Physical media is currently having a renaissance, and you might be thinking about joining the movement. But which format is right for you? When trying to decide, think more about your heart than what the trends say.
As a techy person, I’ve been quick to adopt new standards and ways of doing things. I hopped on the Netflix train early. I was a big fan of Google Play Music when it first launched. I signed up for Sling TV when it was the first of its kind. I’ve begrudgingly been a paying Spotify customer for many years. I could go on, but the point is I’ve been mostly happy with my media existing on the internet.
In recent years, I’ve started to think more about ownership of my media. As convenient as streaming video and music services are, you don’t actually own any of the content. It’s only available as long as you pay for it or you have an internet connection to stream it. I didn’t care about that for a long time, but it started to bother me.
Certain movies, albums, and artists have special meaning to me. They’re not just movies to put on in the background while I scroll my phone or passively listen to while I work. I want to have a more tangible relationship with the media I love the most. That means being able to enjoy it whenever and however I want, but also giving it physical space in my home.
Don’t Follow Trends
Physical media is very trendy right now, especially in the music world. Vinyl has been surging in popularity for several years and now triples CD sales. I’ll admit that I got caught up in the hype, too. I’ve always thought vinyl records and turntables looked cool, and I liked the idea of being a Vinyl Person.
Here’s the problem: vinyl doesn’t mean anything to me. When I was old enough to buy music, CDs were the dominant medium. My parents had vinyl from their younger years, but we didn’t even own a functional turntable. It simply wasn’t a thing in the time of my life when I was developing a relationship with music.
So, when I started to collect some albums on vinyl, and I got a turntable, it fell flat. Without the nostalgia, it just felt like a cumbersome way to listen to music in worse quality. I appreciate vinyl from a historical sense, and I enjoy having some in my collection, but I can’t say it moves the needle much for me.
Related
Why CDs Failed to Stand the Test of Time
CDs were the most popular method for listening to music for over 20 years. Unsurprisingly, something new eventually came to take over…but then something old did, too.
Follow Your Heart
I was too concerned with the “cool” factor of vinyl, not how it made me feel. The same can be said for any type of physical media. Laserdisc is unquestionably cool and awesome for display purposes, but you might have more of a connection to VHS. Don’t let the trends dictate what you collect.
For me, it was cassette tapes that opened my eyes. I grew up during the period of transition between cassettes and CDs. I mentioned that my parents had vinyl, but my dad also had a cassette tape collection. That is where my music memories begin. I vividly remember looking through cassette tapes in his leather carrying case.
Unlike the turntable situation, I had a working cassette player thanks to the Talkboy Deluxe. So, I could actually listen to his cassettes, and the same type of music (classic rock) was always playing on the radio in our house. This is where nostalgia comes from–something I did not have with vinyl.
I decided to pull at this thread and bought a Sony Walkman from the 80s on eBay. I followed that with some cassette tapes that I remember from my dad’s collection and my personal favorites. I still think vinyl is neat, but I have to admit I’ve enjoyed listening to cassettes so much more.
It’s not because the quality is better (it’s not), or that it’s more convenient to use (only marginally), or that it’s cheaper. It’s because it means something to me. I have a deeper connection to cassettes, and I felt that when I listened to them for the first time in over 20 years. Cassettes allow me to tap into that nostalgic feeling we all love. Don’t underestimate emotion when looking for physical media.
Related
Why Are Newer CD and Cassette Players Bigger Than Old Ones?
If you were around in the late 90s and early 2000s, you remember how technology seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. Eventually, we expected cassette and CD players to be as small as the media themselves–but that didn’t happen.
