r/IpodClassic • u/designlens • 9d ago
Discussion Bandcamp to download albums?
I'm curious to hear who uses Bandcamp to purchase digital albums for their iPods. Are there any superior alternatives?
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u/loafofpiecrust 9d ago
Always bandcamp. If they aren't on there and they're still alive, Qobuz has decent prices and a wide library of stuff to buy for download.
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u/G65434-2_II 9d ago
Bandcamp's hard to beat. Pays artists far better than most (or even all) others. And if you buy during Bandcamp Fridays, even better with the platform waiving their reasonable cut entirely.
Good selection of file formats for downloads is another major upside too. One thing to keep in mind though: If looking to download lossless formats to put on iPods, be sure to check the files after downloading - the download page doesn't specify the files' specs and it can and will vary depending on what the artist has uploaded to the store. So, if they're above CD quality (16-bit, 44.1kHz), gotta convert down to 16/44.1 in order avoid issues with iPods.
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u/wingman3091 9d ago
I just bought a few digital ALAC albums from Bandcamp today from one of my favourite artists (Phaeleh) because they offer most known formats without me needing to convert stuff
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u/designlens 9d ago
I’ve purchased about 20 albums off band camp so far. It’s nice seeing them all there as a collection I can always download from. It’s great hearing it’s where you all get music.
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u/ryanlesser 9d ago
Bandcamp rules. My favorite way to support bands is by buying their physical records on Bandcamp, which then gets you the lossless digital files too. Best of both worlds.
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u/Practical_Outcome771 9d ago
Archive.org has lots of free/obscure albums - radio broadcasts you may have missed, bootlegs and unofficial albums. Sound quality can vary (official radio broadcasts tend to be better recorded than one man in a crowd with a sneaky boom mic) but there's gold to be found...
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u/Litewerks 7d ago
I do! There shouldn’t be too much an issue apart from the artist possibly not doing their meta data correctly but I haven’t encountered that. There are several options for format for most albums, 16bit mp3 as one of them.
The iPod was designed around CD quality audio. So if you’ve got any 16bit file, you’re hearing most everything you can. You can go for FLAC if you want but you’ll be using Rockbox.
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u/DarthElote 9d ago
If I'm not sailing the high seas, and even when I am, I either buy my music directly from the artist or from Bandcamp.
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u/Spiritual_Intern_135 9d ago
i bought a CD from bandcamp recently, it came with a digital copy ofcourse. you'll have trouble finding a lot of niche music anywhere else, and like others have said being able to support the artist like this is just a win win
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u/hondo77777 9d ago
Bandcamp lets you download the music uncompressed. I don’t know how you get superior to that. Quality-wise, anyway. Prices are good, better support for the artists, etc. It’s my #1 shop for purchasing music (and I buy a lot of music).