band/artist somewhere in the world who will never be heard, or acclaimed (and therefore not talked about!) because people would rather steal their work than pay for it. But you see, those here who aren't musicians or artists will probably find it difficult to really comprehend or understand this position; to some people, art (ie. music) is ubiquitous - it just exists, and they don't question it. The issue though, is that it takes a lot of time and money to create music, and that sort of dedication, perseverance and craft should reward and encourage it by duly compensating those who enjoy the fruits of it.
And yes, I know that right now we're in the midst of a paradigm shift within the music industry, but until the colossal goatfuck (ba-doom tsss!) that we call the "music industry" can be sorted out, I'm still going to despise the current state of music and those that perpetuate it. Although, maybe I should be praising illegal downloaders for causing the shift? In the meantime, however, I will calm down about it, and to that end, keep my mouth shut about my views on the subject. But also, cut this cantankerous Canadian a little slack, will ya?
Anthony, I share your opinion about illegal downloading, and I too have railed against it and believe that it is a worthy cause. But I would venture a guess that most of the posters here seem avid enough about their music to purchase it. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic, but I think the *real* danger to the financial survival of musicians lies more with casual music fans who don't see the value in music than with people who spend their time discussing music at length online.
This issue is just one of many that I think casts a dismal light on the music industry, and I actually think it would be good to start a thread about these issues, like this nugget:
I recently wanted to purchase a CD single (Duffy's "Mercy") from a store that advertised it online, only to find that you can't actually purchase any physical single, but rather download the track and a bunch of others at a "download station" and have it burned onto a disc of miscellaneous tracks. I really wanted to cry!
Anthony, I don't mind hearing your point of view when we're actually having a discussion about downloading. I hope you continue to voice it during those times. It just was uncalled for here when people were merely having a little fun. No big deal though!
23,248 with 12 "illegal" tracks currently in route.
I swear it's true.
I love music. I need to hear as much as I can. I can't afford to buy everything, so I download a lot. I ALSO buy a lot of music. I like having CDs better than intangible files. If the whole world were full of people like me, there would be a lot more rich musicians. So I think it is BS and simple-minded to say that "illegal" downloaders are killing the music industry.
During times when I am downloading a lot of music, I find that I am also buying a lot more music.
I don’t really have an opinion about it, because honestly, I’m not sure how pervasive the practice is nowadays. With computing technology (eg. filesharing/P2P sites, and now, YouTube and Songza), the mixtape is basically rendered an extremely primitive means of recommending music to another person. If there’s something that you’d like another person to hear, there’s much more efficient ways of going about it than the laborious and unnecessary task of creating a mixtape.
Well, technically, creating a mixtape necessitated taking a piece of music and making an illegal copy, which isn't wrong in and of itself. But I'm assuming that you mean "a mixtape for someone else", and if that's the case, creating a mixtape for someone else's use is a violation of copyright law. So, as a black-and-white issue, comparably, it's as wrong as downloading a piece of music illegally through a P2P site.
That said, because of technical limitations (and the time-consuming nature of creating a mixtape, specifically, cassettes) the severity of the problem is almost incomparable to the problem that has arisen in the internet/mp3 age. However, just because it was more time-consuming to create a mixtape doesn't mean it's less of a crime. Stealing is stealing. And correct me if I'm wrong, but the music industry (ie. RIAA) had a big issue with mixtapes when it was happening. But now, they have an even bigger issue on their hands.
Do you have a problem with people who get their music at used record stores? Somebody who buys a used record gets to listen to the music without any compensation going to the artist.
Jesus Paul... I don't know. Obviously record stores are legally allowed to operate and exist as businesses, so I don't question it. I guess at one point the artist was compensated (the initial purchase), and upon that record being sold to the used record store, the intial owner reliquishes the rights/usage of that record, which essentially gets transferred to the new owner of that piece of music.
Awwww, Anthony's getting frustrated with people asking him questions even though he's the one who keeps bringing it up.
Anthony, more than your actual position, it's your tone that I think is troublesome. You seem to assume that there's nothing complicated about the issue and that you're obviously in the right here, especially because you're a musician (mad props) and you think the issue affects you directly. I've spoken to many, many musicians, from local nobodies to very high profile artists, about downloading and almost all - I'd say over 90% - tell me that they don't consider it to have any effect on their income (almost all money from record sales goes to record companies) and that if anything it probably boosts their sales. Now they're not necessarily right, but the fact that you're position is actually the minority might suggest that things aren't quite as black-and-white as your "stealing is stealing" mantra wants to make them out to be (this is how neocons think). Remember Robin Hood? What is "stealing" anyway?
From a completely different angle - that of music journalists and fans (us) - I think that P2P promotes the democratization of music criticism. As we all know and have come to accept, the majority of music criticism, and especially the majority of lists, comes from white middle class dudes - Henrik and schleuse discussed this at one point. With P2P, anyone and everyone can have an enormous music collection, relatively regardless of income, etc. (of course there are other factors, but still). This, I think, and hope, will have a pronounced effect on music journalism in the years to come - we'll begin to see more and more diverse lists that represent rap/hip-hop, world, country, metal, etc., i.e. music that typically appeals to lower-income demographics, in greater numbers.
I'm still on the fence about "critical democracy". I like that everybody is a critic which leads to a better feel of what is actually good but I also don't like that good critics get lost in the shuffle and that music criticism as a job is close to done. Who needs a critic when you can decide for yourself what is good without having to buy all of the albums?
Yeah, I'm not sure why you kept getting bombarded either.
I was actually just curious due to similar music industry wranglings around cassette tapes back in the day.
It's a pretty complex thing, all of it. I was in a band once, and the more we promoted ourselves through free distribution (MP3s, free CDs alike), the more we sold. It probably is toughest on mid-tier acts (somewhere between tiny indies that will never be heard and groups like Radiohead that can distribute free music and also sell albums in large quantity).
As far as my iPod -- it's just a greatest hits repository from my collection. (Which I've bought.) Great to put on shuffle while shoveling snow.
So, from time to time, I need to delete a few old albums to make room for some new ones.
I-Recently deleted :
The National / Alligator
Spoon / Ga Ga Ga Ga
Bruce Springsteen / Born to Run and Darkness (Why???)
Oasis / Be Here Now
Built to Spill / You in Reverse
II-Next to be deleted :
Elvis Costello / My Aim is true or "New Model"
Deerhunter / Weird Era Cont
Coldplay / Complete Works!!!
Bon Iver / For Emma
Modest Mouse / About 1/2 their works!
III-The Untouchables!! :
1-Beatles / Everything!
2-Radiohead / Everything (Pablo Honey already deleted)
3-Animal Collective / Almost Everything
4-The Beach Boys / Pet Sounds + California best of
5-The VU / Everything (YES!!...Even Squeeze!!!)