Which music format do you prefer?

Vinyls the players are easier to repair just shear simplicity

CDs for me personally. They are more convenient and clearer sounding. I think Records and tapes are cool to have if you’re a collector but that’s just me.

CDs are always my favorite, because they're digitally lossless - unlike both the vinyl record (difficult to play unless you have a large spread setup at home), and the cassette (various reasons including now being nearly impossible to find a player outside a car). CDs even have advantages over streaming. CDs are the perfect balance between playability and physicality. Vinyl sure has a certain nostalgia to it, though...

CDs because you can back them up easily

CD are so much better as a technology, but I always wish they were the SIZE of vinyl because it made the albums so awesome

I don’t feel represented because Mini Disk. 😂

I voted for CD only because I don't have a record player at this time. NOW, if I HAD a record player, I would have voted for that.

Congratz on reaching 3.000 a month man!

As the most "future proof" format I'd go for vinyl, but I appreciate it's the most expensive to produce. Come the apocalypse, when CD & cassette mechanisms are scarce, not to mention the fact they require electricity to operate, you can still play vinyl with a needle and a cone of paper (or whatever post-apocalypse equivalent material you can find). Otherwise MiniDisc cos it looks and feels so cool and futuristic.

I don't really see the point of CDs. At this point all 3 formats are obsolete from a practical point of view, so it's more of a matter of nostalgia in my mind. And 80s retro computing screams "cassette" to me. Since I'm in Europe and shipping would likely be expensive, I'd personally just buy the digital download version, but if I wanted any of these 3 options of physical media it'd be the cassette.

I think the idea of selling it on CD sucks. And here is why: As a consumer, you decide whether you have it as analog or as digital. I know it is all produced digitally, but at the end, it may be an analog media. CDs are just a digital format. So at the end after you ordered a CD, you have the EXACT same data (well, maybe in a lower bitrate and lower frequency) stored on a disk as you have on your computer. When you get an analog cassette via mail, you get something that is more personal, more individual, more natural. You can listen to the cassette in a 30 years old device in your analog room, if you want to. If you are modern enough, you can always just burn yourself a CD... But even then: Why? Nearly everyone has a smartphone where he could playback the file off the internet. Or a radio which supports the file on a sd card or usb key. So of course, you could get away nicely without any physical media! But when you really want to hold something in your hands at the end, so I think for sure, it has to be an analog media! Because that is why you want to hold something in your hands in the first place: To get something personal to touch and to feel for. A CD is just the same data off the internet copied on a disk. A cassette is something individual. Think about it. I know the majority wants to have it on CDs. But I am very sure that most of those people could just listen to the file in the internet as well, since it has definitly a better quality than the CD. I just see two different point of views here. If there would be no internet download (which would have been ridiculous in 2017), I would maybe prefer the CD as well. But since there is, I think the other priority, feeling and personality, may come into focus here.

+1 to Joseph Spiros's feedback. I first bought the 8-Bit Guy album and was pleased with the CD sound quality, so I bought the Retro Grooves Vol. 1 and was quite disappointed to find the digital downloads to be noticeably compressed, lossy MP3s. It's why I haven't bought the Troubled Hearts album yet because I can't justify the cost for sub-par MP3s and a cassette that's cool, but ultimately worse than a bad MP3 in terms of fidelity. So, if good digital versions aren't possible, I'd definitely vote for CD.

Until I read the part about digital downloads being included, I was in the CD camp, but my favorite way to buy music on physical media is on vinyl, with an included download code! The digital files are probably the best way to listen to most music (particularly when provided in FLAC format, as others have mentioned), since they don't degrade, either over time or by being played. That said, I love listening to vinyl. Even if a digital file might sound better (especially in the case of vintage discs), there's something special and kind of intimate about pulling the record out of its sleeve, putting it on the turntable, and dropping the needle down into the groove.

FLAC - I simply have no room for CDs now.

None of those formats excite me much. I would prefer 8-track for the physical and FLAC for the digital. Alas, there are no buttons for me. I guess I'm hard to please. Maybe you could add "Other" just to see how many would want another format?

I buy cassettes because I like the form factor. You can see more of the label when they're stacked. I almost wish people started doing CDs inside of DVD boxes with cool art. I only want them as a reminder to go listen to my digital copy.

I recently ordered the 8-Bit Guy soundtrack on CD and Troubled Hearts on cassette from the 8-Bit Guy's store. I was disappointed, especially regarding Troubled Hearts, to find that the accompanying digital download was a lossy MP3. At least with the 8-Bit Guy CD I can rip it myself to a lossless format, with Troubled Hearts I'm forever without a pristine digital copy. In general, I'm boring, and I prefer CDs. I like having what's essentially a pre-made backup of the lossless files I would be listening to regularly on my devices, and the art is a nice compromise between the enormous vinyl and tiny cassette options. That said, if you didn't do CDs, I'd ask that you at least ensure the accompanying digital download is offered in a lossless (WAV, FLAC, ALAC...) format. If that were the case, I would still buy a copy on cassette or vinyl, if that were the only option. I'd probably like a cassette a bit more, but it depends on how much I like the artwork; if I liked the artwork enough, I might go vinyl. Also, I'd definitely buy a double CD package of Retro Grooves Vol. 1 and 2 that if it were offered.

Also as someone in Europe, outside the US, shipping cost is a factor. Again I'm a fan of digital download being offered, and alternatively people who want to pick up the physical thing (with download thrown in) can too.

I want something I can play, so that rules out vinyl (I don't have a record player), and pretty much cassette (I don't want to dig out an old cassette player from the depths of a cupboard). CD works, but to be honest I'd really personally prefer the option of a digital download, because ultimately that's how I'm going to play it. I have enough things around the house without gathering more stuff that I'm not going to use.

For what it's worth, as a consumer my last several music purchases have been on iTunes. Not so much because I like the format or the app or anything, but I get a few itunes gift cards every year, more than I need for apps for in-app purchases, so I spend the extra on individual tracks for 0.99 or so.

I'm a recording studio engineer, so here's my 2 cents based on my everyday work life. 4 years ago, every band I recorded wanted a CD between 1 and 200 CDs making by me (before being sent to replication) because they expected to sell them, that is to say people wanted them. Fast forward to the last year, I've burned about 2 CDs over the whole year. The reason? All the bands get sent the digital files to upload to iTunes, Spotify etc. A good 30-40% of the bands I work with ask for vinyl masters from me, because they know they'll sell. A lot of their younger fans don't even have record players, but if they're going to listen on Spotify, they'd rather have the big pretty thing to hold and look at the liner notes. It seems to hold more significance as a special item, something to last and be part of a small collection. I don't think price ever enters the equation! Good luck whatever you decide. Adam

Thanks guys for all this feedback. It's really helpful to understand what the majority prefer. :) Personally I like the feel of the cassette as it is so compact (duh) and nice to hold, unwrap for the first time, popping the cassette in, hitting play and listen while reading the liner notes. At least that's my memories from my childhood and the reason why I chose to release these two you've seen so far. The same goes for vinyl, but it's less convenient to handle, but it has an even greater surface to create good artwork and sleeve design which is also important to me being somewhat of a designer in addition to musician and AV-tech. I can reveal that I'm currently in the process of re-printing both Retro Grooves Vol. 1 and Troubled Hearts as they're sold out and close to respectively. I'm also in the making of a Vol. 2, and will try to get all three done at the same time if my wallet allows. I'm currently looking at $2500 for those alone in production. As for quality, most of you know that I will not skimp on it and instead go more or less all in. So a CD would be done from 24 bit master files since all my projects are done in 24 bit 44.1 as default (and then properly converted to 16 bit Red Book standard). This last bit is also partly the reason why I prefer cassettes as a medium, because I feel the difference between CDs and digital downloads is close to none (full 24 bit wavs, not 128/160 kbps mp3s since most services have limits on file sizes and I can't host them properly myself). I have the notion of cassettes bringing something extra in form of the nostalgia and physical presence, knowing that you won't get the crisp clear high definition clarity we're used to nowadays with digital media. That's why I felt that buying a cassette with a proper digital download, would give both worlds for an affordable price. But I'm seriously considering adding CDs to the portfolio. What do you think about Retro Grooves Vol. 1 and 2 in a double CD package instead of two independent units? I will at least make some more of the two first releases and order a production of Retro Grooves Vol. 2 sometime during this October, then I'll have to see if the funding is enough to make some CDs too. :)

I chose CD, but my vote comes with a condition. If the CD is burned from a lossless master, then it's worth it. If not, then I would rather stick with a digital download, or even pick up a cassette tape. Thanks!

Cassette would be nice, for purely aesthetic, reminiscent reasons. However, CDs are much more practical, and easier for most people, including myself, to be able to play. Definitely CD for me.

Given that digital download is available, I'd pick Vinyl, with a CD close second. I like that physical media encourages me to listen to a whole album at once, and since digital is available for the convenience factor, I don't have to worry about trying to convert a record to digital. I use digital to listen on my computer, or to stream to whichever set of speakers I want to listen on occasionally, but if I'm going to sit down and just listen I prefer the experience of using physical media. I also use CD's in the car because I drive a 1999 station wagon :P no aux input, bluetooth, or USB there!

i prefer vinyl but voted for CD, i believe it will be more convenient for you, since everyone has a cd player device, ^^

CD is fine but, anyone could burn a CD. I like Vinyl, especially with a digital copy being included, as it's more for the physical media "experience". Cassettes are an ok option too as it's a bit in the middle between the 2 other formats. As far as the quality of the digital download, I would say that I only would want lossless quality, if the master was recorded as such that it could take advantage of it, if not, no point. It would be like parking your Nissan Leaf in an aircraft hangar.

If lossless downloads are not an option, I prefer CD so that I can create lossless versions myself.

For something I really like: Vinyl record + FLAC download. CD is fine as a physical medium as well. FLAC is fine when the price is low enough. I don't really use tape anymore (matter of taste of course, given that I like vinyl) and I don't really have a use for lossy formats given the low price for a terabyte of HDD space these days. I don't believe in "HiRes" downloads unless a serious blind test shows they offer a benefit over CD quality (very unlikely).

It's digital music, correct? CD, or USB stick or even download, seems the most appropriate. Analog would be overkill, since I am assuming you are not recording to 'rust', using mic'ed amps. If you wanted to create something for someone to display, you could go with a record album 'sleeve' with neat/fun album artwork and then fit the physical media inside. You could probably pick up some pretty thin USB drives.

CD for physical because it is the only lossless medium. FLAC obviously for downloads :) (I did proper ABX tests and still maintain a statistically significant track record of correctly discerning between FLAC and highest possible quality encoded 320 mp3). Also CD fits better into collections, Vinyl is a bit much and cassette more of a gimmick "retro" thing. But I'm also audiophile so I'm biased.

Cassette is totally 8-bit era-appropriate.

Physical media is passe. Downloads are the present and future.

I'd say vinyl is best for a physical copy, but I guess I'm in a minority. Will it be possible to buy the music just digitally?

Overall, CD for me. It's just the right size to put on the shelf and a good size for the liner notes inside. Thanks for the pre-emptive survey and keep up the great work!

Consider adding FLAC as a format option for the digital releases? I like my lossless.

No wax cylinder option?

CD for physical. IF this was a vote on my favorite music format, I miss .mod and .s3m files.

For pure convenience in the modern world, the best physical media for music I think is CD. It's easy to put on your (insert generic MP3 player here) if no digital copy is readily available. If I had easy access to a good quality turntable or cassette deck, the I'd happily use the other formats.

I know vinyl won't win, but you make a great point about also receiving the album digitally, so with that in mind, having it on vinyl would be really neat

I'm a CD guy, but I have a cassette deck.

I haven't had a working turntable or cassette deck in 15+ years, so I have to go with a CD here. I see the nostalgic attraction of records and tapes, but they're just not practical for me these days.

I haven't had anything to play Cassettes in 10 years. maybe 5 years for CD's. and i don't rally have a record player hooked up. EVERYTHING musicwise is on a USB IN my car.

It’s easier to burn a CD without a loss in quality vs trying to burn a Cassette (assuming you can buy he download without the casset

I vote CD. I do have both of Anders albums and a cassette is nostalgic. I do have a decent cassette player, but both the cassettes are still in the original seal. To me I listen to the digital download and display the cassettes. For me the cassettes are collectors pieces. Maybe I'm too young. I have no interest in vinyl.

I haven't had a record player since the 80s, so I only get vinyl if I am going to display the album for the art. I have a 20 year old cassette/CD player, but it is rarely used. I still play CDs in my car, so that is what I prefer.