CD vs iTunes: where you buy your music? Options

[Antigen]

Hi,

actually, where is your first source of music?

Do you buy CD or you have chosen iTunes/digital online store?

Actually I buy CD (used) and I convert them with XLD to MP3 with LAME 3.99, I think that this is the best solutions.

Initially I have bought some album from iTunes, but I prefer to have the CD to convert it into the format and bitrate that I prefer.

And you?

[kornchild2002]

Are there numbers breaking down how much a band/artist/label has to spend to get their latest single on the iTunes Store vs. other services such as Amazon mp3 or Bandcamp? It would be interesting to actually see the numbers instead of getting into a "yes hu" and "nu uh" kind of argument.

[Brand]

Are there numbers breaking down how much a band/artist/label has to spend to get their latest single on the iTunes Store vs. other services such as Amazon mp3 or Bandcamp?

Bandcamp has their pricing explained in detail and it comes to 15% (or 10%) of the sale price plus the Paypal fee and you can sell directly.
Some others don't explain it so clearly, but if you do a quick search you'll find that iTunes takes 30% of the sale price. In addition to that, you have to go through a label/distributer to be able to sell on iTunes. How much they charge depends, some charge a fixed yearly rate, some do a certain %. It's the same for Amazon. I don't know if either of these has some Paypal or credit card fees for receiving payments, I think those get handled through the distributer.
Google takes 30% plus a one time $25 to sign up and you can sell directly. Payments go through Google Checkout and I don't know if there are additional fees involved there.

[Nessuno]

By the way: recently I started buying at eClassical 16bit FLAC albums by BIS label and verifying a couple of them with XLD AccurateRip verify function, they actually appear to come from accurately ripped CDs, or at least the tracks are taken directly from the same master.

[Porcus]

BIS is a label who frequently employs pre-emphasis ( http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=796949 ), so I am curious whether you encounter some way-too-bright recordings that way?