Is anyone going to miss buying records when downloads take over?

karaokeman

I have noticed a massive decline in single sales and soon albums may suffer the same fate.

Look at all the singles released in recent times that are only for airplay as opposed to physical releases.

I know that downloading is much easier and involves no added cost but I am still going to miss the excitement of going to the record store when a new CD comes out.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

rcaz

I think the music industry is destroying itself, and something new will have to take over from it. Look at guys like Bon Iver, Deerhoof, Radiohead, taking a lot of the process of getting their music to market into their own hands and taking new paths to get there, and having it all work out for them. I'm relatively confident that there's gonna be a big change, and the art will survive while the cannibalising machine dies out. I think proper music will still be proper music.

nommm

I hate downloading. Why would I pay a tenner and not get something physical for it? I could easily just go on pirate bay.

I still love going into a shop on the release day, going home on the bus and sticking your vinyl/CD on full blast. It's a lot more exciting then going on iTunes and you won't lose all your music if your computer breaks.

All this talk of the album being a dying format depresses me.

The music industry destroyed the single when they brought in all those ridiculous regulations. I used to love getting tons and tons of b-sides on a single.

FewFew

I don't think physical copies will ever die out. Nothing like owning something you love. The amount of scope for an artist to put his/her all into the timing of an album, the artwork, the packaging, I don't think you'll ever find that in MP3s. MP3s are definitely where the money is at these days, but that doesn't mean record companies are going to abandon CDs, sure even vinyl is making a comeback.