Music Consumption

Who takes the time to go to the store and buy CDs anymore? Most of us download our music-- legally and illegally. Our music is something that is disposable. We can download it, listen to it, delete the tracks we don't like, or erase the album as a whole. When an artist creates an album, they intend it to be a whole composition-- meaning, they want you to listen to it beginning to end. They placed certain tracks in specific locations of the album for a purpose. When you play the album on shuffle or only choose to listen to one song off the album and ignore the others, you aren't taking in the artist's sole intention of their work. Have we lost our appreciation of music as an art form? Many choose to not even buy a full album, they might download the one song the artist has on the radio and not listen to what else the artist has to offer. In the same token, artists know how people are listening to their music so they can work hard on one song that they want to be put out there as a single and then rush to make a couple other songs to make a complete album.

How I consume music, well, I am a downloader. I used to spend my weekly allowance at the record store. I would spend a good amount of money. Think, 2 CDs, that's almost $40! Now, I choose to not pay for my music, I feel guilty for this, but why pay when it is easily accessible for free. Do I think it is stealing? Sure. But since it is something that isn't a physical object, it doesn't feel like I am stealing. I do attend concerts of the bands I like that I download for free. I sometimes buy their merch and this contributes more to the band than actually buying the CD. The CD betters the record company, rather than the actual artist.

Although I do download music, it is a disposable thing, and I get a few albums a week, I do listen to albums in their entirety. I have an iPod, but I can't listen to it in my car. I burn most of the albums I download onto CDs and play them beginning to end while driving around.

I am positive that record stores will be in non-existence in a few years. I find this sad, but I can't complain since, like many other, I don't visit these places anymore. It will be interesting to see the face of the music industry in another ten years.