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I don't know, I never used iTunes for streaming, and barely ever used Spotify. But it would be interesting to know.
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I have not qualms buying downloads, but only lossless/high-res ALAC/FLAC downloads, from places like Qobuz or HD Tracks or prestomusic etc, which I then add to my collection. I do not buy DRM protected proprietary downloads that are linked to a certain account or software. So even if something would be removed from the shop, I'd still have it, just as I would have bought a CD.
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Qobuz has regularly sales and promotions, but they seem to be label based.
They do have a Black Friday Sale ad ("up to 80%") but I have not checked what it contains.
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Whether I buy downloads or physical releases is a case by case decision nowadays.
It depends on a variety of factors, I guess.
If the price for the CD is the same as for the download, I go for the CD. If the download is offered in high-res, I might go for the download (but only if it doesn't cost more than the CD). Downloads are only considered if they are 16bit/44.1khz (lossless) or better (high-res). I don't buy MP3/AAC or proprietary DRM "downloads" that only be played with certain apps or systems.
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Whether I buy downloads or physical releases is a case by case decision nowadays.
It depends on a variety of factors, I guess.
If the price for the CD is the same as for the download, I go for the CD. If the download is offered in high-res, I might go for the download (but only if it doesn't cost more than the CD). Downloads are only considered if they are 16bit/44.1khz (lossless) or better (high-res). I don't buy MP3/AAC or proprietary DRM "downloads" that only be played with certain apps or systems.
That's my approach too. I have a few albums from the early days of the iTunes store which are DRM and also relatively low quality (128 kps) and I've been replacing these either with CDs or lossless downloads. I haven't noticed any albums disappearing from iTunes having bought them, but quite a few disappearing from streaming (mainly using Amazon Music). However, it is often worth running a search as quite a few times an album may appear to have disappeared but has actually just been deleted and re-added (who knows why!). This has happened a few times. Same issue on stuff I've saved to buy from an online store - on 7Digital, they don't have a wish list function (which is actually quite annoying) so I bookmark anything I might want to buy and often they will become broken links, but a quick search often finds them again.
However, broadly I buy downloads; 7Digital for soundtracks and Presto for classical being my first ports of call... Presto in particular is excellent, with a wide choice and usually relatively inexpensive. My main complaint is that lossless downloads are often disproportionately expensive to the MP3 equivalent. 7Digital is usually around £10 (or less) for MP3 and £15 (sometimes more) for lossless, which is more than the CD.
I'd almost rather pay more for classical recordings which have to make all their money through sales than soundtracks where the recording is paid for whether it's put out as an album or not. It gets especially expensive where there are £10 releases of each episode of a TV show (so I often don't bother - sure I'm not the only one).
As noted, Presto is much better value, with most new releases being less than £10 in lossless (usually £6/£7, with budget labels like Naxos being less than a fiver), plus they almost always come with a good quality PDF booklet (about 2 of the dozens of albums I've bought didn't have one). It also has an excellent wish list function which you can filter in plentiful ways, plus also narrow it down to any albums that are currently in a sale. It has resulted in me going a bit mad when I realise there's several dozen albums I could get for a few quid. On top of that, Presto now has an app so you can stream anything you've bought through the site on your phone if you want.
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I've been thinking about it and when comes to labels such as Intrada and La La Land, they've got a customer for life. I've been so happy with what they've put out over the years and will continue to purchase their scores on CD, even when the odd score is also released digitally (ie. THE CALL OF THE WILD).
With scores that are not released by the boutique labels, what download store and streaming service would you say offers the best selection of film music?
Qobuz has a wide selection, including former FSM, Intrada, Varèse Sarabande titles. Not sure how it compares to some others. Presumably, others have more or less the same.
I agree with your comments regarding our specialty labels, such as Intrada, LaLaLand, Quartet, Music Box, etc. I gladly buy their releases, both in CD form and downloads. Great booklets, careful presentations, excellent customer service. "Problem" is, by and large, over the past couple od decades I got lots of film music I was interested in, most of the scores I ever wanted are released and I got them. (Good for me, I guess. :-) ) Though the occasional newbie or terrific re-release that I missed out on (the scores on LaLaLand Goldsmith Fox Volumes III and IV, for example) still comes along.
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If I like the composer and/or score, and it's available on CD, I WILL BUY IT.
Nothing beats OWNING a physical copy to me.
It's how I started out (with - in many cases - crappy sounding vinyl) and it's how I will finish (with - in most cases - great sounding CD's).
If it's available as Digital Only, I will either play it via Spotify (which I have free for life) or YouTube and, more often than not, burn a copy to CD-R to keep as a back up, should it disappear, as seems to be the reason for this thread.
Oh, I'm perfectly willing to go download, provided the expected (and/or theoretical) sound quality is at least as good or better than CD, not if it's worse.
I got enough physical CDs, but not unlimited space. Another problem is postage, oversees shipping can easily double or even triple the price of a CD. However, many of the specialty film score releases are still released as CDs only, so I still buy them if I want to have them. I don't actually need compact discs or any other physical medium, as I basically just put it on the shelf an that's it. I really like my current CD shelf though, the bulk of my CD collection is right in my living room, it's grown over the years with carefully selected CDs (I only ever bought music I'm really interested in).
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