Making the Leap
Not that I haven’t bought plenty of music online, but I’m more likely to get the CD of a band I really like, for the sake of completeness. I want the liner notes, the album art, and everything that comes with it. just seems like a fuller experience. The online purchases are usually reserved for difficult-to-get recordings or higher-risk music - things I haven’t heard before that fill out my monthly eMusic allotment easily.
The break seems to be the new Roots album, and it’s motivated by a few factors:
- PDF liner notes (and the brevity of those liner notes compared to past releases
- Bonus track not available on CD or by separate purchase
- I bought it before the record stores were open
I don’t think I’ll be going to buy the physical copy now - it’s a great album, dark and fierce without being alienating, but I’ve also already got my copy. I’ll give it a few more listens to decide if the appreciation in sound quality is worth it, but the sale was already made. Between this album’s liner notes and the lyrics included in the new NIN single file, it seems to me that online purchases are only one step away from replacing most physical sales - higher quality file downloads. Once I can purchase lossless, it’s over.
Exception made for great physical packaging, of course. Gimme a box set like the Miles Davis Bitches’ Brew or the Sly Stone reissues, and I’m on it.