MP3 downloads - Holding on to traditions
There’s no doubt about it, MP3 downloads have drastically changed our relationship with music – both in a positive and a negative sense. They have also changed the way artists produce music and in some cases have had an effect on their entire creative process.
The biggest casualty of MP3 downloads has been the traditional album format. Although the ultimate goal of any artist is still to get in the studio and record an album, the ease with which individual MP3 downloads can be accessed has meant that fewer people are actually buying entire records. To a certain extent this is understandable, as we’re all familiar with the disappointment of buying the latest album by our favourite artist, locking ourselves away to listen to it, only to discover that there are only one or two tracks on it that we actually like. However if all bands were to follow the example set by Irish band Ash and decide to only release singles, the much loved album may disappear altogether.
MP3 downloads have also meant that by and large, we are a lot less discerning when it comes to purchasing our music. In the past, buying music involved actually going into a music store, browsing through the new releases and walking out with a physical CD or piece of vinyl. It required an investment of time, was a blissful way to spend a free afternoon and meant you actually had to be willing to leave the house to buy your favourite music. Nowadays we are much more flippant when it comes to buying music, the argument being that MP3 downloads only cost a pound/dollar/euro or so at most, so if we then decide we don’t like the tune, it’s not a huge loss. Nor have we even had to get up from the sofa to make the purchase!
Access to such a vast world of music at the touch of a button has been a fantastic thing in many ways, however it’s important that we don’t forget that music is so much more than an icon on our desktops.
