New Technology - Part Two: Is it better?

Last week I wrote about the changing technology in the music industry that saw us abandon (well, some of us did, at least) old LPs in favour of more efficient and better-sounding (though not according to all) CDs. Not everyone was pleased with the demise of the venerable old LP format, and some die-hards still go out of their way to find a release on vinyl. As for me, I still listen to my old albums from time to time, but I do find CDs to be a much more convenient format to work with. Besides, as a retailer of CDs (www.finemusic.ca) I can hardly forsake a format I have supported for so many years - at least not yet!

So this week, let's look at the future of the music business and what - if any - promise there is we'll have a music industry in this era of digital downloads and so-called 'free' music on the internet. First off, let me state up front I do own an I-Pod Nano and have I-Tunes on my computer. But I don't use I-Tunes as my music source; rather, I use it as a storage and organization portal for my CD collection I choose to transfer to a digital format for my I-Pod. I have not yet and likely won't be buying any music from I-Tunes or any other digital source for that matter. Not that I don't like the service they provide; I do. I just don't feel right doing things that way. Call me old-fashioned if you wish; I still prefer to have a hard copy of something in my hands I can play on my CD player, computer, and should I wish to, add it to my I-Tunes library.

The problem I have always had with digital music on the internet is unless it comes from a licensed provider such as I-Tunes, I am never sure if the people involved with the actual creation of that music ever see any money for their efforts. With classical composers, it is often a moot point, of course, as a lot of that music is now in the public domain anyway. But contemporary composers and performers deserve their royalties for the music they create; otherwise, there will be no new music created. Think about it; would you continue doing something you love if it becomes your profession and you discover people don't want to pay you for your services? I doubt it; none of the rest of us would consider doing work for free other than legitimate volunteer work, so why would musicians be any different?

Unfortunately, many in our society today would rather pay little or nothing for music, thinking it is a constantly renewable resource no matter how much they may starve it. Life - and music - simply doesn't work that way. Music is someone's intellectual property, and we should always remember that and treat the people with respect, as they need to earn a livelihood too.

Getting back to classical music, I know there are now several classical music digital download sites available, thereby eliminating the need for CD retailers althogether, just like with popular music. How successful they become remains to be seen. They say the music sounds better than what we are used to with conventional MP3 formats, but still, it is an MP3, and for some of us, not having a physical disc to play just doesn't seem right. Yes, I know you can burn that MP3 onto disc yourself, but again, I am from the old school and it just doesn't seem right.

I wonder what might come after the MP3? Will there be another new-fangled format people just have to have in order to be right up to date? I am sure something else will come along in time, but for now, the main threat to the CD remains the digital download MP3 format. I will wait for it, but not too intently, mind you. I am happy to try to keep up with technology as it now stands; I don't think I need or even want another format to come along before, say, the next millenium rolls around.

Let's keep CDs around for awhile longer; some of us are just getting used to them after finally letting go of our much loved LP collections!

February 7th, 2009.