CDs are fading fast. I still have a small collection and love to listen to a few select artists in that format. But digital music seems to be becoming the norm. It saves space for both listeners and creators.
Remember vinyl? I used to have a record collection back in the day. As a purist, I’d still love to collect vinyl. As a moderate minimalist, I don’t.
Digital Music For Listeners
Today’s digital music sucks! Compared to old analog technologies and earlier digital formats, today’s music is low-quality audio. How many people really notice that?
We have new ways of listening to music. We use our phones, our computers, and ear buds. It’s simple and convenient. What we sacrifice in quality we make up for in space.
My CD collection used to take up an entire wall. I had over 1000 CDs. Now I have less than 100 and counting. Honestly, I don’t download much music. I listen to Sirius XM radio in my car. Sometimes I’ll still play a CD of some of my favorite but more obscure artists. Bill Callahan is a fave. But the fact is that CDs are going away.
If you listen to music, you can save a lot of physical space by downloading music. But why download? We can bring up practically any song we want to hear on demand. With streaming apps like Pandora and Spotify, music is more accessible than ever.
Digital Music For Creators
I’m a musician. I’ve been writing and creating music for more than 30 years. I love and hate new music technology.
In my early days of making music, I played the drums. That led me into working with early 1980s programmable drum machines and keyboards. So I’ve always had a relationship with creating electronic music.
In my mid 20s, I started playing guitar. This led to years of acoustic-based songwriting. I discovered my love for pure acoustic music. Now I teeter-totter between the acoustic and the electronic music worlds.
Over the years, I’ve bought more musical instruments than I really need. I’ve been paring them down lately. Digital recording makes that more possible. The amount of equipment and instruments needed to create digital is much less than old school music.
As a creator, digital music is amazing. I can create high-quality demo recordings with little more than an iPad. The downside is that the sound is electronic and lacks the purity I’ve grown to love as an acoustic musician. But it definitely saves space. I have less than half the equipment I had just a few years ago. In the future, I can envision cutting the in half again.
Whether You Just Listen Or Play…
Digital music saves space. If you’ve collected music over the years, consider switching over to all digital files. If you create music, think about downsizing your equipment. It’s the wave of the future.
