Technology
This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.
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Just curious: why music?
I think you're asking why you can't own music? It's because the vast majority of it is streamed and it's not trivial to keep it. Sure, if you know what Github is you can find all sorts of software to rip the streams, but that's asking a lot from most people who have trouble installing an official client.
There is Bandcamp, which is reasonably priced and I think pays artists well? So some hope there. I haven't really looked at the license agreement, so no idea if they can remove anything you've already purchased (keep backups of your downloads! ๐ )
There's also vinyl records, but new pressings are quite expensive. I buy some old records, but the new stuff I reserve for albums I really like.
I like owning my music so that nobody can take away the stuff I paid for. I've moved streaming services before and there have been gaps in the library. Not to mention, most of the streaming clients are actually pretty terrible. If I just had a bunch of files, I could use whichever audio player I like and not be stuck with whatever crap the streaming provider lets me use.
There are exceptions to all of these things, with varying degrees of compromise, but the general trend is towards licensing everything and us having little to no ownership. And it's entirely possible that places like Bandcamp won't be able to sustain a business in the face of rising costs that the large streaming platforms can handle. Here's hoping that doesn't happen.
Have you considered buying MP3s on Amazon? This is what I do normally.
Maybe something has changed, but I don't think I can buy Amazon mp3s in Canada?
That's a tough one for me anyway. On one hand, owning music is something I value, but on the other hand Amazon is a company I cannot support in good conscience. I feel like the person in the two button meme!
And yet, in my own sort of hypocrisy, I currently use a Google Nexus phone flashed with Graphene. But... I still gave money to Google. Ethics are difficult. Something about no ethical consumption. ๐