iTunes is DRM free, you can easily move the MP3 files to any device (even ones that have never had iCloud access).
I don't buy physical as I would wear it out playing the only track I would want to listen to on the album (as often it's only 1-2 songs I am actually interested in.
I purchase music to get the highest quality possible, pay towards the artists I enjoy listening to & so I don't pay for streaming services such as Spotify as they are bad models especially when I don't want to listen to music one month.
Some months I listen to no music at all, as other months it's not normally more than a few songs I listen to on repeat, obviously my playlists grow but not at 10 songs a month all year around. Also music streaming services are more closer to 14.99 in my country than 9.99
I know i've got a few songs that I've got over 10 listens to, and I think a good goal for each track might be 1 play per pence that I spent on it, so a £0.99 song would be 99 plays.
I personally avoid streaming services as I know some months I rather just listen to podcasts or just not listen to music at all. This is why I'm starting a digital library of songs that I purchase. But yeah I guess getting a song to less than 0.01 per play would be a good goal to see the value in the purchase.
That is fair enough, I purchase Digitally as it's cheaper (as not really interested in a full album) and the higher quality of music does help a bit as it means I can hear it on better quality kit and it still sounds amazing. Streaming isn't really a thing I enjoy as some months I may not want a new song or even want to listen to music, So i'm triyng to work out what amount of plays makes sense that you've 'got worth' out of it. I know it's a little subjective but I wonder how much 99p is worth
So the reason I purchase songs digitally is a few reasons;
Often Pirating can come with not only risk but also can be not the best quality out there, the easiest pirating method I know of getting music is finding the song on YouTube and that is defo not studio quality.
I know not much will go to the artist but this is the best I can do without the money or ability to go to there shows and not enjoying Streaming Services.