As streaming has become the preferred way to listen to music, buying physical CDs has grown less common. Yet this isn’t new; physical music purchases began to decline when digital downloads became available through services like iTunes.
While streaming offers benefits, such as advanced audio quality and a variety of features to choose from, I’m not fully embracing it yet. I’m sticking with the old-fashioned approach of buying physical discs to get my music fix, and here’s why.
You don’t own the music
One of the most significant advantages of paying for a streaming service, such as Apple Music or Spotify, is access to vast music catalogs that span decades. You also get new releases the moment they drop, or, in some cases, even earlier when artists offer platform exclusives.
But while you can download a song or album to your library for offline listening, you don’t truly own it. Paying for a streaming service means you’re borrowing the music, not buying it to keep forever.
Back in the day, or even now, when you buy music from a digital marketplace, you’re purchasing a perpetual license to access and play it. This means the media is yours to play and redownload whenever you want.
On the other hand, with streaming, you are just renting the music and don’t own it. Since that is the case, you could lose access to that media at any moment.
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