Digital World – Streams v Mp3s v Physical Product

Music Technology 001It is January 2013. Music is now more available than ever before.
How do you consume yours?
Do you need to own music? or just listen to it without owning it?
I have vinyl, tapes, cds, minidiscs, and dvds.
I also have mp3s, mp4s, wavs, aacs, and more.
I also stream music for free and for payment.
Which one will take over?

I think it depends on your habits, your age, your attitude to technology.
Some people will use all methods. Some will use the Cloud. Others won’t.
I can see a world where everything is streamed. You want an artist. You search. You want a particular album.
You enter a keyword. You press play.
The song plays on your device of choice. Your phone. your home hifi. your tv. in your car.
Do you really need the physical product? Probably not.

If you haven’t grown up with physical products, you won’t miss them.
Cds, Vinyl, dvds. These will be for collectors. Like stamps, or books. Well maybe like vintage cars.
Physical Products are not particularly practical when it comes to creating playlists, but they have a certain warm nostalgia that is attractive to me.
I’ve started buying vinyl again.
I get it. The warmth. The crackle. The artwork. The running order.

The effort it takes to play a song. Its special. Not a name or number in a list. It sounds much better, doesn’t it?
Like the hum from a 1940s cadillac. Not sure what that sounds like…

Is it a war or just a parting of the river. The mainstream rushes down into the sea. A sea of endless songs. Searchable by keyword.
And out of the mainstream flows small tributaries.
They flow down small gulleys and channels into a myriad of small inlets and coves…
Thats where I’m going. In my boat. down to a quiet inlet.
But then, I am getting older now. So these things appeal to me. At 19, it would be a different story, probably.
I’ll still dip my ears and feet in the sea from time to time.
But its the jewels in the inlets and coves I’ll treasure most.

UVray