Physical media is often viewed as a thing of the past, due to the rise of streaming services in the 2000s and now. But it’s making a return. This return has been slow over the course of many years, and has alternated between records and CD’s depending on the other micro-trends of the time. It’s often not about the music on the disc at all and it’s purely aesthetic-based. When a more 70’s aesthetic is trending, vinyl records are “in.” When a more 2000s aesthetic is trending, CD’s are “in.” But now more than we’ve ever seen since the rise of streaming services, people are actually listening to CD’s and records again! Here are some reasons that could be, and some tips to help you build your CD or record collection.
Reason #1: The prices of streaming services are rising fast
It feels like Spotify sends out email notices where they tell you they are about to raise the price for your plan, every time your subscription renews. Using Spotify for free is an option, but not without them telling you to download premium every five seconds. The streaming platform has also incorporated AI features, which a lot of people do not agree with.
Reason #2: Physically owning your music is rewarding and fun
Humans love collecting things! And collecting something you can use on the regular is even more fun. It’s the same feeling as collecting your favorite hockey players’ or pokemons’ cards. A lot of songs also sound better on CDs. This is because all the information isn’t just being mashed into one audio file like it is when it’s going onto streaming services. There is a separate digital to analog (CD) conversion technique that makes audio elements more prominent.
Reason #3: Embracing tradition as a resistance to the world “taking things too far.”
Gen Z is often fed up with big tech companies giving consumers less choice on if they use AI or not, and if they have to use digital platforms for everything or not. People don’t always want to be on their phones all the time, and a lot of them especially don’t want to pay for streaming services in this economy. A lot of older people are giving away their CD collections because they have nothing to do with them. So this means cheap or free CD’s for new collectors.
Some recommended items for new collectors:
- Car storage (CD)
- Home storage (CD)
- Home storage (Records)
- Milk crates (Records)
- Big Tupperware storage tubs (CD or records)
