Can't find an inexpensive cd club containing some of the artists that I like.

August 15, 2007 6:33 AM

BMG sucks! Help me find a cd club that has artists such as Ani DiFranco, Old Crow Medicine Show, Cowboy Mouth, Colbie Caillat, Nickel Creek, and The Waifs.

BMG had none of them. They did have some of my more mainstream choices but the trouble is, I want cds from the above artists as well. I could purchase them from local vendors, as I have done in the past, but I'm looking for a bargain. I have tried CD Universe and Django...trouble with them is they either didn't have a used version or the cds are selling for the same price as I can purchase them in the store. Bonus: an introductory offer .

posted by NotInTheBox to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

I don't know if you'll find what you want outside of going local. If you aren't interested in mainstream bands, you won't find much in the mail order catalogs. They make their money by printing many copies of things that are bland enough to appeal to many people. Printing small runs of less-desired (but probably better!) albums is going to be a loss, so they won't do it.

The only way I can see you finding what you want outside of buying new or used locally is to look on the iTunes Music Store, but that of course assumes that (a) you don't mind DRM or the hoops you have to jump through to remove it, (b) you don't mind not having a physical copy of the music you rent own, and (c) the price on iTMS is lower than you'd pay in a brick-and-mortar local store.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:56 AM on August 15, 2007

I don't know how much CD clubs charge, but Amazon Prime is $40 a year, for free shipping... although with CDs, you would probably need to buy a lot to amortize that. There's also a CDNOW preferred buyer's club, which is probably cheaper or free.
posted by tmcw at 7:03 AM on August 15, 2007

Is trading an option for you? If so, I'd highly recommend lala.com. Ignore the lala player and just focus on the trades: $1.75 and an old CD that someone else wants will get you whatever anyone is willing to part with. The trading system is simple and easy to use, and there is plenty of non-mainstream stuff available.

IANAS: I am not a shill (just a happy customer).
posted by somanyamys at 7:10 AM on August 15, 2007

I also searched for the same and have come up short. But, if downloading would suffice, I've been quite impressed with the selection on emusic. Sort of the itunes for the more independent artists. The rates are very reasonable; it's a subscription plan "x# of songs for x# dollars" per month and they do have an intro offer. (I get 40 songs for $10) I ran the names you were looking for... they have OCMS, Cowboy Mouth, and The Waifs.

Caveat: you lose the artwork and liner notes, which is a drawback to the downloading process, and perhaps your reason for seeking the physical cds.
posted by wg at 7:12 AM on August 15, 2007

Reading caution live frogs comments reminded me to tout the following: you own the songs once they download from emusic: make copies, put them on multiple mp3 players, do whatever you want with them. They're just as much yours as if you had bought the album in a brick-n-mortar.
posted by wg at 7:16 AM on August 15, 2007

lala
posted by cahlers at 7:41 AM on August 15, 2007

iTunes. emusic.

In other news, BMG music club still exists? Who knew!
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 7:50 AM on August 15, 2007

The few CDs that I do buy, I usually buy from Half.com.

I can either get brand new discs for a small discount or like-new condition discs for larger discounts.
posted by roomwithaview at 10:01 AM on August 15, 2007