"I only buy music in physical form" - Tracy Chapman reflects on how buying CDs and vinyl helps artists get paid

Singer and songwriter Tracy Chapman sat down for an interview with the New York Times on April 4, 2025, where she shared her views on buying CDs and vinyl.

When the interviewer asked if she listened to new music, she shared that she still listened to music, though not as often as she once did. She also mentioned that she didn’t use streaming services. Chapman said:

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“I only buy music in physical form. Artists get paid when you actually buy a CD or the vinyl. That’s important to me. So to some extent, it limits what I listen to, because it’s a physical commitment of going out into the world and finding things, but I still do go out.”

Reflecting on her formative years, Tracy Chapman shared that while she was still a student at Tufts, she got a few unexpected offers from music labels. She used to perform on the streets and in subway stations around Cambridge, and one day, someone from Warner Music left their business card in her guitar case.

At first, she wasn’t sure it was legit, but it turned out to be authentic when she called. Tracy Chapman also received another offer from someone in Argentina, but turned that down too. A few folk labels showed interest after she graduated.

Ultimately, she decided to sign with a production company connected to another Tufts student. The company helped pitch her demo to record labels, with Elektra’s Bob Krasnow eventually giving her the opportunity.

Tracy Chapman said poets like Gwendolyn Brooks and Nikki Giovanni inspired her

Tracy Chapman explained that she wasn't influenced by '60s folk music, contrary to what others believed. She said while growing up as a young Black girl in Cleveland during the '70s, she wasn’t exposed to that kind of music.

Moreover, being the youngest in her family, she didn’t have much say over what music played at home. She also couldn’t afford to buy records.

She enjoyed listening to the radio and, in particular, she liked Casey Kasem’s Top 40 countdown. She even used a small tape recorder to record it. However, Tracy Chapman also found that reading helped her to be more creative. She lived near a public library and her mother gave her permission to go there.

She said the library became her second home. She read poetry and often copied her favorite lines into a notebook. Poets like Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Rudyard Kipling were among her early inspirations.

Tracy Chapman described her return to the stage at the Grammys with Luke Combs as an emotional experience. Before agreeing to perform, she and Combs had a thoughtful conversation and made sure they were on the same page about how they wanted to approach it.

Because she had not gone on tour for several years, she no longer had a group of people working for her. However, she stated that when she contacted individuals she had worked with previously, they all agreed to work with her. It marked the first occasion in a significant period that they were all gathered together in the same place. She said this reunion made the event even more significant to her.

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