My little nieces and my older nephew got rid of their CD collection. They
don't remember records, cassettes or 8 Track and they could care less. I
have an older friend in New York who uses Soulseek exclusively for his
music. He used to collect vinyl and CDs. This is where music is heading, for
god or bad. Today listener's ears are wired for digital sound and the iPod
is their chosen delivery system. The iPod is truly the deathblow for music
as we knew it. Maybe it doesn't matter, maybe their generation will
re-discover vinyl or CDs but my bets are that within a few years all
physical mediums for music will be delegated to the dustbin and to niche
collectors of dusty records.
Personally I never liked CDs, so they can disappear with no remorse on my
part. Vinyl, well, not only is it heavy and short-lived, it is incredibly
bad for the environment. But, as if anyone cared. So, I bid both adieu. As
someone who has spent the better period of his adulthood collecting records
and selling CDs, I have witnessed the downward slope to the inevitable. I
used to sell on Amazon and back in 2000 the average was about 20 CDs a day.
Nowadays it is simply not worth it since there are 50 other sellers dumping
their CDs as fast as they can burn 'em.
Most record shops have or are folding. The remaining ones cling to life. I
am visiting a major city now and must say it's pretty sad to see the decline
all around. The end result of this is either increased centralization of
music via iPod or freedom outside of commercial constraint for music. What
happens in the next few years will be a rocky road. Only the strong will
survive.
JC Tripp
MUNDOVIBES
"Musical Vibrations Worldwide"
http://www.mundovibes.net
Received on 2006-04-04 23:06:02