I’ve loved music as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d spend all of my weekly allowance at the record store. Since the digital age began, I’ve had problems converting from vinyl and CD’s to virtual music (aka downloads). For me, there’s something about a physical album; browsing through the pictures, reading the liners notes, and touching the disc is part of the overall experience.
This week, Apple introduced iTunes Match as part of it’s iCloud service. For around $25 a year, you can store up to 25,000 songs and play them from basically any location. It’s a great service – and I’ve already subscribed to it. Still, I find myself torn between the two worlds.
On one hand, I have “hard copies” of almost every piece of music I own. If my computer blows up or online services are down, no problem; I have it on the shelf. On the other hand, playing my albums from anywhere has its advantages. Plus, online music storage doesn’t take up nearly as much space as the albums and CD’s in my living space.
Amazon also has a Cloud service and Google is currently developing one. So, it’s getting easier and easier to find places to store your music for a nominal fee, or in some cases, for free. I know people that have never bought a CD. They download everything – music, TV shows, movies, books.
So, what’s my hold-up? I suspect nostalgia. What’s your favorite musician supposed to sign when you meet them, your iPod? What about value? The 1st album of the next generation’s Beatles will essentially be worthless since it’s just mp3 files.
I’ll most likely continue to dabble in both worlds; a few downloads here and a few CD purchases there. That’s the one great thing about all this exciting, new technology; we have more options than ever before. Well, at least for now.
- MWB
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