After a night of scouring the Internet for new music (Japanese indie bands ftw!), I realised that I would never have known all this should CDs be the traditional choice for music distribution. Online music is blazing a path forward, bridging cultures and connecting musicians to fans all over the world! Heck, your neighbour could be a fan of a Ukranian punk band, who knows?
Saw this in the Jpop news:
Yes, that is a USB thumbdrive, uploaded with Ayumi Hamasaki's soon-to-be-released 10th album, [Next Level]. It will be the first album sold in Japan to take this format. Debunk the ugly rectangular stick of memory perception - that thumbdrive looks absolutely gorgeous. Does it signal the beginning of the end for the humble CD?
The signs are showing:
1) People are downloading more music online than ever before (legally or not)
2) CD sales are slipping down
3) When was the last time you saw a Discman?
4) When was the last time you saw an Ipod? (it probably sits on your table right now)
5) Sandisk is pushing for albums to be sold on SD memory cards
6) Artistes are releasing albums for download (remember Radiohead?)
7) Flash memory prices are dropping
It all points to a near future of downloadable releases and memory sticks filled to the brim with songs.
Still, I can't bear to see the CD die off just like that.
- Wonderfully designed CD covers and lyrics booklets!
- The feeling you get from ripping open the plastic wrapping
- Superior sound quality
- The sheer physicality of it (ever felt proud of your CD collection)
- Browsing in CD stores (and the free gifts like posters and stuff)
- Indie musicians still rely on the trusty old CD to earn the cash
Will the CD go the way of the prehistoric record? VHS and LDs are already extinct, VCDs are endangered while DVDs are threatened. What will the future entail? Music being confined to megabytes of data flying around cyberspace and residing in flash drives? Or Blu-Ray HD music cum video albums, anyone?
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Random nugget of information:
Did you know that bush fires can actually be good? In some temperate forests a fire can provide fertile material for the next generation of vegetation to grow, while eliminating the problem of insufficient sunlight reaching the forest floor. In such cases fire is actually essential for the forest to regenerate!
Still, don't go out there and start one. Fire = bad.
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