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Comment by sen | Hacker News Reader

> Oh man I thought I was the only one who still had a carefully curated digital library... I threw out my CDs a long time ago, but my digital library is my baby. I've been curating this since I was 10. It's who I am!

You’re definitely not alone. I’ve been collecting MP3s since they first began, choosing 1-2 songs a night to leave downloading over dialup. I still have ever MP3 I ever downloaded short of deleting the files from that period where you’d download a song on IRC and it’d be something else named wrong on purpose.

I do use Apple Music for my family/kids, but my MP3 collection is one of my prized possessions and the basis of nearly all my daily music listening.

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Have you ever bought any of that music you prize?

I prefer to not pay record companies to listen to music of long dead musicians, and I try and see as many live shows of performers who are still touring, and I buy their shirts.

Not just record companies, private equity firms now own the rights to a lot of popular 20th century music

I have wasted so much money on music I barely bother with. Lots of stuff is a one play only for me these days and streaming suits that for experimentation. I do pay for ad-hoc streaming but don't get value out of it (time), nevermind the artists. And yet it's still better value than what I used to pay for records.

Music itself has no value now, streaming services killed that. If you like an artist go to their shows and buy their merch, thats how artists make money these days.

If you buy from Bandcamp the artists will get paid, it's not only merch and shows. Shows are not even possible if the artists you listen to don't tour around your area, better to give them some cash buying the digital files than wait for 5 years until their next tour comes anywhere close to you.

If you like an artist/band, buy their music as directly from the artist as you can.

A lot of artists lose money touring. It’s difficult as hell for the majority of working musicians to make a living. If you appreciate them, buy their media, back a Patreon if they’ve got one, etc. Sure, see them live and buy some merch if you can, but that’s not a substitute for also buying their music.

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