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Saturday, June 16, 2012

My Brief Music History/Saving Money on Music

I am a HUGE music fan!  I have had a passion for music since I was 11 years old (1988) when I bought my first cassette tape of Debbie Gibson's album Out of The Blue.  Since then, technology has changed quite a bit in the deliverance of music.  When I first started out in 1988, I amassed a nice collection of cassette tapes with a few vinyl records.  Once cds (compact discs) were introduced, I switched the majority of my cassette tapes to cds, and amassed a big cd collection.  Now, in 2012, not only do we as a society have cds, we also have mp3s and digital music that you can download on your computer, Ipod, Ipad, etc..etc..etc.. Even though my wife has both cds and digital music on her itunes account and on her ipod, I am still strictly "old school"---I only have music on cds. There's nothing like holding a physical cd with its booklet in hand---being able to preview the lyrics before listening.

However you listen to your music, it can get expensive being able to listen to music and to  amass a collection of music.  So how does one save as much money as possible?

First, the cheapest way to listen to music is to go to your local library. Most county and city libraries offers the opportunity to check out cds.  I often go to my library's website and place on hold cds of different genres.  It's a great way for me to sample new artists and to listen to artists I already love!  The only downside to this is there tends to be a long wait on new and popular releases!  Despite this, it is a GREAT way to save money!  You may listen to a cd at the library and decide you don't like it.  That saves you atleast $14 if you had bought that at a retail store.

Second, another cheap way to listen to and build up your music collection is to shop at a local pawn shop, or a thrift store.  I went to my local pawn shop several weeks ago, and ended up purchasing four cds for 99 cents each!  And they played perfectly!  I have also bought used cds from some local thrift stores where they range in price from $1.29  to $1.99. Whether you go to a pawn shop or a thrift store, the important thing you need to do is to look at the cd itself and see what kind of condition it is in.  If the cd has scratches on it,  you do NOT want to buy it no matter how cheap the cd is!

Third,  similar to what I mentioned above,  a cheap way you can purchase music is to purchase it online.  One of the best places to purchase music online is through Amazon.com.  Amazon has a wide variety of music/artists.  They also offer music in different formats such as cds and mp3s.  Occasionally, they also offer it in vinyl.  They also offer new and used copies of cds.

The first question to ask w hen you are online is : What format am I looking for?  If it is a cd, then when you are on amazon.com, you may want to consider buying the cd used. There are sellers on amazon.com that offered used high quality cds for very cheap prices.  Most used cds will range from 1 cent to $9.99.  You have to pay for shipping when you buy used, but it is still way cheaper than buying in a traditional retail setting. If you don't want to buy used, only New, then you can still get good deals from retailers on amazon.  For example, Amy Grant's cd Legacy...Hymns&Faith sells new at the price of $6.40 from seller Movie Mars on Amazon.  You have to pay a shipping fee of $2.98, but still cheaper than going to the store. Also, if you are buying new, you can purchase the new cd straight from Amazon itself and if you purchase $25 or more in new cds then basic shipping is FREE.  However, even though it is free, you may have to in many cases pay a little more for the cd itself. However, with some smart searching, you can even still get some good deals from amazon itself.  For example, Crystal Lewis has a cd in new condition from amazon.com for $5.00 and if you purchase $20 more, you get free shipping!

But let's say you don't buy cds.  Say you only purchase mp3s online.  Can you still save money?   Yes!  The majority of the time, the mp3 version of a whole album is CHEAPER than a brand new version of a cd.  For example, on amazon,  Crystal Lewis's newest album Plain and Simple sells for $13.71 for the cd; however, as MP3 it sells for $8.99..that's a saviings of $4.72!  Plus, there's no shipping cost!

The advantage of buying an mp3 version of music is that you don't have to purchase the whole album!  If you want you can pick and choose which songs  you want to download.  If you are only interested in one song on an album, such as, "You" from Kim Boyce's  cd As I Am you can simply download that song from amazon for 99 cents.  You can also do the same thing on Itunes.

The disadvantage of buying mp3s of music and album is it's not as personal.  You don't get an actual hard copy of a cd, plus you don't get an actual cd booklet you can hold in your hand.

So whether you are a cd person or mp3, you CAN save money on music!  IN what ways have you saved money on music???


1 comment:

  1. I remember cassettes! main part of my childhood/teen years. They were so inconvenient! haha. But I loved when CDs came out. I miss collecting them but I don't miss taking off that sticky paper and exchanging CDs every time I want to randomly listen to different artists and having to be super careful not to scratch the CDS! I'm a clutz! I love digital music. If I travel, I can bring my entire library without having to actually carry a case or anything. and I like putting it on shuffle so you never know what song/artist will be next. And mostly amazon mp3 albums go on sale randomly. I usually buy entire albums for 7.99!

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