Online Distribution Killed Music and Other Dying Pleasures

A 12-inch (30 cm) 33¹⁄₃ rpm record (left),
a 7-inch 45 rpm record (right), and a 5-inch
(120 mm) Compact Disc (above)
Source: Wikimedia Commons

I'm of the generation whose first experience of buying the latest music was to purchase 45 rpm 'singles' - having been born at the very beginning of the 1970's. Other formats were around of course, LP's, 12 inch singles and audio cassettes but 45s were the cheapest to buy for someone whose main source of income was parental pocket money.

All of these formats were popular up until the mid to late nineteen eighties where music distribution transitioned onto Compact Discs.

As clunky as it all was, buying your favorite singles and then eventually recording them onto a compilation audio tape was quite an enjoyable pass time.

Not only that but if you had a favorite musical artist you'd buy all their singles, not just for the featured song but also for the possible gem of a 'B-side' that didn't appear on their LP Album (which you also bought). The real fans even bought the extended 12 inch singles in which the artist usually took a great song and ruined it by dragging it out longer into some kind of dance mix.

Then there was the album art to be enjoyed. Especially the art of a 'concept album' which usually went above and beyond the regular photo of the band - unless you were a Pink Floyd fan, in which case nearly every album cover was a work of genius (or an Iron Maiden fan who didn't care for their music but thought their album cover art was something special).

CD's kind of kept the album alive along with not just cover art but cover book inserts. However the smaller size diminished the appeal some what.

All through the nineteen eighties and nineties collecting and listening to music was a pass time that was quite important to me. Particularly in the nineties where I really started to search out newer, less mainstream music.. usually music labeled 'alternative'. So much of it was by bands that have become mainstream as they progressed.

I have a collection of LPs, 45s and CDs that people used to enjoy looking through to see what I had. A collection that I could browse and select an album of music that suited my frame of mind when creating art in my studio or just looking to sit back and relax.

As the music industry transitioned its self kicking and screaming into the online distribution of singles, thanks to online music stores like iTunes (and my entire music collection can now fit on my smart phone), I've stopped buying music.

Not only that but I've almost stopped listening to it as well (save for the fact that you can't completely isolate yourself from music if you watch TV or go to the movies).

It's not a purposeful thing. I didn't just decide not to buy music or try to avoid listening to it. Part of the fun of collecting music for me was the album. Even though artists still release albums digitally online it's just not the same as going out and buying music from a record store. Then bringing the disc home and listening to every song because it's on the CD. Hearing the tracks that never get any radio play because those songs are for the true fans.

When you buy a single online, that's all you get. There is no 'B-side' featuring a completely new song or even an alternate version of the single you might not have heard otherwise.

I know you can buy albums online but I don't feel compelled to do so if all I'm getting is the songs. I want the cover art, the book insert, the experience of learning to appreciate songs that would never work as singles but work within the context of an album. An album that I can hold in my hand and say 'yes I bought this'.

That's the real problem with online distribution and downloading music. You're not actually paying for anything tangible. You're just buying a code. Your MP3 player already has the ability to play every digital song released. All you're doing is buying the codes that make it play those songs you want to hear.

Collecting movies is going the same way with movies on demand services. You can still buy movies on DVD and Blu-ray but for how much longer? Will these download on demand services kill the one reason apart from the film to buy a movie on DVD... the DVD extras? Are they going to disappear like the 'B-side'.

Computer Software purchases are just about all digital downloads now. I haven't bought software in an actual box from a computer store in nearly 10 years, if not more. That's not really a bad thing but I do miss not having a printed manual. I can't begin to tell you how much easier and quicker it is to learn software with a printed manual as opposed to one displayed onscreen as a PDF file.

I'm actually not bemoaning these changes - well perhaps with music I am just a little. Being able to buy things online as digital products is a great thing. Particularly in terms of cost. I'm sure I would've embraced paying 99 cents for a single in a heart beat considering we paid somewhere between $5 and $7 for a 45 single back when I was a kid.

I just miss being able to buy the tangible, hold in your hand item. Maybe I need to start collecting something much more tangible... like action figures perhaps!

Comments

Movie Review: A Complete Unknown (2024) No Spoilers

Y ou would think the Bob Dylan story would be 'wind-swept and interesting,' to quote Billy Connelly, however, despite A Complete Unknown being quite an engaging film, it feels like it missed the years that really shaped him as a song writer/performer. The film starts in 1961, with a then unknown, 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arriving in New York City with his guitar. From there he forges relationships with musical icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates around the world. The problem being, according to this film, Dylan arrived in New York, for the most part, fully formed as a folk singer/song writer. In virtually no time he makes a very important connection that puts him on the trajectory of doing the work and becoming a name, before making his world changing performance. While there is some drama behind the scenes with his various relationships, none of it is particularly unique to any number of up and com...

I'm Confused About Why People Prefer to Say Discombobulated?

D iscombobulated. Is a word that I think someone rediscovered about three or four years ago (maybe more because the pandemic years have thrown out my sense of time) and now I hear it a lot. It's not a new word by any means, but when I started hearing multiple celebrities using it in everyday sentences, I actively had to look up what it meant. Define it with as many synonyms as you like but essentially it's just another word meaning 'confused'. Seinfeld Quotes: Quotes.net The words are pretty much interchangeable. He was discombobulated by too many choices. He was confused by too many choices. My confusion is the length of the word. It's unnecessarily long with too many syllables. There are many other words that mean confused, and therefore also mean discombobulated. Most of them are shorter and easier to say. So why not just say 'confused'? Perhaps discombobulated sounds more intelligent, maybe? Hawaii Five-0 Quotes: Quotes.net I've noticed it gets us...

Movie Review: Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) No Spoilers

I would not call myself a comic book fan of Hellboy. I've never read a single comic about him. My sum total knowledge of the character comes from the first two live action films, Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), staring Ron Pearlman in the titular role. Essentially I'm a fan of those two films. Particularly Ron's portrayal of the character. I've been wanting to see the two later reboot attempts, in particular, David Harbor's run at the character in, Hellboy (2019), but reviews suggested I'd be disappointed if I spent any extra on them beyond a streaming service subscription. I missed David's Hellboy when it was on streaming, and currently I think you can only rent or buy it. However, Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) surfaced, at no extra cost on Amazon Prime, so I decided to give it a go. The poster says it's the fourth installment in the franchise, so I guess these films are loosely set in the same continuity and are all the sa...

James Gunn's Social Media Monkeys Joke Was a Highlight of His Superman Movie For Me

B efore James Gunn's Superman Movie was released there was a whole rumor going around that the movie would feature monkeys on computers trolling Superman's social media, sparking much outrage. #supersh*t. I didn't know this was even a thing until just prior to writing this article. I did a search to see if anyone had posted a clip of the monkeys scene from the movie and got pages of discourse featuring videos and articles prior to the film. Most of it from Gunn detractors (let's say) seeing it as some kind of childish swipe at them... well not them specifically but, you know, those other people who have every right to hate on anything sight unseen. Anyway, I'm not going to give even one such example a link or air because it's kind of sad watching someone devote so much commentary to a throw away gag that is absolutely a nod to James Gunn's Superman trolls. The whole reason this post exists, is to say I loved the joke, because fourteen years ago, and I...

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch...

Movie Review: Superman (2025) No Spoilers

T he one thing I like about James Gunn as a comic book movie director is that he leans into the comic book nature of the world and the characters. He's not trying to do a realistic take on any of the characters. He's simply bringing the comics to life. It's still his take on the characters, but he doesn't shy away from their comic book origins. James Gunn's Superman is very much a comic book movie in every sense. Nothing is off the table because it's too 'comic-booky' and might look silly in a live action film. To me that's incredibly liberating. It lets James actually tell a proper Superman story that isn't hamstrung by reality, or tip toeing into the fantastical just enough to allow Superman to exist in the real world. Superman begins in the middle of a battle. Metropolis is under attack by a super powered being known as 'Hammer of Boravia', however everything is not as it seems, and Superman (David Corenswet) must work with other s...

Australian Federal Election 2025 - World's Most Boring Government Re-elected by Landside - We're Even More Fine!

Anthony Albanese Victory by ChatGPT and TET. W hen I started writing about the 2025 Federal election the polls were suggesting the world's most boring government was crusing to a defeat . As it turns out, boring is good, and Australia wants more of it, handing the current government a landslide win with a majority vote. Anthony Albanese became the first PM since John Howard to win a consecutive term, and the first Labor PM since Bob Hawke to do so. Some of that comes down to the leadership revolving door both major parties had through the mid 2000s. Although Anthony is my preferred PM over Dutton the irony is Dutton sounds more like a leader with a fairly commanding voice and an ability to speak well, without sounding like he's waffling and dodging questions, even if he is. Anthony, on the other hand, does have the ability (and speech writer) to say a lot of inspiring things but it gets lost in the delivery. He doesn't seem to know when to emphasise a point for effect. In h...

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog