Replying without reading the whole thread - however, wanted to get my $0.02 pesos before delving into the discussion
I certainly agree with
@BobbyTimmons - reason I have remained a fan of physical media and will remain so as long as it does not disappear and I am still able to play it.
Especially for classical music indeed. While in CM (classical music - abbreviation I will use from now on) the covers might not be as arresting as some of the prog rock covers (though some are!) - I love the liner notes.
It is also true that IMHO physical media encourages the of focus that
@BobbyTimmons refers to. Again, haven't read the thread, but I predict there will be a few arguments
1.- Some people will explain AGAIN the benefits and convenience of digital files and of COURSE also the economic advantage of streaming. Believe me THEY ARE SELF EVIDENT!
Really, please, no need to explain again. I assume that those who have switched love that convenience... no need to post "I switched and never looked back" (good for you!)... that is evident too!
2.- Some people will explain that technically there is no difference between CD and the digital file of the same rate and that higher rates are available thru files and streaming (assuming you can hear the difference - debatable of course ! Different discussion!
). We also know that, otherwise we would not be in this forum!
3.- Some people will indicate they have the discipline, concentration and attention to music/albums/works as a whole, using files and/or streaming... We are not saying is impossible nor that physical media is required... it is just that is better encouraged by physical media
4.- Last, and I hope that I see none of these, I am afraid some people will refer to the love of music - meaning, they will say "I love music, I don't need all the non-sense of packaging etc - you, vic, are a a collector, not a music lover". I really hope none of that pops up. This is the "no true scotsman" fallacy to put it simply.
How did I get here? I must confess - started out as a file person, well - due to family obligations and other circumstances I ended up with no system! For a long time, the only thing I had for music was an iPod classic and decent earbuds. I did have a significantly big CD collection, as I came of age in the height of the CD era, amassed during that time. Fortunately, did not have to get rid of it. So yes, started ripping. As circumstances changed, I went back to having a system. Because of the iPod past, it was file based. Seemed easier to just continue on that path, right?
Not with CM! A big pet peeve is metadata. Out there on the internet is horrible. From the tendency to organize by artists, bad handling of multi-composer and/or multi-artist and/or multi-work albums, people out there submitting metadata using THEIR OWN conventions (some very dumb, I will say), it is a mess for CM. Spotify is no better, specially with box sets. I do not subscribe to Tidal or Qobuz (which is classical oriented, from what I understand) they might be better. The experience with Spotify was abysmal.
All these meant I spent a long time fixing/updating the metadata to something it would make sense to this CM lover. Very time consuming. I felt I was spending more time ripping and fixing that listening. And with the amount of CDs, it felt like it would take a lifetime.
Listening on Spotify even more frustrating. One specific example, Solti's Ring - every file was named "Solti - Der Ring Des Nibelungen" and that's it! Things might be better now and they fixed that release somewhat after I complained, but that left a sour taste. And it was ONE release. It wasn't like they went back to review all their classical collection.
Decided to get a CD player. Yowsa. It was like a whole world opened. All those thousands of CDs waiting to be ripped suddenly became available. Like getting thousands of new CDs at the same time!
And from then on fell in love with physical media again, including a like for vinyl, influenced by some millennial co-workers.
Rather spend the time listening, not ripping and fixing metadata. That in turn lead me to the realization of what
@BobbyTimmons describes in this first post. It does help to concentrate and focus on the work at hand. This makes it that much more enjoyable
There a few more issues... Buying files feels like I am buying nothing... Releases disappearing from streaming services... how little artists gets from streaming services - specially for artists in boutique labels; they get more money from a vinyl sale than from thousands upon thousands of streams. Better way to support the artists whose work we profess to love.
Of course, to all of the above there are counterarguments. And YMMV, but this post is getting too long. I would say, though, that I like these kind of threads. They are the right kind of subjective discussions!
Now on to read the thread, to see how many of my "predictions" came true!
v