How much do you spend on music per year?

I don’t know, but it’s sure to be a fair few…ahem, notes!

Oh crap, I just went over and went through my stack of CD’s. (Yes I’m a dinosuar. I like to put on a CD and listen to it from beginning to end. Sometimes I like some of the less popular songs on the disc.) I bought 19 CDs in the last 12 months. So at least a few hundred bucks. Didn’t make any concerts this past year. And not a penny went to pop ladies or rappers.

If these performers are supposedly making millions of $, there must be a lot of people paying money for it. Nobody in my circle of friends pays money for music, including ringtones, itunes, etc. We just don’t need it. If I want to listen to something, I click on a free Pandora channel or turn on the radio. If it is something specific, like yesterday someone here said listen to Thrift shop, I look it up on Youtube.
Even if it were only 10 cents per song I would not pay. It is just not worth it to me. I prefer to keep my credit card in my pocket.

@Adirondackwannabe 19 CDs! How much is that? $200? Why do yo do it? Do you like to listen to them over and over? Why not turn on Pandora after training it with a few songs? I don’t get it.

Right now I am listening to NPR. Diane Rehm – after the news.

At least. I like having the CD in my hands, so I can look at the artwork and read the liner notes. Plus I like more obscure stuff. I’ve tried Pandora but I couldn’t get it to follow my tastes. It’s okay but my music tastes change with my moods.

“spend on music”
Good one!

Who’s Taylor? I try to remain as ignorant as possible about American top 40 pop music. I remember I first heard Lady Gaga in Paris about 6 years ago and was dreadfully embarrassed on behalf of my country.

I mostly pay to download music through Amazon or iTunes, from band websites (I was sucker enough to pay for In Rainbows by Radiohead when technically they were offering it for free), or various independent labels whose mailing list I am on (Six Degree records is a great one for world music/fusion). Aside from that, most of my music budget goes for attending concerts. Altogether, I probably pay $200 or less a year for music, but most of that goes toward concert tickets and associated costs.

I gladly paid $10 for a record from a band I got to meet last week, and would have paid twice that if they were asking for it. They were the opening act but they deserved to have the stage all to themselves. Pretty much the only time I buy CDs anymore is from working bands at shows.

I’ve tried Pandora, but I don’t care for it because I’m a control freak, and they don’t let you skip songs after 2 or 3 goes. Also, I’ve noticed that for many bands, they really only have the hit singles on there. If you’re trying to introduce someone to 311 on Pandora, for instance, they are just going to find “Amber” and “I’ll Be Here Awhile,” which only present the radio-friendly unit-shifter side of the band.

I haven’t given any money to a top-40 artist since I was a pre-teen drooling over the Backstreet Boys.

I do attend lots of concerts. In the next month I’ll be seeing Nile, Suicidal Tendencies, Opeth and Katatonia, and probably a couple of others.

Nile, I won’t pay to get in, as my husband’s band is playing direct support. We’ll likely trade merch with the band. Which would be awesome because I don’t have a Nile shirt yet.

Suicidal I’ll probably pay for unless the bouncers offer to give me a wristband (I’m furniture at that venue ^_^), and we’ll be buying shirts at least, because a Suicidal shirt is hard to come by.

Opeth/Katatonia my ticket has been paid for by a friend who just wants someone to go with. I’ll buy shirts there, too.

I already have the latest albums by these bands, or I’d be buying CDs or records, too.

Secondhand stuff: Bought some Maiden at the flea market this weekend. We sold most of our records to pay bills over the last couple of years, and are just starting to get to the point where we have a little play-money. Time to rebuild the shelves.

In short – no effing clue. I don’t keep track, and it’s probably better that way. Honestly, though, we get more stuff for free than we pay for, just because we like the kind of bands with members that like to talk to you and just give you stuff if you appreciate their art.

I just looked through my iTunes recepts, and between my bank account and my son’s gift cards/store credit, over $200 was spent last year on his iTunes music alone.

He’s an aspiring musician, so I consider it an investment.

That doesn’t count the concert or two (or the free local jazz festival), CDs (although he might not have gotten any CDs last year), or anything bought with cash.

I agree with @Adirondackwannabe… I like to hold the CD in my hands and see the artwork/insert.

Who else still spends money on those giant black CDs?

Nothing. Itunes gift cards are always on my b-day and x-mas lists. I do go to a lot of concerts though. It’s what I like to do. Some people spend money on fancy clothes or movies, I go to concerts. I have no qualms with how much I spend.

Just saw Patti Smith & Morrissey on Friday. Great show.

Our local radio stations are crap, unless you like Lady Gaga or Katy Parry. And when was the last time you heard Smoke on the Water or Whiskey in the Jar on the radio? Also, if I like a song the first time I hear it, I’ll get tired of it after a bit. It’s the ones I have to listen to 3 or 4 times before I decide that stick with me. I can listen to something complex over and over.

I don’t spend any money on popular music. I don’t really listen to popular music (or really any music), there there is no real need.

If I expand the topic slightly, I have bought sheet music this past year. It was probably around $20 total, but it was a pretty good deal.

If I expand the topic even more, my family spends around $325 on my participation in my school’s marching / concert bands. That money covers all of the various competitions and transportation and food and stuff.

I can’t think of a single concert I went to in the last year, nor a single CD I bought.

However, I have a friend who passes along tunes to me, so I have a number of new tunes on my computer and phone. In addition, I record music I make most weeks, and then separate that out into songs. The recordings are pretty shitty, but they do serve as a kind of electronic note pad, in case I ever need ideas. They are also a reminder of good evenings where we made some fantastic music.

So I buy stuff to maintain my instruments, although not much this year. I buy music (as in music books and sheet music) for the kids to play. I buy electronic equipment for recording. And that is the sum total of my musical expenses most years. Not a lot. Sorry I don’t have a number.

I don’t pay for music, it rarely goes to the artist (at least the amount that should) anyway. If I like a band I support them by going to concerts and buying a shirt at the show or something like that. If the band has cd’s that they pressed for that show I’ll occasionally buy them as well to support the artist.

Otherwise, I haven’t paid a dime for music since Napster came out back in the day.

@Seek_Kolinahr I spend a bit of money on blank CD’s every year. I need to burn a couple cd’s every week for my radio show because there is a bit of lag over the air if I just stream off my iPod

@Adirondackwannabe I hear Smoke on the Water all to often on our local radio stations, there are like 5 classic rock stations, 3 alt rock(80’s-90’s music but stuff more like metallica) and then a bunch of bs top40 channels. My problem with local radio is that you can’t hear anything but mainstream unless you’re listening to college stations.

@uberbatman I’m out in the country. I’m in the only city in our county and that has a population of 7500. Our choices are pretty limited. It’s country or pop.

I’d say about $80.00 USD
The last album I bought was an autographed copy of Swans’ “Filth.” It’s things like that that triumph over pirating music (although I have no qualms with it; if you’re in the music industry for the money, I suggest another occupation) and itunes gift cards. I honestly don’t care how someone obtains their music and no one should care if I like buying CDs. And Pandora is overrated.

And I don’t go to concerts anymore for personal reasons.

@Adirondackwannabe My heart goes out to you… I feel like there are talented musicians in every genre if you look hard enough….except country music :P

@uberbatman I was talking about vinyl records…

@uberbatman It’s okay. I prefer it out here. Yesterday 16 wild turkeys were in my backyard milling around. There are good musicians in every genre.
@bookish1 I think he was referring to Taylor Swift, a country musician that crosses over into pop quite a bit.

@Seek_Kolinahr I read black as blank :P

@Adirondackwannabe I prefer the middle of no where over cities as well

@Seek_Kolinahr I loved the art on those big old things.

None, really. I listen to the radio. I don’t even own an iPod.
I did go to a concert last summer, but I didn’t buy my ticket, so that doesn’t count. ;)

Probably about $200, but only for live shows, cds bought at shows, and cds bought directly from bands – and those are usually up-and-comers. I don’t buy “product” manufactured by industry-fabricated performers.

@Adirondackwannabe You wrote: “I’m out in the country…. Our choices are pretty limited. It’s country or pop.” You forgot about the 8 Christian stations going 24/7.
@DigitalBlue I don’t own an ipod either. I have no need to bring music with me anywhere.

Frankly I am surprised at how many people spend money on this. There is so much out there and so many places giving it out for free, why pay for it?
This is coming from someone who does not have cable and watches 12 TV channels pulled in from my roof antenna. I also have a Roku attached to the TV so I get hundreds of channels, including music, through that for free.

I guess I like the variety and, within limits, letting serendipity choose the music.

$0. I listen to Iheartradio.com.

Youtube lets me see the video’s and post to my fb, listen as much as I want to.

I do go to every concert I can, but usually I don’t pay for tickets.

There are a couple of bands (Abney Park and Steam Powered Giraffe) that I buy from directly, and I see AP every time they hit Seattle, so probably about $100/yr average. I’m more willing to give money to bands where the lead singer is also the manager and produce.

@jerv I agree, I listen to a few bands that have their own record label and I feel a lot more comfortable with giving them money. One band I really like does something that I think would be an amazing way to generate more money if more groups were to utilize it. They record every concert and put the digital download on their site for $5. Nice and cheap and its a lot more personal that the recorded album. You now have a perfect memento from that show you attended so you can always remember it.

Does anyone here have any recordings on the internet the rest of us could listen to?

@LuckyGuy that might be the root of it, for me. I’m very frugal. If I can get something for free, that’s always my first choice.

Our Sirius Satellite subscription was about $67. That’s it for music for a year. With the exception of a couple Jimmy Buffett DVD’s of The Coral Reefers.

Nothing except a $5.00 donation for a concert.

In a good year I will buy 1–2 CDs.

I refuse to download/stream music and be dependent on someone else licensing me the right to listen. And I absolutely refuse to download music with DRM.

But as someone else said – I listen to XM all the time.

Zero.

Pandora pays the artists. Well, maybe not directly.

@elbanditoroso I completely agree about DRM. We, as customers, should not allow that to become the new model.

Zero. Very occasionally, I will buy a cd as a gift. Otherwise, I just listen to music we already own, or on computer or regular radio stations.

I own a lot of CDs but I don’t often buy new ones. Maybe three in the last 12 months, so about £20–30. Mostly these days I listen to streaming/digital radio. I rarely go to paid concerts but I do go to a lot of pub gigs, which are generally free (aside from the beer).

A lot.

So if the definition of “Music” includes CD, iTunes downloads, Concerts, I would say about $800 minimum.

@blueiiznh Oh my!

Several hundred euros.