I still buy older used music -CDs and DVDs on Amazon but not to many new ones anymore. The sound quality is a lot better with music CDs than a digital copy and they have a resale value as well. Also you get the artwork and liner notes-lyrics as well,and there is something more artsy and deep about owning a physical copy I think.
I have never ever bought a single compact disc (CD) from a store which has songs in my entire lifetime. Initially, when internet was not so popular in my country, we listened to radios and we share songs from one phone to another via Bluetooth technology. My place had an Internet service provider (ISP) who gave us access to the Local area network (LAN). So the entire community used to share songs, movies and other files for free. In todays age, I doubt if anyone buys music, at least I don't.
True, music is now available almost anywhere and mostly YouTube so we don't tend to buy CDs anymore. But, that doesn't mean that the artists don't have any income. In fact, I believe that digital releases and online listening, as well as radio, or any kind of media, and concerts, are their biggest income. So they are actually getting a lot more money than before.
You need to especially watch out for music sharing websites. They are loaded with viruses - often put there by the record companies. Anyway, they are surely not a way to save money - as they can destroy your computer, leading to repair bills.
I believe that we should support artists to keep them going, whether it's through buying their merch, albums, or maybe just attending their concerts. My favorite bands are selling lower and lower each time they release an album because everything is so easy to get nowadays through the internet. As much as I love getting stuff for free, I don't want to see the day that my favorite bands have to go away because they can't make money off their albums anymore.
When I came to know about Youtube I have stopped buying CDs a long time back. I listen to all the songs in the Youtube itself. Sometimes I will think about the singers and feel sad for them. Like you said they must be making lots of money from their concerts and shows.
These days nobody goes for the physical media purchase. There are some of the towns and the places which may buy that. But these days people are getting more into digital download. So it may save money for them. Earlier it was 4$ CD or DVD. But now single song purchase can be 99 cents. So I'd be surely going that way be for sure.
It's been more than a decade since I last bought a CD. I think they're also pretty expensive, and in this era where you can get music for free, then why still shell out money when you can just download them for free right? Despite the thriving piracy, artists still get paid a lot of money for what they do anyway, otherwise they would have stopped making records a long time ago.
To be honest, I have not bought music in a very long time with cash. I may have used a discount code or a sort of coupon on Amazon to get some music but in a very long time, I have not used cash in a store or online to pay for music. There are so many free platforms available through which you can get music.
Before I used to buy vinyl music like'45 RPM. Then music tape, CDs, DVDs and recently MP3s which I buy from the Internet and download them to my desktop or cellphone. I couldn't find the earlier music in 45 RPM, music tape. Except CDs and DVDs but they need a physical space for storage unlike MP3s which are stored in the computer.
I usually don't buy music, you can pretty much find it on youtube and listen to it for free. There really is little reason to buy music these days when you can pretty much listen for it online for free without getting in trouble. Unless it for some reason isn't available online or you are a real big fan of the artist or just the song, I don't see a reason to spend extra money.
