People DO buy music, actually!

Sure, not everyone does.

But real music fans do.

At the time of writing this article, fans have paid artists $1.62 billion on Bandcamp.

We often fall into the trap of thinking that because streaming is so prevalent, no one is buying music anymore.

This simply isn’t true.

vinyl album sales in the United States increased for the 18th consecutive year in 2024. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 43.6 million EPs/LPs were sold in the U.S. last year, up from less than a million in 2006, when the vinyl comeback began.

Statista

Why do people still buy music?

When they can just stream unlimited music on a streaming platform?

Justifying the decision to buy music is like justifying any consumer decision. There doesn’t need to be a rational reason by any means. Value is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder.

The latest data from our Great Britain TGI study of consumer behaviour reveals that just over a fifth of adults in Britain who have bought music in the past 12 months have bought vinyl records, representing over four million people.

Kantar

But if we were to rationalise, you could begin with the more practical justifications including the fact that when you buy music, it’s yours forever. If you cancel Spotify, all the music is gone. If the artist pulls their music from Spotify, it’s gone.

People don’t only buy music for access though. They do it to feel more connected with the artist.

This is not to be trivialised.

When they buy CDs and Vinyl, even now, it’s for the same reason they buy t-shirts and other merch items. It allows them to share and promote their fandom to their friends.

This is what hardcore music fans do. People define themselves by artists they love, brands they believe in, all manner of external phenomena.

But the fact is, people, DO buy music, even now.