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Cranky ol’ techie opinion: the model where you buy the music, download the music, and own the data was — and still is — the best model for creating a personal music library.
Not streaming. Not LPs. Downloadable high-quality digital.
PSA: The iTunes Store still exists. As does Bandcamp…for now. And they’re lossless and DRM-free.
(Re this from @48kRAM:)
https://oldbytes.space/@48kRAM/111247925740746509
I treat streaming services a bit like broadcast radio: if I want to sample something new, or just listen to what has my ear right now, I’ll stream it.
But if I want something in my library, if I want to know that I can hear it in the future and have it continue to be a part of my life, I download it. Better sound quality, it won’t disappear, and the artist gets paid.
In case anyone was wondering why I said “not LPs:”
I love the ritual of record players. I love the sense of preciousness that comes from a large, fragile physical artifact. I love the liner notes. I LOVE the cover art.
But in addition to being fragile and impossible to back up, they do not — contrary to popular belief — have inherently better audio quality. Thread on that here:
@inthehands I bought Cibo Matto's Hotel Valentine on vinyl back when it came out and it came with a download code for the digital version and I think this should be standard for collectors LPs in the modern day.
@inthehands I agree with you though, I do think streaming has a place, but that place is more like radio. A few times a year I'll pay for a month of Tidal just because it's really great at music recommendations. As someone whose biggest musical genres are 80s/90s dance music (italodisco, europop, techno, etc.) it did an amazing job of introducing me to a ton of the less big hits that you'd be less likely to find on your own in the modern day. But there's no universe in which I'd want my entire library to be tied behind a service like that. If anything its best feature was its great Plex/Plexamp compatibility so that I could just have it alongside my mp3 collection.
@inthehands LPs strongest argument for existing is that it’s a great way of showing off the album cover art. CDs are too small, and pixels on a screen is pixels on a screen.
Imho.
I’ve got a few on the wall. Same with LDs :)