GlendaleViper
Yep, words.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Posts
- 5,287
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As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I found my thoughts focusing on the reported decline of physical media sales. I know that not everyone values a physical copy of their music over a cheap/free lossy digital file but I, for one, have to have an original copy and I know a lot of us here feel the same.
I came to think about the the prospect of physical media becoming history and thought, in the face of this reported decline, vinyl continues to live and thrive. So what does vinyl have that CDs don't? It's far less convenient, most people prefer the sound of CDs or could otherwise care less... but here we have a medium which, insofar as public perception is concerned, is archaic and unwieldy, and yet it's growing in popularity once again.
Now first of all, I want to give propers where they are due: There are a handful of "Indie" labels who are going out of their way to make vinyl a more approachable format. There have been a number of releases over the last two years or so that include a free download of an album with the purchase of the record. This is brilliant, in my opinion.
But I digress.
The main thing I considered was simple: Desire. A record album is a desirable piece of merchandise. With its large size, things like booklets, liner notes and of course album art are almost somewhat of a luxury. This has, of course, been discussed to death on these forums.
But the main thing that stuck with me was that concept of desire and how it can also apply to the CD. I started to think of the better digi-pack designs out there, along with brilliant packaging concepts (Tool's latest comes immediately to mind) and other special editions that come to market which really add value to one's hard-earned purchase; a purchase made despite the near-guaranteed availability of such music - for free, online.
And so I begin to think, perhaps naively, about embracing the realities of music going into the ether while holding onto a "niche market" approach to the compact disc. Of the rights holders allowing the superiority of the DSD/SACD (fine, and DVD-A) formats to proliferate in the form of hybrid discs on all physical copies produced.
Imagine walking into a revamped "specialty shop" version of your favourite music store, where the walls and bins are adorned with compact discs, and there's not a one-page-insert jewel case in sight. Hefty digi-pack and mini-LP designs prevail, all containing extensive liner-notes, lyrics, photography, paintings and other art the band felt complimented the music they've created. Front covers with embossed typefaces. Textured papers and specialty inks and foils. I remember a time when bands spent significant time ensuring their albums had accompanying artwork that spoke to them and inspired their work, often sharing works that were created by the band members themselves, adding an extra level of connection to the artists.
We all know where music is headed, but there are still a lot of people who don't see value in owning a string of code. Make the CD desirable, and it will live on. Make all LPs available with a free download and vinyl will pick up even more.
I know it's a pipe dream, but I think it's reasonable. Anyone else with thoughts?
I came to think about the the prospect of physical media becoming history and thought, in the face of this reported decline, vinyl continues to live and thrive. So what does vinyl have that CDs don't? It's far less convenient, most people prefer the sound of CDs or could otherwise care less... but here we have a medium which, insofar as public perception is concerned, is archaic and unwieldy, and yet it's growing in popularity once again.
Now first of all, I want to give propers where they are due: There are a handful of "Indie" labels who are going out of their way to make vinyl a more approachable format. There have been a number of releases over the last two years or so that include a free download of an album with the purchase of the record. This is brilliant, in my opinion.
But I digress.
The main thing I considered was simple: Desire. A record album is a desirable piece of merchandise. With its large size, things like booklets, liner notes and of course album art are almost somewhat of a luxury. This has, of course, been discussed to death on these forums.
But the main thing that stuck with me was that concept of desire and how it can also apply to the CD. I started to think of the better digi-pack designs out there, along with brilliant packaging concepts (Tool's latest comes immediately to mind) and other special editions that come to market which really add value to one's hard-earned purchase; a purchase made despite the near-guaranteed availability of such music - for free, online.
And so I begin to think, perhaps naively, about embracing the realities of music going into the ether while holding onto a "niche market" approach to the compact disc. Of the rights holders allowing the superiority of the DSD/SACD (fine, and DVD-A) formats to proliferate in the form of hybrid discs on all physical copies produced.
Imagine walking into a revamped "specialty shop" version of your favourite music store, where the walls and bins are adorned with compact discs, and there's not a one-page-insert jewel case in sight. Hefty digi-pack and mini-LP designs prevail, all containing extensive liner-notes, lyrics, photography, paintings and other art the band felt complimented the music they've created. Front covers with embossed typefaces. Textured papers and specialty inks and foils. I remember a time when bands spent significant time ensuring their albums had accompanying artwork that spoke to them and inspired their work, often sharing works that were created by the band members themselves, adding an extra level of connection to the artists.
We all know where music is headed, but there are still a lot of people who don't see value in owning a string of code. Make the CD desirable, and it will live on. Make all LPs available with a free download and vinyl will pick up even more.
I know it's a pipe dream, but I think it's reasonable. Anyone else with thoughts?
