Support/Buying Merch et cetera...

[iblamesummers]

...as a moral imperative? i mean IDK what to call it at this point. i don't feel i have any OBLIGATION to "support" an artist. last year i bought ZERO records & i think i attended maybe 2 shows. i have absolutely no QUALMS about d/l whatsoever. the only real incentive i may have for enthusiastically buying merch @ a show is becuz it literally may be teh ONLY way i could get my hands on a particular release. & w/ the abhorrent trend of labels not repressing OOP records i may just start buying doubles. but i mean other than that...

anyway. not trying rant. just airing it out.

peace.

[my bloody television]

Since I don't really buy records anymore (mostly because I've grown to think that recorded music is essentially free at this point) I like to support artists by seeing the ones I really like/appreciate in concert and/or buying their merch if I have the cash at hand. I find that a much more direct way of supporting the artist anyway. Buying a major label record these days is not going to land an artist that much $$$, whereas seeing them live and buying their shit is much more effective.

I will say though, that if there's a small band I like, or a friend's band that just recorded a record I'll buy their album because most of the time it's DIY or pretty close to DIY and they'll be taking in most if not all of the money.

and I don't think it's a moral necessity either. you can do whatever the hell you please, I just know that as a performing and recording musician support is a nice gesture.

[tuffteef]

i do like to buy vinyl i do download alot
i try to go to shows as much as possible but im broke as a joke or no one wants to go

if its overpriced i go meh and download it lol i feel like a cruel man though

e.g really wanted a circle pit 7" it was 15 dollars too pricey for me

[Bellyheart]

I try and buy merch for outta town bands...or at least donate at a house show for touring acts. Gas is expensive and that stands whether I like the music or not. I hope it comes back when I'm outta town.

[iblamesummers]

while we are on the subject, what is up w/ the vinyl fetish thing now. i think tapes are kind of a niche/underground thing ATM but i think that may be well on its way to become fetishized as well. some of teh best music i own is on either CD-R or CompactDisk: i enjoy ALL formats so i mean IDK BUT you know what i'm talking about...

[Astricii]

Since I don't really buy records anymore (mostly because I've grown to think that recorded music is essentially free at this point) I like to support artists by seeing the ones I really like/appreciate in concert and/or buying their merch if I have the cash at hand. I find that a much more direct way of supporting the artist anyway. Buying a major label record these days is not going to land an artist that much $$$, whereas seeing them live and buying their shit is much more effective.

I will say though, that if there's a small band I like, or a friend's band that just recorded a record I'll buy their album because most of the time it's DIY or pretty close to DIY and they'll be taking in most if not all of the money.

and I don't think it's a moral necessity either. you can do whatever the hell you please, I just know that as a performing and recording musician support is a nice gesture.

This.


I always support the bands around town I feel deserve it. See my thread about denver

If you don't want to support a band that's fine. be it because you don't like them or you just don't feel like you owe the world anything.

while we are on the subject, what is up w/ the vinyl fetish thing now. i think tapes are kind of a niche/underground thing ATM but i think that may be well on its way to become fetishized as well. some of teh best music i own is on either CD-R or CompactDisk: i enjoy ALL formats so i mean IDK BUT you know what i'm talking about...

we made a limited run of our new 2 song single on cassette. because we were too poor for cd-rs and found a box of 100 15 minute cassettes on Craigslist for practically nothing.

[iblamesummers]

IDK. what happened to being excited about a record. not being morally "compelled" into buying a record. i am bit moar sympathetic to buying merch from touring bands cuz touring is rough. but even still. that's not the reason why i buy releases, zines, band tees et cetera...

let's face it. in this country either yr art is awesome enough to sustain itself, you work a day-job to support yr art or someone else--benefactor, trust fund, stripper girlfriend--supports yr art. onus is on teh artist. that's teh way this country works.

peace.

we made a limited run of our new 2 song single on cassette. because we were too poor for cd-rs and found a box of 100 15 minute cassettes on Craigslist for practically nothing.

i am fine w/ recycled tape releases. i'd be a hypocrite to state otherwise. just airing stuff out: 2010 will be teh year of computer chips placed on yr primaryauditorycortex w/ 1 Tetrabytes of music & 160 GB iPods will become OBSOLETE.

[Astricii]

IDK. what happened to being excited about a record. not being morally "compelled" into buying a record. i am bit moar sympathetic to buying merch from touring bands cuz touring is rough. but even still. that's not the reason why i buy releases, zines, band tees et cetera...

let's face it. in this country either yr art is awesome enough to sustain itself, you work a day-job to support yr art or someone else--benefactor, trust fund, stripper girlfriend--supports yr art. onus is on teh artist. that's teh way this country works.

peace.

we made a limited run of our new 2 song single on cassette. because we were too poor for cd-rs and found a box of 100 15 minute cassettes on Craigslist for practically nothing.

i am fine w/ recycled tape releases. i'd be a hypocrite to state otherwise. just airing stuff out: 2010 will be teh year of computer chips placed on yr primaryauditorycortex w/ 1 Tetrabytes of music & 160 GB iPods will become OBSOLETE.

True I don't buy albums or merch from bands I play with or anything like that unless I really do like what they're doing.

You're right to not feel compelled to buy something just to be nice.

and personally, (I don't think the tapes do our mix justice) I spent 20 fucking hours working on that thing by myself teaching myself Logic in the process. it sounds better on a CD damnit!

[iblamesummers]

and personally, (I don't think the tapes do our mix justice) I spent 20 fucking hours working on that thing by myself teaching myself Logic in the process. it sounds better on a CD damnit!

i think like last year i got Third by Portishead on CD at a Salvation Army in-town for like $2 & i think that album sounds amazing on compact disk. i don't know what it sounds like on vinyl but i'm not clamoring to have it on that medium. i think some stuff sounds way better on CD & eventually all the merits that CDs bring to the table are gonna come to bear w/ audiophiles & ppl whom make music et alia when it falls out of fashion. some of the best mind-blowingly amazing music i own is on CD-R or CompactDisk.

[jrmy]

If I like a band's music enough to listen to it repeatedly on my own my own computer/stereo/whatever, I buy it. That said, I am all for making mixes and trying to turn people on to the music I like and think they'll like.

[smile_man]

If I could easily buy the cds that I wanted to I would, but, I don't have any qualms about dling. I wouldn't expect anyone to pay for a record that I made.

while we are on the subject, what is up w/ the vinyl fetish thing now. i think tapes are kind of a niche/underground thing ATM but i think that may be well on its way to become fetishized as well. some of teh best music i own is on either CD-R or CompactDisk: i enjoy ALL formats so i mean IDK BUT you know what i'm talking about...

I feel that any release by Constellation records would be better on vinyl, that and other post-rock/ambient lo-fi bands.

[nad]

I still buy albums for the artwork (aka read it for the articles). As long as bands care about the entire artistic package, such as Deathspell Omega, Tool, Silver Mt. Zion, King Crimson, et al. then I will continue to do so. I've always been an album-centric music-listener product-buyer type of guy, so the liner notes, artwork, and even jewel case aesthetics actually matter to me.

I think last year was the first year I downloaded more than I purchased though. Maybe because I played a shitload of unpaid shows, or perhaps because I was just broke.

[Bellyheart]

Constellation is definitely better on vinyl. I love the sound of vinyl. The frequencies are so different, and now those USB turntables allow you to capture that and upload it to a computer, WHAT?!

Tapes are definitely something I've enjoyed and always will. Love the quality of them as well. The bass is so mucky but sounds so awesome. CD is really pure and that's respectable as well, but let's face it. The imperfections create character that makes the experience more personal.

[brummy]

Yeah I don't buy too many CDs anymore, but I do buy vinyl and tapes (just bought 5 new ones from Electric Tapes, really pumped on that). As a musician, I'd rather just give my music out for free and whoever likes it enough to buy it can do so, but I'm not gonna be a Lars Ulrich and try to ruin music for everyone. I'll try to buy merch at shows if I have enough money, and I try to go to shows as often as possible.

[Enoch-Fox]

tapes and tapes