Okay, I admit.
I’m a big fan of mp3s.
I’m not much of a CD person. For one, they’re expensive. Yes, they’re cheaper than an Emily crib, but it hurts to spend so much money on a single CD. >_> Another thing is, the CDs of the artists I like doesn’t even reach our shores. I can get stuff from my dad, but at the back of my mind, I’d rather buy a book than buy a CD whose mp3s I already own.
I know, I know. If you love the artist, you wouldn’t mind spending for them…but that’s why I spend all out if the artist has a concert here. I mean, I even sell tickets for their events. Then again…that’s not the same. And not all artists I love actually come here.
Oh, but it’s not that I haven’t bought a CD ever. I’m a proud owner of two Jennifer Knapp albums, Warren Barfield‘s first album, Building 429‘s Rise, an Avalon CD given by Ganns, Our God Reigns by Hillsong, Audio Adrenaline’s Hit Parade, 2 Jars of Clay CDs and 3 of Switchfoot. It’s just that I’d rather download them since it’s easier…and yes, it’s “free.”
Now before you go all mad at me and scream, “PIRAAAATE!!!!”, let me say something first. It wasn’t until I got to meet one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot, till I changed my mind.
Backtrack to that concert, I bought two of their albums (Learning to Breathe and The Beautiful Letdown, and I managed to convince Tim Foreman to give me the broken Oh! Gravity CD for free :P) for the purpose of having them signed later on (it’s also why I bought Jars of Clay CDs before, just in case I can have them signed, at least I have CDs). I got them signed, yay, but that doesn’t mean I’d stop downloading, right?
A few months later, Switchfoot becomes independent, and then Jon releases his two EP, Fall and Winter. I was tempted to just download it, and I saw someone upload it on Multiply already. And then I remember how I sold CDs during their concert. I realized that I really loved this band, and because I know them personally, I can’t just rip them off or else they won’t be able to produce music anymore (took me that long to realize that, huh). It was then I decided that I’d buy his EPs online, and so I did (and they rock).
Now another one of my beloved artists, Dave Barnes, is releasing a new album soon. And I’m so darn excited. But I don’t want to just download his album. It doesn’t feel right anymore (and it should never have felt “right” in the first place). Now I admit I wouldn’t have found out about him if not for my friend’s patience in getting his songs, and I wouldn’t be able to even find out about him…but now that he’s releasing a new record, I thought I’d show him love as a fan and I’d actually pre-order his CD ((I’d pre-order it because I get more perks with the pre-order than if I just buy it after it’s released :P)). Yes, I will actually buy it. Thing is, it ships only in the US and on April. I have a friend who’s in the US right now so I guess I can ship it to her…but then again she goes back to the country on May. Can I wait that long?
Hm. I can, I can! FOR THE LOVE OF DAVE! And hopefully after that, I can save enough of my online earnings so I can buy his other CDs. :)
Oh, and I haven’t downloaded a song or album for the past three months. That’s a good thing, right? :) I’m hoping to find a way to actually buy all the CDs of my favorite artists, just so I can give back to them for making such great music. Give me time (and money), I’ll get them all. Promise.
And one more thing. Before I go, if you don’t know who Dave Barnes is…well, here’s a sample of one of my favorite songs:
[youtube fJuVbWy5dRU]