It’s a pretty odd transition for one to make. Even in our heavily consumer focused culture, it seems that many people like to own a tangible asset. Buying a right isn’t the same as owning. A file on a computer isn’t the same as something that arrives in a box.
I’m particularly thinking about music in this case. Online music download services have now reached a point where their technical limitations have pretty much passed away. Previously I was concerned about digital rights management and the low quality of files but iTunes now almost exclusively sells high quality 256kbps AAC tracks that are not DRM limited (although each file does contain a fingerprint of the purchaser so they can still be traced).
So what are the reasons that I have left to purchase music on CDs instead of via download? It’s certainly not because it’s more convenient or significantly cheaper. iTunes prices are comparitive (especially if you buy a whole album) and it is certainly easier to click a few times than go online to amazon or walk into a shop.
There seem to be one justification in my mind - that of the ownership of a physical CD being somehow more tangible and more personal. You can have it on a shelf in you house for others to browse in a way that is just not possible with an iTunes collection. You can also more easily take it out to a friends or to a party - although given how many people have iPods and docks these days, that too is becoming a mute argument.
Just recently the napster model of music rental seems to have taken hold again with a range of new services such as Spotify. The idea is that you never own or download music but simply have it available through a client that streams the tracks (and the occasional advert) through your speakers. For a small amount of money you can also get rid of the adverts. All the music you could want for free.
Again you don’t own the music - and any playlists you put together will be lost when spotify disappears. But in the here and now it’s free though so it’s not possible to complain is it? Again, my only viable retort is that it somehow lacks the personal feel.
Now - should my next purchase physically or electronically?
One of the CDs I bought recently was an EP (you heard it) from a band I heard live in NZ. I couldn’t get those tracks easily from my usual place - they’re not on itunes, only 2 on the myspace page, and I doubt many NZ music shops could source it, let along those in the UK. OK, the band could have put all of their tracks on a website and made them freely available, but I imagine the modest income from the sales is one of the things that covers their band running costs! Whetever is going on in the realm of more popular music, there must still be a place for those starting out to distribute their tracks.
I treasure these random albums unavailable elsewhere more than my others I’ve got because I can’t get them anywhere else, and because they often represent a stage of the band’s growth. An example is the album ‘Let’s hear it for pizza’ by Irish singer Juliet Turner. Heard at Greenbelt years and years ago, I have it on tape for heaven’s sake! (although I think Jen has it on cd…- need a copy Jen…whole other issue there…). She changed her lovely raw and folky edge to be far more poppy, and you cannot find ‘Dr Fell’ as done on the original album anywhere. It hurts my ears to listen to what happened to it!! And no-one can hear the original to compare…