Digital vs Physical

In the time of digital downloads and streaming, do we still really need new physical copies of music? Why bother buying copies of music that just take up space when you can have all your music on your phone? Which is better, the physical version of an album or the digital one? Is there even a difference? Of course, now even the songs that came originally in a physical format can be found digitally but is that a good thing? Well, hi there, that’s what I’m here for. I’m going to go through the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to music, both digital and physical. So, let’s get ‘Physical’ and show some ‘Digital Love’ and the irony of me publishing this on a digital platform is not lost on me.

Are physical copies of music necessary anymore? Personally, I think they are. Now, I know CDs and Vinyls can get scratched and worn but I love nothing more than holding a copy of my favourite album in my hands, knowing that I did that little bit extra to support the music that people have made. Physical copies can come with gorgeous booklets filled with heartfelt messages from your favourite artists or bands and lyrics to all the songs on the album (as a person who is partially deaf, I love me some lyric booklets) and maybe a few extra songs if you decide to splash out on deluxe versions. People went to the effort of designing and creating these things for the audience to enjoy and buying the physical copy recognises the effort made by a huge number of people in collaboration with the act involved. Not to mention the gorgeous photos and album inspired imagery that’s included as well which digital versions lack. Yes, you need to find somewhere to put these physical versions of music but that will never stop me buying a CD or vinyl if I love the album or the artist. Physical copies are the only ones that can be signed and they’re a permanent reminder of some of your favourites; even if, when you look back you die a little of embarrassment because ‘oh my god, what was I thinking?!’ You can delete those kinds of albums and songs from your online playlists and libraries on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play but where is the fun in that? Do I regret some of the albums I bought? Oh hell yeah but I still adore some of the albums I bought too and would have completely forgotten about some of them if I only listened to them digitally. Plus, considering how much artists are paid per single stream, I think I’ll always be buying my music regardless of whether it is physical or digital.

Digital music takes up no space in your house and practically everything is released digitally now which means, when the clock strikes midnight on release day, you can go on Spotify, iTunes or Google Music and stream/buy/download the album and enjoy it straight away! The downside? What if you don’t have internet access? Your favourite artist releases a song while you’re out of the country, are you really going to spend all your credit or rack up a massive phone bill just to get that album/single? Maybe you will and that’s fair enough but I know I wouldn’t. Single CDs are a thing of the past so now you can buy singles digitally and enjoy them until/if they are released on an album buuuut that usually means that, if they are on an album, you end up with duplicates of songs that were released as singles before the album was released. This also means that, after buying all the singles and the album as a whole, you’ve spent more money than it would have cost to buy a physical version of the album. That may not matter to some but to others every penny saved is important. Streaming is free but usually streaming requires a subscription and the profits from streaming are minimal for up and coming artists, sure the artists that rack up millions of streams get a nice cheque to cash but what about the artists that don’t rack up the big numbers?

The Differences

There are actual differences between digital and physical music, down to the way they are mixed and produced. Plus, it’s proven that vinyl sounds better than MP3s ever could because a lot of music is digitally broadcast in some format that causes losses, where details are missed, and the overall quality is reduced. This happens because audio files get compressed to make them small enough to store thousands of them on a phone and to stream online. BUT if you lack the space or move a lot, a stack of 40 records, a fragile turntable, speakers and an amplifier might be more trouble than it’s worth. I think to put it simply vinyl is great but not as great as a CD but both are better, in terms of sound quality, than digital. But that is just my opinion and I think I got the technical stuff right but don’t quote me on it, I’m not an expert.

Me, personally, I do both. I buy digitally and physically (Vinyl and CD); however, I only buy physical versions of albums I really love. The albums that I will happily listen to on loop for hours. Do I have multiple Justin Bieber albums because of this? Yes, five of them, but now it’s funny and a lot of fun for me to look back at the songs that made up my life’s soundtrack before digital music really became as big as it is right now. I love digital music for its portability but I would never get rid of my physical copies of albums because they are a physical representation of my support for an artist even if I don’t support them anymore. To me, physical copies of music are the memories that can be dusted off in the future and enjoyed just as much as digital music can be and to me memories are important. But, the important question is: What do you think? Vinyl? CDs? Digital download? Streaming? What do you guys, gals and pals choose when it comes to your music?