How much did you spend purchasing music last year?

[Jazzpunk]

The current thread debating the pros and cons of file 'sharing' and whether or not people who illegally download music should be prosecuted, got me to wondering about how much my fellow slutz are spending on purchasing music.

I have a feeling the amount one personally spends directly coincides with where one stands on the topic of legal action being taken against those who illegally download.

I spent over $1600 last year on CD's/LP's. How about you guys?

[warhead]

With a few exceptions, you will likely find this thread to be more age related than any illegal downloading. Last year I did zero illegal downloading but probably spent less than $100 on used CD's at a local record store.

10 to 15 years ago I was buying albums all the time. Seems as though lately it's not as appealing and many guys my age I know don't buy as many records as they used to either.

I probably had more CD's ruined in my car by kids stepping on them or mistreating them, versus what I bought. So I'm probably down a bit.

War

So I'll start things off and say:

<$100 / AGE 35

[Gregg Sartiano]

Less than $500. I don't think $500 is a breaking point, even for "avid music-buying members of the public."

I mean, if a quarter of the U.S. population buys one CD a month @ $12-13 bucks apiece, the result equals the $11 billion domestic CD sales market.

With this in mind, considering there are well over 200 million cell phone subscriptions in the U.S., if one half of those had a $10 surcharge attached that allowed FREE WIRELESS DOWNLOADING OF ANY MUSIC (not-burnable, but who cares -- it's streaming on demand -- with Bluetooth connection to the home media center AND the car stereo!), then the entire domestic industry would be REPLACED WITH SOMETHING WITH HIGHER REVENUE, and all that would remain would be for ASCAP and BMI to cut the checks based on wireless subscription DL's.

If advertising and traditional "hard media," and deluxe/gift/box set merchandise was added to that revenue stream, the music industry would experience a "gold rush" instead of the current doldrums.

[Jazzpunk]

Originally Posted by warhead

With a few exceptions, you will likely find this thread to be more age related than any illegal downloading. Last year I did zero illegal downloading but probably spent less than $100 on used CD's at a local record store.

10 to 15 years ago I was buying albums all the time. Seems as though lately it's not as appealing and many guys my age I know don't buy as many records as they used to either.

I probably had more CD's ruined in my car by kids stepping on them or mistreating them, versus what I bought. So I'm probably down a bit.

War

So I'll start things off and say:

<$100 / AGE 35

Age 34 and over $1600 spent last year. Maybe just has to do with the joy of seeking out and hearing recordings you've never heard before than age? Not a slam buy any means, just speculating.

[Pohaku]

I'm in my 50s and probably buy less music now than I did when I was younger and had less disposable income. I don't download music - mostly because I don't care for MP3s. Mostly it seems a function of not being overly impressed or inspired by a lot of new music. I find I'm still replacing vinyl or buying remastered reissues with "bonus tracks." I probably spend between $1,000 and $1,500 a year on CDs.

[C/G]

Originally Posted by Jazzpunk

Age 34 and over $1600 spent last year. Maybe just has to do with the joy of seeking out and hearing recordings you've never heard before than age? Not a slam buy any means, just speculating.

I'm 35 and spent roughly $1000 on CD's. I burn the odd thing and if I like it I end up forking out the cash for the CD. I still like looking at liner notes, cover art, lyrics ect.

[DontLetMeDrown]

Those number jumps are pretty big. Maybe smaller increments would give a more accurate breakdown: $600, 800, 1k, 1200, etc. I spent around $500 which, to me, is kind of a lot-- definitely more than most of my friends are willing to spend. I think the prior year, I was closer to $700. Most of my friends are buying around 1 or 2 cds a month. I don't know if I've ever met anyone who drops 2k a year on CDs. I wanna be that guys friend.

[Pohaku]

Actually with buying new and used CDs at varying prices, it's kind of hard to reconstruct a total amount. I figure I buy between 2 and 3 CDs a week with the sporadic spree and holiday shopping for gifts (I inflict my taste in music on my younger nieces and nephews at Christmas).

[pbell]

I refuse to download music, unless I'm getting it off iTunes. I think I bought in total 10 cds in the last year, 2 of which would have been albums put out by friends, and 1 as a gift. Of those albums I would say only 2 or three were new releases if that. I have however probably purchased about 20 songs off of Itunes.

Truth is there has not been a lot of new albums put out that I have wanted to purchase, and I don't have a lot of money for new CDs these days. If I'm going to dish out the money for an album I either have to love the band/artist, or be fairly impressed with the album. These days I'm trying to catch up on albums that I haven't bought in the last 20 years, some that were put out like 30 or 40 years ago!

FWIW I'm 23.

[henryrobinett]

15 - 2K for me. Maybe more, I don't know. Age - 51. I also don't buy CDs very much. When I do it's Amazon.com. A lot of iTunes. I don't believe in illegal downloads.

But I also probably spent more on music last year than I have in many years. I had stopped puchasing or even listening to new music for years. The convenience of iTunes contributed to help bring me back.

[thenoiseflower]

Oh man..... at least 1500-2000 dollars

importing a cd can sometimes run up to 40-45$, so maybe more....



Money well spent

[feilsch_hering]

Age 35, i've spend at least something between 1500 and 2000 EUR on Vinyl, by far the best format for me.
Occasionally i used filesharing for discovering some new stuff, but i allways buy the good records on Vinyl later.

[Sid Viscous]

I buy a few CDs a month just like I've always done.

[T_R_S]

I get free music from record companies, award shows etc ...
I did a tour last year. Someone dropped over 200 CD's in our bus. thumbsup

[max cooper]

99% of my software are LP's.

I get irked if I have to buy a CD or (worse yet) an MP3.

One thing that I think about iTunes/etc. is that people are sloppy with their data and end up buying stuff repeatedly.

This will probably be a good thing in the long run.

Which leads to: what's the most times you've bought an album (different formats, etc.)?

[Argonaut]

Age 31. Spent at least $2000 on vinyl and CD's last year, mostly vinyl. Importing can get expensive. Also did a fair amount of file sharing.

[sinsay]

More like $100-$150.

[robd]

Probably about $300. I am constantly rooting around the internet looking for new music,and I consider it a very good year when I can find more than a handful of albums that are even worth the time it takes me to listen to them. I mostly wind up picking up reissues of old ethnographic recordings.

[xj32]

I am 37 and on average I purchase about 4 cds per month...aside from being a musician/engineer I am a music adict and collector...

Paul

[cjogo]

I have probably spent less than $250 in 40 years of purchasing LP/cassettes & CD..still have the 5 records & the 20 CD's. Bought my first 4 song 45 > in about 1966..hangs on my wall.