Consuming Music
It’s amazing how the music retail business has changed over the years. Just a few short years ago we witnessed the death of singles and cassettes, the rise and decline of CD sales, and the undisputed rise of digital downloading and online media. This has all occurred within 10 short years.
I have started asking my guitar students how they consume music and the vast majority purchase music exclusively online. Rarely do they walk into a local music store like a Hot Topic or FYE and pick up the physical copy. They’d much rather navigate to iTunes, Zune Marketplace, Amazon, etc.
Another noticeable trend that’s quite obvious is the resurgence of the almighty single. No longer do you have to sit through an entire album and not know exactly what you’re going to get. You jump online, snag one song for .99 cents typically, and move on to the next one. Instant aural gratification drives the industry, and that’s unfortunate.
What ever happened to the ritual of sifting through tons of albums at your local music store, checking out the cover art, and trying to pronounce bands with weird names? What about ripping the plastic wrap off, awkwardly removing the security sticker on the top edge, smelling the fresh ink from the booklet, and sliding the disc into your favorite stereo?
Even with all my apparent nostalgia for purchasing physical albums, I’ve admittedly purchased plenty of digital music. If you’re someone like heavyMattL, you single-handedly keep the music industry afloat with all the albums you purchase annually in local stores. I’ve got to say, Matt sets the standard for what’s still good in the music retail industry. He stays perpetually educated about bands, purchases their music, attends tons of shows, and also recommends to others without a ton of bias one way or another.
Seeing the next generation have similar characteristics makes me hopeful and optimistic that physical copies will stand the test of time. However, big business and profound technological advances creates a variable of unknown.
Though I sample music online before purchasing it, I will always purchase stuff that I’m passionate about. \m/
How do you consume music? Digital or Physical Copies?
Buying physical copies of albums has almost become the cool thing to do again. I always feel some sense of hipness when I go buy an album. So maybe all the little indie kids will pick up on it and start buying them again…but prolly not
I stand firm against digital downloads. I will sample something online but I will not purchase it online. The artist put a package together, its all part of the “art” in my opinion. I want to see how they packaged the goods. I want to look at all the art inside, the credits, the thank yous, all of it is part of the expierence to me. I like reading who produced the track, where it was recorded and mixed, and so on. And I personally like the personal touch you get in a brick and mortar store. I like talking to employees that are passionate about the music. I really love independant stores because that is where you find your truly passionate employees. I can spend an entire Saturday going from one store to the next.
[...] and no longer about music, Clear Channel runs terrestrial radio, and internet downloading is king (see Mike’s post), great music is usually overshadowed by top 40 hits, and recycled rock garbage. There are still [...]
I feel the same way. Going through a record store, even if you don’t end up buying anything, is just such a good stress-reliever. When you do decide on a record to buy, it is because you have looked through different albums (which broadens your musical horizons) and decided that this is what you wanted to buy based on things like the album artwork, the 30-second samples of the songs, or previous knowledge of the band (which means that you are making independent informed decisions and you are not just giving into what you should buy, or what your environment wants you to listen to). If you truly are passionate about music and don’t just use music as some hip outlet to make you different from your typical musically stagnant friends, than go buy a CD. One, you are hearing an entire body of art instead of just one or two songs that may have hit the mainstream. Two, you will come to find that the best songs are not going to be the mainstream, popular songs. The “hidden gem” type songs are more than likely the most emotional, vulnerable, and beautiful songs on the album. Three, you learn so much just by reading through the cover booklets about the artist(s). Also, by choosing not to lower yourself to popular society’s standards, you are not ripping off an artist by illegaly downloading their songs. Sharing sites like Limewire don’t so much affect popular artists, but they do affect independent or not so well known artists. I plan on exclusively buying albums from stores, not because its cool to, but because it is really the only way to learn about and understand music as a whole.