format wars

at 32 years old, I'm part of the generation that has seen music releases go through several different formats. I still remember walking around my neighborhood with a ghetto blaster playing Axel F when I was 10 years old. On Cassette. Cassettes were it for me from there on to the mid 90s when I finally started buying music on CDs, and of course vinyl for my former life as a DJ.

I was part of napster when it first started up, and I remember being shocked at how easily you could get music. I'd always been an avid music buyer, so free music wasn't really a concept that rubbed with me - besides I was more excited about getting access to radio from Europe - recorded broadcast from HH3 which broadcast Sven Vaeth during the classic Frankfurt techno and trance years, and live mixes from clubs I had no access to.

Down to today in 2008? I actually am buying music still, albeit rarely due to monetary constrictions. But for the first time I'm actively buying digital downloads. It's not the format I have a problem with, most of my CDs get ripped to mp3 anyway for play in the iPod - its the process I dont like.

For me, heading down to the local shop was an event itself - the local independant music shop. Buying it from iTunes, or Beatport or the various other online formats just isn't the same for me.

But because of the price issue, I really have no choice - I'm buying everything digitally even though I want the experience, and the physical ownership of the CD. the artwork, the liner notes, everything.

I'm fully well aware that there is an entire generation of kids who only know digital music. I imagine these kind of posts will filter out over the next 20 years. but hey so it goes