Wait ... people used to pay for this stuff?

As I sat today waiting for my Spotify playlists to update on my new iPhone - yes, I drank the Kool-Aid especially early this time - I experienced a startling revelation. I couldn't for the life of me remember the last time I spent money on music.

This was especially surprising considering that five years ago, I spent more than $2,000 in one year buying CDs as part of my Essential Listening Project, a self-driven campaign to broaden my musical horizons.

From February 2009 to February 2010, I spent $45 to $60 every week ticking items off a list of albums recommended to me by friends, co-workers and you, the reading public. By the time I decided not to beggar myself, I had amassed a collection of more than 200 albums representing artists from The Sex Pistols to Steve Earle to Notorious B.I.G.

And I did it willingly - if perhaps not gladly - because options for pursuing a self-guided musical education were so limited. Back then, you had to buy tracks on iTunes or physical media, such as CDs or vinyl albums.

You might raise a finger and mention any number of Internet radio stations, but relying on the random algorithmic whims of a service like Pandora to educate yourself about a single artist is like trying to navigate the ocean without a rudder.

Obviously, there now are quite a few digital alternatives that make actually shelling out for music all but unnecessary. We have Spotify, Rdio, Google Play Music and Sony Music Unlimited, all of which offer limitless access to practically any album you could ever want. (Except The Beatles, whose catalog's absence from streaming services is as unfortunate as it is unsurprising.)

As a consequence of using these services, I've long since moved past the need to purchase music, as have many others. According to Nielsen SoundScan, 2013 marked the first time since iTunes launched in 2001 that digital music sales declined, falling 5.7 percent compared to 2012.

Digging through my iTunes account history, I discovered that the last time I pressed "buy" on an album was when I purchased Yukon Blonde's "Tiger Talk" on April 20, 2012. It's stunning to realize it's been two years and five months since I last compensated an artist directly for their work. Like many people, I've experienced a fundamental shift in the way I consume music, which is pretty mind-blowing.

How about you? When was the last time you purchased a song or album? Shoot me an email. Extra points if you bought it in a physical format.

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.

Upcoming Events