From CDs to Spotify, from DVDs to Netflix, from film to DSLR, media has changed drastically over the recent decades, causing an over-production and consumption of modern media.
In recent years, musicians have struggled to earn money due to the switch from physical to digital music. Bands now upload their music to the main music streaming services, like Spotify and Apple Music, with less focus on physical music. This has made it harder for growing artists to sell their music because of the difficulty of distributing physical music beyond local sales.
Along with physical music facing a downfall, movies and TV shows have become monopolized with the dominance of the five big streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max. Mass production of movies and TV shows have led to a downfall of production and a streamline of directing.
With the resurgence of collecting physical media, vinyl and CD sales have gone up. Nowadays, The record industry is worth almost $1.5 billion according to the Recording Industry Association of America. However, physical media still only makes up for 10% of today’s music consumption.
Despite its rarity, in Kalamazoo there are many places to buy physical music, like Green Light Music, Satellite Records and even large-scale stores like Barnes & Noble and Target.
Satellite Records employee Thomas Piotrowski has noticed the resurgence of physical media.
“Two years ago, CDs outsold vinyl for the first time in 15 or 20 years,” said Piotrowski. “The money is in the vinyl sales, but we’re selling as many CDs as we are vinyl and that’s kind of across all demographics.”
With everything being accessible on phones nowadays, the need for physical cameras, movies and music has gone down.
“I’m always trying to stay off my phone,” said Piotrowski. “The physical connection you can have with something is kind of taken away when ease and comfort is there.”
With built-in apps like Apple Music, Apple TV and the camera app, it can be hard to care about the physical side of media and understand why it still matters.
Additionally, with the big tech switch to AI based media, music, art and even photography are being artificially created. AI technology requires large data centers and massive amounts of water, leaving a large carbon footprint.
As well as a hobby, collecting and using physical media over the use of modern technology is a way to oppose and lower the use of AI platforms and the overproduction of modern media.
The resurgence of physical media is a great way for people to enjoy their favorite media in a way that supports sustainable methods and smaller artists.
