The music industry has changed drastically in the past 10 years. Once upon a time, music had a medium in which to listen, but now everything [not just music] is going digital. Today, people argue for its “convenience,” but doesn’t convenience kill the magic? I myself prefer collecting and listening to music in the physical form. Join me on this journey down memory lane or, if you are too young or not yet educated, welcome.
The longest standing form of physical media for music is vinyl. It has the biggest fan base and collector numbers by far. There are stores still dedicated solely to buying and selling records to this day. Vinyl is my favorite medium for music because of the manual action of putting it on and flipping the side. It embodies a connection to the music that is already loved so much. Cassettes are the most interesting form of music media. I still cannot fully comprehend how they work; it is truly fascinating. I have recently branched out into a “newish to me” genre – hip hop music – and it sounds amazing on cassette tapes.
When CDs hit the scene, they quickly phased out all other forms of media from the spotlight. Music was not the only casualty, VHS, and video game cartridges also took a huge hit. It was just “more convenient” to fit things on CDs and DVDs. They also took up less space than vinyl and cassette tapes. The way of the world is always “what is newest is best.” That, my friends, is a matter of opinion. Some things, however, are just meant to be experienced in their original form. The magic is almost always lost in digital translation.
The buy and sell of music and video games is forever changed. It is now up to the artists to maintain music in its purest form and that is becoming more and more rare in today’s world. I am an old soul in a world constantly wanting to dismiss the old ways of media in way of “progress and convenience.” We must each decide what we think of the convenient digital phasing out of physical media. I for one am completely against destroying this artform.
