In the age of streaming, I am still buying CDs, and here’s why
As streaming has become the preferred way to listen to music, purchasing physical CDs has become less common. However, this is not 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 yet fully embracing it. I’m sticking to the old-school approach of buying physical records to get my music fix, and here’s why.
The music doesn’t belong to you
One of the biggest benefits of paying for a streaming service, such as Apple Music or Spotify, is access to vast catalogs of music spanning decades. You also receive new releases as soon as they are released, or, in some cases, even earlier when artists offer exclusives on the platform.
But even though you can download a song or album to your library for offline listening, you don’t really own it. Paying for a streaming service means you’re borrowing the music, not buying it to keep forever.
Back then, or even today, when you buy music on a digital marketplace, you are purchasing a perpetual license to access and play it. This means you can play and re-download the media whenever you want.
On the other hand, with streaming you are simply renting the music and not owning it. Since this is the case, you could lose access to this media at any time.
There are many cases of artists removing music from streaming services or changing a song’s lyrics after its release. Even if you downloaded the media for offline listening, it can still be removed if it is no longer available on the streaming platform.
An example of this is Taylor Swift who removed her entire discography from Spotify in 2014 to protest the way streaming platforms compensated artists. His catalog finally returned in mid-2017, almost three years later, as a surprise return.
Just like purchasing digital music, owning a physical CD means the album truly belongs to me and cannot be altered. Even if an artist deletes a song from their discography, I still have access to it because I legally and physically own it.
Content included with the CD
When you add an album or song to a digital library, that’s all you get. You don’t get the extras that come with a physical CD, such as booklets, posters, or exclusive tracks.
Previously, when I purchased music from iTunes, it often included a digital version of the booklet. However, I haven’t enjoyed it as much as when I can physically hold it and flip through it.
I love flipping through each page of a CD booklet and seeing the different photo shoots an artist did for an album release. These are usually surrounded by the lyrics of each song.
Although the lyrics are easy to find on streaming services, the design and artistic quality of a physical booklet, designed to match the theme of the album, makes reading while listening to it much more enjoyable.
Additionally, album artwork on a CD may be unique and differ from the official artwork featured on streaming services, often tied to a specific edition of the release. Although you can edit album art in the Music app on a computer, this option isn’t available if you don’t have access to it, making physical copies more appealing.
One of the main reasons I still buy physical CDs is for the exclusive voice memos or artist bonus tracks that aren’t available on streaming platforms. They’re most often found in retailer-exclusive editions, such as those sold at Target, and I’ve purchased albums that include one to three extra tracks that you can’t find anywhere else.
Sometimes artists end up adding these tracks to streaming services – Katy Perry added “High On Your Supply” from Smile in 2025, almost five years after the album’s release. Other times, this is not the case. “Love Me Right” by Lady Gaga in Chromaticreleased in 2020, is still not available on streaming platforms.
Owning a physical album offers much more than just adding it to a digital library. It allows you to experience the visual creativity of the project beyond the album art and, in some cases, offers insight into the album that streaming services don’t offer.
Makes me appreciate music more
One problem I’ve noticed with streaming music is that I don’t value albums as much as I did when I purchased them.
When streaming, I often listen to an entire album from start to finish, add a few of its songs to playlists, and move on. If I like it, I might repeat it, but I rarely give each piece the attention it deserves.
For example, when I bought Kesha’s album Warrior in 2012, I listened to it consecutively: every song, every melody, every tempo. Of course, I had favorites, but I still enjoyed the overall work and didn’t skip any tracks because I wanted the full experience that the album offered.
Plus, streaming offers monthly or annual plans that offer unlimited access, so you don’t pay per listen. But this convenience can also allow you to quickly move on if an album doesn’t grab your attention.
On the other hand, buying music feels like an investment. I take a moment to decide if it’s worth buying it, and when I do, I make sure I take full advantage of it because I spent the money on it. This sense of belonging makes the listening experience more deliberate and meaningful.
Streaming services offer many benefits, and it’s safe to say that their dominance in music consumption is here to stay. With songs, music videos, and podcasts available, the amount of content continues to grow.
However, they cannot reproduce the special feeling of owning music and holding the CD in your hands, along with all the content that comes with it. Buying a CD isn’t just about listening to music; it’s about enjoying the whole journey that the album offers.
