I see this sentiment a lot, and I appreciate it. However personally the fewer things I own the better. The thought of having these things that I bought and have to remember I bought and then keep track of them brings me more anxiety than joy. I'm 64 and I grew up when music was scarce and options were limited. The only thing I want to own now is a playlist that points to songs I like. I'll then move to whatever service I like best and has most of the songs I like. Streaming services should cost much more than they do today so that artists can get compensated.
At which point do you draw the line where you abrogate ownership of something?
Music is something you can easily live without if the internet or cloud vanishes on you but my music will still stream from my FLAACs at home that I made from CDs and DVDs years ago. I also have it converted to .mp3 at bit rates that make sense for a phone and ear plugs used by a middle ages bloke with tinnitus! The whole lot fits on a modern phone easily.
I bought records and tapes at first, then CDROMs. I also accidentally bought the same CD/tapes twice or a well meaning prezzie duplicated one I already owned. Also you have "summary" or "collection" efforts etc eg Led Zep "Remasters". I have already paid the music industry a couple of times over.
Now that is my personal collection - some of it is unavailable elsewhere, sometimes without being illegal. I can augment my stuff with pay per play just as you do but the Deep Purple CD rip with a digitally smoothed over scratch part way through "Smoke on the water" is personal because I know what caused that scratch.
You are a few years older than me but we both know the joy of buying a new single, stacking LPs for an extended hands off session, the horror of scratches and a cheap D60 tape turning into a weird concertina. Remember those blocks for removing dust from a record when it was playing and accidentally nudging the needle.
Spotify and co are all a bit ersatz by comparison. I think music is way more than simply the medium, so context is important too. Unlike, say the progression from steam to petrol, which is simply a convenience.
It's clear that you have a hobby that you enjoy. I was always annoyed that I had to buy a new single, LP, or CD. It was one more thing that I had to keep organized. Cleaning LPs to remove dust before playing was irritating. And then having an album that you loved get worse and worse with each replay. Another personal quirk is that I don't like listening to music from my past. I want to constantly find new things to listen to across all genres. I love music. It plays a big role in my life, but I want to get the new.
I agree, while I love older music, generally I find I can only hear a song so many times before my enjoyment starts to fade. It takes considerable time away to recover a song from that point.
