Free and libre listening

For a long time I have been looking for a way to purchase music that is not limited by copy-right protection and that I can use as I see fit. There are several places where this is possible but in the end I found that for my specific requirements bandcamp which has most of the labels I am interested in (Metal) and that also provides FLAC, OGG and other formats.

I would like to point out here that my aim was not to replace streamed music but rather find a way to both own my music collection and more directly support the bands I love to listen to. Since I will never have a vast enough library to supply my ever high-demand on music it is still a required Evil to stay with the streamers.

In the end it boils down to the standard issue, if you are streaming content you have no ownership. If you have no ownership then the data can be removed at any point without you having a say. There are several1 examples where the consumers have been the ones to suffer2. It is not uncommon for content to go missing and the streaming companies are fickle so there is never any guarantee. With the files provided by bandcamp I retain stewerdship of the files and can setup my own services to stream or play them.

But I am actually not here for the politics of the non-ownership of anything in this digital age. Rather to write about some about my current listening habits.

First and foremost; when the leaves start falling of the trees and the cold settles in I usually tend to start listening to bands like Cattle-decapitation and Shadow Of Intent.

Both of which is fitting to listen to when the world dies around you both physically and metaforicaly. Other bands like In flames are more of a old-friend that you meet again and understand that you still have a lot in common. Their latest album brings back the memories of those early days in the beginning of my music-listening career. Bandcamp has really made me actively rediscover music again, something I have not had to do in a long time.

  1. Sony to remove digitally made purchases. ↩

  2. Crunchyroll dropping content when migrating into funimation. ↩