In the digital age, we have access to almost any information at any time. With streaming services like Spotify, Netflix, YouTube and even with social media like X and Instagram, why should we care about physical media?

Well, there are more reasons than just for hanging up vinyl records on your wall to look indie.

There are some disadvantages to physical media. It is cumbersome, it can be damaged and it is totally pretentious. However, the advantages that come from listening to CDs, records and even reading books cannot be understated.

There is still a remnant of the past that we still hold onto in the modern age of streaming — the album.

Nowadays, many albums are just collections of songs put out by an artist. This is encouraged by streaming, because people throw songs into playlists and listen to different artists every time a song comes on. There is no emotional throughline in a shuffled playlist other than the general “vibe” of the music. 

In CD or vinyl format, the artist compiles a set number of songs, in a set order. This allows so much more creative direction than a random assortment of similar-sounding songs. The artist can curate the ephemeral “vibe” as they see fit, as opposed to a shuffling algorithm doing it for you.

Not only does the artist get more control over their art, but they also make more from it, too.

Streaming services are notoriously tight-pursed when it comes to paying the artists that make their platforms run. Musicians on Spotify make less than pennies per stream, which is horrible for indie artists and beginner musicians.

CDs are simple to self-produce, and the money you pay for a CD will go directly from you to the artist with no middleman. Let’s compare a popular artist, we will say Hozier, with an underground indie artist. Hozier has about 40 million monthly listeners. With Spotify’s pay-per-stream amount being around $0.004, that would give him $160,000 every time all of them streamed one of his songs. Respectable amount of cash, right? 

Now let’s see an artist like a local emo band, such as “Fragile Like Life After.” They have 130 monthly listeners. That’s 50 cents. Small bands need funds from CDs and physical media to survive, and it is a great way to not only enjoy music but support music as a whole at the same time.

I bet you are wondering, “I’m sure it’s great for the artist, but what do I get out of it?”

Well, I am glad you asked, because there are many things that physical media can do. 

First, it is an insurance that you can listen to them no matter what happens. Some artists take their work off Spotify or release hidden songs only found on CDs. Or maybe you lost your phone and want to have a secure way to listen to your favorite artists. 

It is almost impossible for you to have permanent, secured access to a band in the digital space. If songs were removed from streaming services, you would have no way to listen. CDs give you a way to truly own music in a way that you cannot get digitally.

Diving deeper into the idea of truly “owning” your music is the ability to burn CDs.

Although it is a bit of a lost art, burning CDs is popular in underground music scenes across the world.

Playlists are a rather vague personalization of music nowadays. As mentioned previously, their predominance in digital media makes them very foggy and vague as compared to physical mixtapes. With a mixtape, you, as the consumer, take part in some of that creative freedom that albums give the artists; however, you are remixing and creating an album yourself — one with an emotional throughline or a theme to follow.

Starting out in the world of physical media is a bit of a chore, but in the end, it is a rewarding endeavor that connects you to your music so much more than any online streaming service.

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