I’ve gotten a few weird looks before.
Sometimes it’s when people see my vinyl collection and other times it’s when I’m driving someone in my car and they watch me shuffle my CD’s in my lap while driving with my knees.
It isn’t a secret in today’s industry that music sales have declined tremendously. The ways listeners get their music has changed dramatically over time. From vinyl records, to tape cassettes, compact discs, and digital downloads, many people don’t even purchase music at all anymore. The magic of the internet. Unlike many, I’m one of the few left spending my paycheck’s on music.
Teenager’s used to be the driving force in music sales, yet no longer have that push. They’re the generation of the internet, and the knowledge of stealing music is something they’re born with. “As a group, 13 to 17-year-olds have plummeted to a mere 7% of the CD-buying population, down from 14.9% in 2004. Their share of digital purchases, either singles or albums, is also down a healthy 12 percentage points — to just 13% — as downloading has become more mainstream among older demographics,” (Buzzfeed).
Buying music hasn’t died, but it’s on a slow decline. Nobody knows what’s next for the future of buying music. We are slowly turning into a world of free streaming with websites like Spotify and even Soundcloud and YouTube. ITunes Radio is even essentially free streaming.
“Digital track sales are falling at nearly the same rate as CD sales, as music fans are turning to streaming—on iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and music blogs,” (The Atlantic). Will artists take after Taylor Swift and not allow their albums to be played on free streaming websites? Probably not. Either way, I’ll be in the record store down the street… if it survives.
louder than ever 