I buy CDs, mostly from archivmusic.com.

Since January, I've picked up nine violin CDs, including a whole pile of Ehnes playing Bartok, a couple of Schneiderhan concerti, and most recently, Grumiaux's Corelli Sonatas Op. 5.

I’ve been obsessed with Christian Tetzlaff lately and have brought six of his albums since spring (all on iTunes), including violin concertos of Mozart, Dvorak, Lalo, Brahms and Joachim, Mozart Sonatas and Schumann Sonatas (both with Vogt), and last but not least, the Dvorak string sextet. Love, love, love!!!

Over the years between me and my husband, we have built a pretty good music library at home. My husband is still buying CDs on monthly basis mostly from Arkivmusic. I tend to purchase music on iTunes and CDs at concerts.

YouTube and live streaming are all great way to taste and sample something, very much like library books. They help me to purchase wisely.

I play music on ipod a lot as I walk everywhere. I also play them on computers frequently because often I can listen and work at the same time.

Message to all that have actually paid for music - Well Done. Message for all cheapskate streamers, rippers and culture thieves - you are contributing nothing to the common weal. If we all supported live music and proven professional level talent by opening our wallets a little more often instead of expecting the tax payer/orchestra management board/rich bastards to do it for us then the whole violin world would be a better place. I rest my case... which actually is looking a bit tatty and needs replacing but that's another moan.
I paid R$175.00 (Brazilian reais) on Hilary Hahn's 27 Encores CD, the equivalent to almost US$90.00, the only reason being is that I really love her... worth it, no regrets (ok, maybe a tiny bit). This stuff is really expensive here in Brazil, not to mention rare, specially where I live, so usually I download pieces from youtube and occasionally, when I like the artist and at least one of the pieces I'll buy the cd if I find it. :p
I voted "None". I only use Spotify nowadays. However, I really enjoyed HH's latest album. I had the opportunity to visit her performance in Uppsala, Sweden. World class!
My bad ! Oldsters like me spend our time replaying the treasured recordings from the good ol' days and can't keep up with the new stuff on the block.
Thanks for the sweeping generalization, Julian!

I subscribe to Rhapsody which enables me to listen to a lot of good music. I would estimate that they have about 50% of the music I want to hear. The service is great because I can transfer music to up to three devices, which includes my MP3 player, and my daughter's, and I can also log in from my tablet and then play it through my Bluetooth speakers wherever I am. Presumably artists get some piece of the action from a service like Rhapsody, although I can imagine it's pretty small. I also use my computer and tablet to listen to internet radio because broadcast reception in my area is not very good. I don't know what kind of royalty anyone gets from that, but my use of those services is completely legit. I spend $15 a month on Rhapsody, the equivalent of an album a month. If there are other things I want, then I usually buy the MP3s on Amazon, I probably spend another $100 a year that way. I also support live music such as Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and our area gets a lot of good live chamber music and solo recitals through the Virginia Tech Center for the Arts and through Musica Viva of Southwestern Virginia. We probably see 8-10 ticketed recitals and concerts a year. Not to mention local jazz groups and other bands that we see on a cover-charge (or tips) basis at the small handful of bars in Blacksburg that feature live music. Buskers always get a buck from me, a fiver if they're good. Yes I do also look on YouTube and watch things there. I like to look at videos about violin-making because I think that's fascinating, and I like to show my daughter some violin videos so that she can see how various techniques are done and see -- not just hear -- how various pieces are played, at the request of her teacher. I have purchased videos of Hilary Hahn and Anne-Sophie Mutter as well. And please don't forget how much money many of us parents are paying to local professional musicians for our kids' lessons. That is a very expensive proposition, not to mention the instruments and sheet music and accessories that we have to buy, and we register for Blue Ridge Suzuki Camp every year, and that's run by local and regional professionals who presumably earn a stipend for teaching there. So even though i stream most of my music through Rhapsody, I don't think I'm a cheapskate or a culture thief or whatever other grand epithets you might have reserved for me, and I respectfully suggest that you direct your righteous indignation toward your own vices, whatever they may be.

Paul, Since you have paid for your music you clearly do not fall into the category 'cheapskate streamers' which most people, including the writer, would interpret as those who pay nothing for it. If I offended you then I apologise.
Sorry Julian to have reacted so strongly, but I doubt there is anyone who does everything in a perfectly legit manner. Who has never made a photo-copy for an accompanist or duet partner? How many pay royalties when they whip up an arrangement of a pop tune for their Suzuki violin class? Who's never copied a borrowed CD? Sure, there are some folks who scam everything and hardly buy anything -- I remember the weird claims made by such people in the P2P (Napster) era about how music should "belong to everyone" and so on, and of course that's BS. But is it okay to steal some as long as one also buys some? What ratio of stealing to buying is okay? See, that's why I think it's best to be careful with the condemnations because I bet there are very few who are truly free of all such transgressions.
The Weinberg Cds from www.linusroth.com.
I ride the white horse for Copyright! It has been my charge to know and educate teachers about this very thing. It is hard to stay in compliance when you are doing things "for the kids" but it really cuts into the earning power of the creative people who draw, compose, write or do other creative and enjoyable forms for the masses. All I can say is to please think twice before making an illegal copy "just this once." If it were your composition, you would expect the same consideration.

Paul asks: "But is it okay to steal some as long as one also buys some? What ratio of stealing to buying is okay?"

Steal is always hard to defend so I'd say it's morally wrong to steal, but the more interesting issue that Paul touched upon is whether we are supposed to act morally all the time. This is a very difficult question to answer.

Also, when it comes to copyright, there is a thing called "fair use" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use) as a way to strike some sort of balance. The concept is not so clear cut but the thinking behind is pretty obvious: copyright is a complicated matter that it is subject to limitations.

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