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Buy a vinyl album from artists who sell such things, which will get them far more, per album sold, than just about anything else. Your ability to play vinyl is
by Syonyk 3y ago
Buy a vinyl album from artists who sell such things, which will get them far more, per album sold, than just about anything else. Your ability to play vinyl is irrelevant here, and all I'll ask is that you store it reasonably (upright, in a cool place, sealed if you're not going to play it) for future use, since they last "about forever" when well taken care of.
Then obtain the music in some lossless form. FLAC download from the usual sources, used CD on eBay into the ripper, etc.
Though I've also debated just starting to mail checks in envelopes to artists I want to directly support.
It's certainly more annoying than something like BandCamp. But given how "literally everything useful on the internet" either turns into a behavioral surplus vampire or dies (gets killed off), I don't have any better ideas either.
- Lacerda69 3y agoI want a comprehensive directory of all indie/underground music where I can buy physical or digital copies of the music directly from the artist. I need to know that 80%+ of the money goes to the artist. Is there any other platform than bandcamp that offers this?
- 999900000999 3y agoYou can also find artists that do live streams and directly pay them. Buy merch, see shows, etc.
- Lacerda69 3y agosure but not every artist offers this and its much harder to find the individual channels vs having one big index. But if worst comes to worst that will be the alternative for the time being I guess
- lifeformed 3y agoVinyl won't get the most to the artist per dollar spent though. Most of the revenue from vinyl goes to people involved in the production and distribution of the physical record.
- mvdtnz 3y agoThere is no universe in which I "mail checks" (sic) to anyone. I wouldn't even know how to obtain a chequebook, I doubt my bank issues them. It's not 1995 anymore.
- wilsonnb3 3y agoYour spelling of the word “chequebook” makes me think you aren’t American, so it could be a cultural thing but checks are readily available and still somewhat commonly used for large purchases and rent payments in my experience.
- serf 3y ago55% of Americans wrote a check last year.[0] I get being adamant, and I couldn't agree more -- i'd have to be really convinced to mail a check, but let's not act like it's unheard of. [0]:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/almost-half-americans-not-written-120019202.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/almost-half-americans-not-wri...
- ghaff 3y agoI write checks a couple times monthly to a housekeeper and other service people and my bank writes a few more. Writing a check is higher friction than other payment schemes but it’s pretty routine in the US.
- crazygringo 3y agoBut it's absolutely plummeting: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/15/paper-checks-who-uses/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/15/paper-che... Rates of check-writing have been falling relatively linearly since 1995, and at the current rate it will drop to zero by around 2030.
- tarboreus 3y agoWant to make a bet that it's not zero by 2030?
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> I've also debated just starting to mail checks in envelopes What about downloading music normally and buying merch?
- tarboreus 3y agoOn...Bandcamp? Which is what most indie artists use to sell?
- Symbiote 3y agoMost of the CDs I've bought online in the last few years have been through Bandcamp. It was convenient to get the FLAC immediately after ordering, and the CD soon after.
- DragonStrength 3y agoThe issue of course is Bandcamp is the method most artists use to sell vinyl to fans who can’t make it to their live shows. I assume the pandemic led many to support their favorite artists through Bandcamp, but Bandcamp planned for a new reality that was really just pandemic-induced. The issue is Bandcamp enables smaller artists to sell like bigger artists and anything like your “mail a check” solution is so far from the kind of support Bandcamp could provide. I’m more interested in thinking about what “sustainable business model Bandcamp is” than going back to 1990s music industry.
- 15457345234 3y agoThere's nothing unsustainable about bandcamp, it was bought by a company that immediately sold it to another company that was a competitor. It being run into the ground after such a transaction is quite unsurprising. > The following year, after massively bigging up the business, they sold it to Songtradr Does 'bigging up the business' here mean loading it up with technical debt and real debt? Enquiring minds would like to know etc.
- barkingcat 3y agoUsually, if you buy a vinyl, the artist will include a download link for digital files of your choice - I like buying music this way because the vinyl helps the artist, and in turn the artist usually will give you lossless compressed files direct from mastering.