Quote Originally Posted by bigG
I simply abhor downloads and MP3s and all that stuff! Running CD stores, and the "holdit in your hand" CD experience out of business! Browsing CD stores, and, before that, vinyl LPs, was all a HUGE part of the music buying experience...the fun, the enjoyment! Aw, shucks! :
Well, I know you once ran a music store so I understand your take on this. Remember there's also the side of the recording industry artificially inflating CD prices (in a move that can only be described as "contempt of Congress") while simultaneously giving less to the artist that recorded the music in the first place.

I live in a small town. There is no place to buy CDs within about a 25 minute drive. None. Zero. So to buy a CD I need to make a 60 mile round trip--adds up with gas approaching $3 again. Plus, try finding a Joe Bonamassa CD within tactical nuclear weapon distance of here. Good luck! There's one store (a Barnes and Noble) that had one Bonamassa CD. One. His "Live from Nowhere in Particular." Too bad I was looking for another one. The only way I could get "Sloe Gin" was to pay $20 to get it at his concert. Expensive, yes, but at least the money was going directly to him.

With Amazon I can get the stuff I want quickly, cheaply, easily, and legally. I'm buying more music this way. Why the heck would I want to waste my time driving or using some Torrent of a questionable nature (and dubious legality) when I can get it this way? Plus the reality of digital delivery systems means that artists can go more directly to the fans. They don't need the RIAA anymore. That's a good thing. Hopefully that means more good music instead of just rafts of dreck trying to ride the latest trend.