It certainly does depend on genre, either niche releases or major releases happen on vinyl but abou 90% of music doesnt see the sacred disc

Just being a nosey git but what turntable have you got?

I'm finding that there's a lot of good music released on vinyl these days, even the 7" is making something of a comeback. I've had to drag a turntable out of the garage, the inconsiderate sods!

Really? 90%? Ok, take away all the pop muck. Dance, folk, roots, blues, rock, indie all have vinyl releases, even in small runs. There's a reason it tracks at 40% YOY growth. People yearn for the warmth of a vinyl disc.

I agree, I remember trawling through 2nd hand record shops and getting pretty excited when I found something rare, I do think switching technologies and returning to vinyl would be an interesting twist for the music industry, that said, the scene that I work in, almost no labels now release vinyl, I wish they did but given the change to digital formats by dj's and their ease of use, not only when performing but the simple fact that dj's can take their entire record collection on a usb stick, download new promos right before the show all adds up to a lack of demand. I still have my old 1200's but my vinyl collection is all over the place nowadays

I've always prefered to buy my music physically, whether it be vinyl in my younger days or in CD form nowadays.....I just have the old fashioned view that the whole packaging of the product is as important as the music itself, when it comes to being judged as an artform.

I must admit that I don't buy as much nowadays, mainly because my music taste has become a bit more narrow and choosy in recent years - I'm tending to find that the internet age, as well as giving newer, unknown bands the chance to get their music listened to, as also created a quantity over quality aspect to music....Yes, there is good music out there, but there is an absolute load of mediocre dross, especially from younger bands who think that having a couple of guitars and a set of drums automatically makes them a listenable band.

I use 2 Technics 1210s
Not that I DJ or anything


With regards to the amount of releases on vinyl. I can only think of one album I wanted that wasn't released on vinyl and it was Frank Oceans album. This is probably in the last 5 years and I buy many different genres

I like the sleeve notes you get with hard copies and still have a car that has a CD player. So I still buy CDs.

I've got the project genie, recently came into a bit of money and was sorely tempted with the Lynn sondek lp12 but sheet it when it came to shelling out the money.

I have always thought the Project genie looks great.
I don't blame you, I know they are one of the best turntables you can buy but I think there is a limit on what you can pay for them. Maybe one in good condition second hand could be an option?

Out of interest what music do you generally play on your turntable? I see you have The Cribs in your pic but wasn't sure if it was the Wakey link.

It was the Wakey link initially but I've seen em 20 odd times now, I like indie type stuff, Courteeners, Tane Imapala, Palma violets at the moment, vinyl wise I like old stuff, T Rex, The Clash, Be Bop deluxe etc

That is a very good effort! I think I have seen them about 6 or 7 times. Best time was "Cribsmas" got to all three nights.
Sorry gone slightly O/T there

Yes the packaging is part and parcel of owning an album especially if thought has gone into it, like my personal favourite in Anathallo's Floating world.





I do often find that you get little free gifts too with certain albums which is a nice touch from posters (Grizzly Bear), tote bag (The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart) and a Funeral Directors Card??? (Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat).

Of all the gigs to miss I couldn't get to one Cribsmas gigs, we were away on holiday! Saw them in Hull in November, my favourite was my first Cribs gig ever at Escobar in Wakey in 2002 and also the homecoming gig at Wakey theatre last sept.

Nice cover, not seen that before - I'd be tempted to buy that just for the sleeve.

My personal favourite was Upbeat Allstars debut which they signed each copy of, dedicating it to the purchaser. I've also a white label King Hammond 7" that was sent out to music journos and reggae DJs which was individually signed by the bands main man, thanking them for their support.

Have to say I download a lot of music illegally. Its too easy and there are so many loopholes so as not to be prosecuted. However on the flipside that has enabled me to find so many bands and artists that otherwise I would never have heard of. The reason for this are these small time bands and artists dont get the air time they deserve.

With that in mind though in the past 10 years my yearly spend on music has gone up and up because having found these delights illegally if i like something i'll then endeavor to purchase it. Just today two EPs by a band called Kitten dropped on my desk all the way from sunny California. I doubt very much theyve had any airplay in the UK at all.

I tend to buy cds in peaks and troughs. I quite often get cds for my birthday and christmas. Recently I have pledged to help a couple bands produce their cds
including Breed 77 and The Chasing Dark

I dont tend to buy downloads of music as I prefer to have a physical copy, I like to read the insert, look at the artwork etc

Not since the music zone left Barrow

Been catching up on stuff I've missed again this week - a complete set of King Blues demos for a very reasonable price. Lovely.

Also a Toasters reissue, the latest Kent soul album, some Weller wannabes called The Mannequins (actually very good - this is praise as Weller bores me!) and.... drum roll please.... the 24th UK Subs album, appropriately titled XXIV.

Does anyone know the secondary reason why it's called XXIV (Obviously that's the Roman for 24!)? Not many people know this....

Hey up Beax, long time no chat !!!
I don't usually browse RLfans messageboards other than Faxfans but this weather has put paid to usual saturday activities so i'm catching up with a few internet things & really glad I came across this topic.

Yeah, I'm still "buying" music but only in cd format. Far too much of it in the last 12-18 months really, most of it via the internet, either from a bands' website or at a gig. I've never been to so many gigs as the last few years, there's been a massive explosion of prog from many area's of the UK & Europe mainly. I'm still into Marillion & have paid a lot of money for their last 3 or 4 studio albums on pre-order & i'm a sucker for the de-luxe versions with artwork booklets/name in the album credits, stuff like that. Inc. p&p, usually in excess of £30 for a double album's worth of new music which I'm happy to pay for to be honest 'cos they still turn out different stuff on each new album rather than the "we've found a niche so that's what we're gonna re-produce every album" like a lot of bands do & have done for many years. They still have the draw on me & live, they're better now than they've ever been. I just saw them a fortnight ago in Holland play three consecutive nights to 3,500 fans, three different gigs, amounting to over eight hours of material & I also picked up the commemorative t shirt, a re-mixed album & a couple of support bands' albums too.
I'm not anywhere near as obsessed as some of the fans I know who will pay over £25 for a vinyl album which they run in limited numbers of re-issues, i still own my turntable but very rarely use it & certainly have no interest in collecting more LP's.
The way i discover my music is from discussing on band forums or at gigs or even reccomendations when folks post on their Facebook NP: album so & so by whoever the band/artist is. Occasionally i'll drop on a band website that are offering samplers or free downloads as a taster, they're the only stuff i ever download in all honesty. Very good use of the internet though in my opinion. Occassionally I'll trade music via Dropbox with friends or even musicians I know will send me stuff & ask me my opinion & they trust me not to upload it onto the 'net, it's a great tool for musicians to swap pieces for recording i understand. If i hear something i like on Dropbox i'll usually then go on and make a purchase.
There's some cracking prog around as I noted earlier & the live scene is buzzing at the moment, venues of up to 500 capacity not quite selling out but certainly a massive upturn in interest. Bands handing out fliers & samplers at gigs is still a great way of spreading the word too, I always take a handout if there's one going even if it's only to checkout a a link to a band website.
The thing that really pee's me off is the commercial gig ticket prices. For the forthcoming year I've already paid for: Rush £60, Peter Gabriel £45, Fleetwood Mac 2 tix for £154. I've never seen Rush or Fleetwood Mac previously & didn't want to miss the chance, and to be fair to my mrs, it's difficult finding middle ground music for us to gig together so the Fleetwood Mac date worked out massively expensive, considering we only paid £80 for a pair of tix to see Coldplay last summer in what was in my top 3 gigs of all time. Having seen Peter Gabriel previously, I daren't miss the chance again, he's simply stunning. All of this compared to a £12, £15 or £20 ticket for a modest band really winds me up paying large amounts to watch a band on a video screen the length of a football pitch away with over-priced warm beer on tap.
Bands & artistes who use the internet to promote their music are the sort of bands I'm interested in, it's much easier access nowadays. The music tv channels & FM/MW radio stations don't cut it for me either, I only ever listen to digital radio while at home.

My next live outing is the Hard rock hell "prog" weekender at Rotherham's Magna centre, there's a load of old bands like The Enid, Hawkwind, The Strawbs, Caravan & Curved Air on the two day bill but I'll see very little of them, it's the new bands I'm interested in seeing perform & hearing a lot of them for the first time.

Keep on rockin' Beax.

I've succumbed to downloading more and more in recent years but I never, repeat never, steal music; I hate the casual way that this generation does it and I wish that artists could be better protected.

An iTunes purchase has nowhere near the same thrill as buying an album and I miss holding the artefact in my hands and reading the sleeve notes and lyrics, but it's just too convenient to not do - hear a song on the radio/telly, look them up on iTunes, buy the album; it's frighteningly efficient.

I buy music but I vary on what I buy it on

For instance a band or label I love I will buy CDs, for instance anything by Manics, Coldplay or Anjunabeats label I will buy on cd

Everything else straight onto iTunes to download

Plus CDs take up so much space!

The new Filaments album Land of Lions is well worth a listen,Cracker of an album

I've give up actually purchasing music either hard copies or digital. I have however for the last 12 mnths started to stream all the music I want / listen too.

I currently have a Spotify Premium account however I have recently taken a free trial with Sonys Music Unlimited.

The only issue I have is with the Apps (iPhone / iPad) they are all flawed slightly in one way or another which is a shame because paying a fee per month you'd expect them to be totally polished for music on the go.

Does anybody else use a streaming service? If so which one and how do you find it?

The downside to that is that in ten years time you'll not have a physical version to play. People won't have record collections!