Yes, a CD is just a storage medium, but there's a difference between a telephone directory and, say, Crime and Punishment, isn't there? To a computer, they're both sequences of alphanumeric data, but to a human they're very different items with very different purposes.
As for the point about owning rarities, it sounds more than a little whiny to me! I haven't, and wouldn't, pay $1000 for any record, but if people do, that's their choice. I bet that if you owned an out of print recording and you could either sell it to one person for $1000 or convert it to MP3, you'd take the $1000 and find a convenient loophole that didn't make your behavior "sick".
Having written the article in question, it's quite satisfying to see it generating this many responses. Thanks for reading it, even if you totally disagree with me (and I know most of you do).
I want to respond to a couple of points, though.
First off, there's a whole lot that's worthwhile about the online distribution model, whether we're talking about downloading.au files back in 1994, or Real Audio or MP3s now. If the increased accessibility has introduced you to just one new favorite song, then it's worthwhile. Forget format, forget the major/indie debate, forget sound quality. Besides, chances are we'll all see our favorite formats go belly up a few times before we die.
Second -- I want to clarify one point. "If lightning strikes both of our homes, who's more likely to lose his entire collection?" When I wrote that, I was thinking *power surge*. Apparently the brain cell that contained the information "Things that are struck by lightning frequently catch on fire" died that morning. Go figure. Yeah, if the house catches on fire, I can grab an armload of CDs or a crate of albums and you can grab your most recent backup. Neither of us will lose our *entire* collections. A lot of the people I know who collect MP3s don't bother to back up their collections -- they've got limited backup space and MP3s aren't priority data. YMMV.
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Yes, a CD is just a storage medium, but there's a difference between a telephone directory and, say, Crime and Punishment, isn't there? To a computer, they're both sequences of alphanumeric data, but to a human they're very different items with very different purposes.
As for the point about owning rarities, it sounds more than a little whiny to me! I haven't, and wouldn't, pay $1000 for any record, but if people do, that's their choice. I bet that if you owned an out of print recording and you could either sell it to one person for $1000 or convert it to MP3, you'd take the $1000 and find a convenient loophole that didn't make your behavior "sick".
Well, this is damn cool.
.au files back in 1994, or Real Audio or MP3s now. If the increased accessibility has introduced you to just one new favorite song, then it's worthwhile. Forget format, forget the major/indie debate, forget sound quality. Besides, chances are we'll all see our favorite formats go belly up a few times before we die.
Having written the article in question, it's quite satisfying to see it generating this many responses. Thanks for reading it, even if you totally disagree with me (and I know most of you do).
I want to respond to a couple of points, though.
First off, there's a whole lot that's worthwhile about the online distribution model, whether we're talking about downloading
Second -- I want to clarify one point. "If lightning strikes both of our homes, who's more likely to lose his entire collection?" When I wrote that, I was thinking *power surge*. Apparently the brain cell that contained the information "Things that are struck by lightning frequently catch on fire" died that morning. Go figure. Yeah, if the house catches on fire, I can grab an armload of CDs or a crate of albums and you can grab your most recent backup. Neither of us will lose our *entire* collections. A lot of the people I know who collect MP3s don't bother to back up their collections -- they've got limited backup space and MP3s aren't priority data. YMMV.
Thanks again for reading.
George
http://www.splendidezine.com