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1) How many CDs/Albums do you own?
I own about 40 cds, 3,000 12"s (about 500 of which are albums) and about 200 7"s. And probably about 400 mp3s and a couple of crates of tapes...
2) In an average Month, how many CDs/albums do you buy?
Varies wildly. If I've got bookings I'll buy about 20 singles a month. If I don't, probably 4-5. When I go back to edinburgh, where the second hand shops are better then I'd normally pick up 10-20 albums.
3) Do you make your average purchases at a chain store, mom & popper, on the street or online?
The majority of my stuff I get from specialist vinyl shops. About a third of my collection comes from charity shops and second hand dealers. I also get sent some stuff by record companies (very occasionally) and have bought online from Dustygroove once or twice.
4) what percentage of the CDs you buy are used?
Again, I don't buy cds, but about a third of my records are used. All the 7"s are second hand.
5) what percentage of the music you listen to exists solely on your harddrive (or initially there)
Nearly all the hip hop that I buy, I listen to on mp3 first as it comes out in america a couple of weeks before it's available here. Also I record mp3s onto minidisc, so probably 90% of what I listen to day to day comes from mp3 as I don't get much time to sit at home playing records.
6) How many times, on average, do you think you've listened to a particular CD in your collection?
I couldn't possibly guess. Because most of my stuff is singles, probably quite a few times, but I do own some that I've only listened to once or twice. Plus I very rarely listen to albums all the way through - vinyl albums are split onto two or three discs so it's a pain in the arse.
7) How often do you buy stuff without hearing it first?
Very rarely. I don't read music press, so I rely on in-shop listening to find out what I like. Dance music shops always have a couple of turntables with headphones for you to listen to stuff before you buy it. The only exception is charity shop records, which as they only cost around 50p each I will buy if they look like they might be good, or even if I just like the cover. I'd normally go on who the producer and the label are, and what period it's from - usually gives a good idea of style if not quality.
8) what do you think is a "fair" price for a new full length CD?
CDs should be used for promotional use only - plastic pieces of crap. Fair price for a 12"single should be around £4 or £6 for an import. The fact that I am sometimes forced to pay £8 just for one fucking song really gets my goat.
I do worry about my music consumption. I have more than enough records that I love to just cycle through them until I die. I wonder sometimes if I buy new stuff more because I identify myself as someone with a large and up to date record collection, rather than because I really actually want more records.
I'm actually deliberately going to give up DJing for a while as I think it's fucking with my relationship with music. I don't want to have to worry about whether something is played out or cheap, or whether it'll get people dancing. I think this is why I end up listening to my mp3s more than my records - because they're free and instant you can make really deeply personal little mixes that are exactly what you yourself want for a particular moment. Which is really what all your music should be like.
I also worry that people like me can to an extent fuck artists over. I hustle so much for free and/or cheap stuff - particularly in charity shops, that I definitely contribute far less money to the industry than someone who buys as many records as me ought to.
On the other hand I mostly buy stuff by people who get very little media attention, so I definitely support the starving artist contingent... |
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