Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions What do use for downloading Music

I have a question for anyone who uses downloadable music services like iTunes or Amazon. Do these site also act as a backup for the music you’ve purchased? Like say if you loose the file for some reason can you go back an download it again? Having an offsite backup like that would be a great benefit if those services offered it.

So far I’ve always bought CDs and ripped them to my NAS and just used the CD as a backup. I do like the idea of being able to get individual tracks but am just hesitant about the permanence of them. Guess I’m showing my age here.

When my hard drive crashed I lost all my purchased itunes music and was able to retreive all of it back. I do not remember the procedure I went though to get them back though.
Mel N.

My current stance on pay-per-download is "screw that". I'm not going to be paying money for something I can't hold. I want a physical copy of the product with artwork and whatever else the artist chose to include.

My major beef with pay-per-download services (aside from no physical product) is: What happens when you accidentally lose your collection in 15+ years and would like to download again? You'll likely have to pay again. Especially if the service you used no longer exists or if the records of your past purchases have been archived. If I buy a physical copy of a recording, I have it for as long as I want. I can format shift any way I like and still have a copy years from now if something happens to my electronic copy (or copies). As long as physical copies of media are sold, that's what I'll be paying for.

Just my opinion. Yours may differ :P

I'm with you. I only buy downloads when I can't get it in physical form.

Dude. Don't buy. There's plenty of free po....Oh, we're talking about music. Never mind.

I really set myself up with that one, huh?

You could say you left yourself 'wide open'.

Fair points. The fear of losing thousands of dollars worth of music, whether from technological advance or accident, is certainly justified.

I buy about 80% of my music digitally these days. Roughly on the order of a couple of albums per month. With artists that I really like, I buy the physical CD and/or the SACD. That is, when I really want the Nth-degree of SQ. But for most things, I'm content with the downloaded versions.

Both Apple & Amazon lets you burn your music to CD, if you're so inclined to do so. I do often, mostly for playback in my car (which doesn't do MP3 CD's). True, it's not a pressed CD with the jewel case and the artwork. Matters for some, not for others.

Amazon's MP3's and iTunes+ files are DRM-free, so even if Amazon or iTunes disappears, your music will still play on any device that can process a MP3 or AAC file. Worrying about not having a device that will play those is the same as worrying about not having a CD player anymore to play your CD's. I suppose a day could come, but I'm not really that worried about it. If/when that day is on the horizon, I'm pretty certain that someone, somewhere will come up with some method of transforming the billions of existing MP3 files into magical new FormatX.

It is, however, totally true that it's far easier to wipe out a thousand CD's worth of digital music than it is to destroy a thousand physical CD's. The former requires a few key presses, the latter requires a chipper-shredder, a fire, or C-4 . A robust backup plan is absolutely critical when you have a digital {whatever} collection. If you're not prepared for that responsibility, then keep buying CD's. Keep those 35mm film negatives locked away too. <- note the wink, it's a joke.

But of course, there's a flip side to having digital media. When my co-worker's car was broken into a couple of years ago, the thief stole a slip-wallet full of CD's. Real CD's. Insurance covered the broken glass, and damage to the car, but not the CD's. He was SOL. Had they been self-burned CD-R's from a digital-collection, he could have spent $3 on CD-R's to burn new ones. Even if it had been an iPod full of music, the cost would have been less than having to repurchase those 20 or so CD's that were stolen. The moral of the story is to rip & reburn the CD's that you own if you're going to keep them in a car.

I believe that Amazon keeps a record of whatever you buy and allows you to re-download it whenever you want. I do not think Apple does the same, but they might reset your account if you talk to tech support. But no, I wouldn't count on either company being able to help you 15+ years down the road. Just like Best Buy isn't going to help you in 15+ years replace a CD that you lost.

I've lost more CDs over the years than MP3s. I make sure I keep multiple back ups. Also, I think younger folk will have a much easier time with buying digital media. The idea you need a physical product is going to become (and I think HAS become) a bit behind the times. Really, are you paying 10 dollars for the CD? Hell, I can buy one for 50 cents. You are buying the information ON the CD. Whether that information is on a CD, hard drive, or on a server its the information and the access to it that you are paying for. That said I still love buying CDs...but I can handle paying for amazon's service too. Also, I live in Iraq/Germany so its easier and faster.

I miss browsing through albums and checking out the art.

CDs don't last forever either though. I think if I had a huge collection, I would be tempted to do two full backups. Drives are so cheap now.