Storing your music collection?

General music discussion.
WestwayKid
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Storing your music collection?

Post by WestwayKid »

Like many of you...I have a pretty large music collection.

I'm currently putting some thought into how I want to store it all going forward. I've taken all of my CD's and converted them to lossless digital files and for the past 5 years or so I've stored everything on external hard drives.

I'm now considering investing in cloud based storage for my collection. My biggest concern with continuing to store on a physical drive is that drives break and drives get lost and so on. If I lose the physical drive, I lose my music. That's a big concern for me.

I think I like the idea of moving everything to cloud storage (I'd still retain/maintain my hard drives). The service I'm going to try is called pCloud and it's $9.99 per month for 2TB of storage (which is enough for now). I like the idea that I can access my music from anywhere and they even have a built in music player.

Any thoughts/opinions? My main goal is to preserve my collection and my secondary goal is to be able to improve my access.
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JennyB
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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by JennyB »

I haven't done any of the techie stuff, but if anyone's wondering, I store my vinyl FAR AWAY from my husband's.
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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

I junked most of my cd's in our last move. I've got a small of box worth of cd's in the basement that I've kept because they're more obscure or autographed or what have you. I just don't have much of an attraction for physical product. I've converted everything to music files and have them backed up on a bunch of dvd's, but on an external hd for playback (along with my iPod when I'm out of the house).
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

WestwayKid
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Re: Storing your music collection?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 10:45am
I junked most of my cd's in our last move. I've got a small of box worth of cd's in the basement that I've kept because they're more obscure or autographed or what have you. I just don't have much of an attraction for physical product. I've converted everything to music files and have them backed up on a bunch of dvd's, but on an external hd for playback (along with my iPod when I'm out of the house).
Same here. It's all about the music. It got to the point where my CD's were taking so much space that it was just ridiculous. They survived my most recent move - but I never put them back out. I just went through them - tote by tote - and converted to digital files.

I've concluded there are (obviously) pros and cons for both ways of storing digital media. An external hard drive is nice because you physically "own" it. It's also a one time investment (though I do have the option of purchasing a lifetime subscription to the cloud service I'm using).

Cloud storage costs more. I'm currently paying $9.99 per month (it would be $7.99 if I bought a yearly plan). I want to try it out before I commit. I like that it isn't something I can lose (or that can break) - though is anything truly permanent these days? What happens if the cloud service goes belly up or if their data gets corrupted?

They're both portable in their own way. I can carry an external hard drive with me - they're pretty small these days. The cool thing about cloud storage is that I can access from pretty much anywhere (desktop, laptop, tablet, phone).
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

WestwayKid wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 11:01am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 10:45am
I junked most of my cd's in our last move. I've got a small of box worth of cd's in the basement that I've kept because they're more obscure or autographed or what have you. I just don't have much of an attraction for physical product. I've converted everything to music files and have them backed up on a bunch of dvd's, but on an external hd for playback (along with my iPod when I'm out of the house).
Same here. It's all about the music. It got to the point where my CD's were taking so much space that it was just ridiculous. They survived my most recent move - but I never put them back out. I just went through them - tote by tote - and converted to digital files.

I've concluded there are (obviously) pros and cons for both ways of storing digital media. An external hard drive is nice because you physically "own" it. It's also a one time investment (though I do have the option of purchasing a lifetime subscription to the cloud service I'm using).

Cloud storage costs more. I'm currently paying $9.99 per month (it would be $7.99 if I bought a yearly plan). I want to try it out before I commit. I like that it isn't something I can lose (or that can break) - though is anything truly permanent these days? What happens if the cloud service goes belly up or if their data gets corrupted?

They're both portable in their own way. I can carry an external hard drive with me - they're pretty small these days. The cool thing about cloud storage is that I can access from pretty much anywhere (desktop, laptop, tablet, phone).
You're right about the dangers of the cloud option—you're at the mercy of the company's financial health. The one huge caveat about hard drives is that they'll eventually fail. So, having them backed up on dvd is for that eventuality. Tho I also do regular health checks on the drive and will replace and transfer when things start to degrade too much.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by AudioAmmunition »

Westway Kid, have you considered a NAS Drive, this would give best of both worlds - you own the storage with no ongoing costs and you can access it from anywhere (the drive is low power use and can be on 24/7, accessed over internet). If you get a 2 bay NAS this contains 2 separate physical drives both containing a whole copy of your files, hence if a disc drive breaks you still have another copy. As extra security you can plug in a USB hard drive, make an extra copy and keep elsewhere. I have recently purchased a NAS drive and am in process of ripping my CDs to FLAC. I play these using Marantz network audio player for the best quality but can be played on any device.

WestwayKid
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Re: Storing your music collection?

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AudioAmmunition wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 11:20am
Westway Kid, have you considered a NAS Drive, this would give best of both worlds - you own the storage with no ongoing costs and you can access it from anywhere (the drive is low power use and can be on 24/7, accessed over internet). If you get a 2 bay NAS this contains 2 separate physical drives both containing a whole copy of your files, hence if a disc drive breaks you still have another copy. As extra security you can plug in a USB hard drive, make an extra copy and keep elsewhere. I have recently purchased a NAS drive and am in process of ripping my CDs to FLAC. I play these using Marantz network audio player for the best quality but can be played on any device.
I have not, but I'm intrigued! I'm going to look into it!!
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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by 101Walterton »

I am completely the opposite I need the physical product to the extent that I have gone back to vinyl. I love the cover art, the inner sleeve, the look of the vinyl (especially coloured vinyl). For me putting on an album is part of the pleasure of listening.
I suspect this goes back to when I was a kid and worked in a independent record shop.
I also have shelves of CD’s.
I used to use iTunes but lost everything when my laptop blew up. I admit using Spotify but is convenient even if I hate myself for doing it.

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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by JennyB »

101Walterton wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 2:10pm
I am completely the opposite I need the physical product to the extent that I have gone back to vinyl. I love the cover art, the inner sleeve, the look of the vinyl (especially coloured vinyl). For me putting on an album is part of the pleasure of listening.
I suspect this goes back to when I was a kid and worked in a independent record shop.
I also have shelves of CD’s.
I used to use iTunes but lost everything when my laptop blew up. I admit using Spotify but is convenient even if I hate myself for doing it.
I pretty much feel the same way. I do have music on my phone, but that's mainly just for the gym and planes. I don't listen to any of the streaming services.
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WestwayKid
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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by WestwayKid »

JennyB wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 2:20pm
101Walterton wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 2:10pm
I am completely the opposite I need the physical product to the extent that I have gone back to vinyl. I love the cover art, the inner sleeve, the look of the vinyl (especially coloured vinyl). For me putting on an album is part of the pleasure of listening.
I suspect this goes back to when I was a kid and worked in a independent record shop.
I also have shelves of CD’s.
I used to use iTunes but lost everything when my laptop blew up. I admit using Spotify but is convenient even if I hate myself for doing it.
I pretty much feel the same way. I do have music on my phone, but that's mainly just for the gym and planes. I don't listen to any of the streaming services.
Most of them are pretty awful. I had the Ramones station on Pandora while I was working around the house last weekend and the playlist was "interesting" to say the least. The only time I'll use Pandora or Spotify is when I just want music quick - or just want something in the background. Otherwise - I prefer my own playlists. That's part of the reason I'm really getting into the cloud storage option. It allows me to store all of my music and then create playlists that I can basically play from anywhere.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

I generally only use Spotify if I want to test drive an unheard album or if I'm reading on my iPad in bed and some dumb song decides to haunt my brain.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Storing your music collection?

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I just listen to albums on YouTube these days. Proper luddite but its the ease of access that attracts me. I just cast it to my TV which has good speakers or pop my headphones into my phone. I have ad-blocker which stops the annoying adverts. And EVERYTHING is on YouTube these days, bootlegs, remixes, live stuff etc etc.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

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Re: Storing your music collection?

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Heston wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 4:43pm
I just listen to albums on YouTube these days. Proper luddite but its the ease of access that attracts me. I just cast it to my TV which has good speakers or pop my headphones into my phone. I have ad-blocker which stops the annoying adverts. And EVERYTHING is on YouTube these days, bootlegs, remixes, live stuff etc etc.
I have a friend who does that at his workplace. The proper streaming services are blocked, but not YouTube (GJGE, IT people).
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

WestwayKid
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Re: Storing your music collection?

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Heston wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 4:43pm
I just listen to albums on YouTube these days. Proper luddite but its the ease of access that attracts me. I just cast it to my TV which has good speakers or pop my headphones into my phone. I have ad-blocker which stops the annoying adverts. And EVERYTHING is on YouTube these days, bootlegs, remixes, live stuff etc etc.
I do this a lot, too. It's a great resource because as you mentioned - you can find EVERYTHING and you can also make playlists.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

WestwayKid
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Re: Storing your music collection?

Post by WestwayKid »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 4:51pm
Heston wrote:
10 Jan 2019, 4:43pm
I just listen to albums on YouTube these days. Proper luddite but its the ease of access that attracts me. I just cast it to my TV which has good speakers or pop my headphones into my phone. I have ad-blocker which stops the annoying adverts. And EVERYTHING is on YouTube these days, bootlegs, remixes, live stuff etc etc.
I have a friend who does that at his workplace. The proper streaming services are blocked, but not YouTube (GJGE, IT people).
I know all about that! :mrgreen:

YouTube is not blocked - but it does load really slow - so buffering errors pop up on a semi-regular basis.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

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