Something strange happened a minute ago: I signed into iTunes to buy the new Decemberists record, Hazards of Love, and saw that my account had mistakenly been credited with $15*. For $9.99, I could buy the 17-track album with no artwork save for a tiny, iPod-suited image.
As an audiophile who has severely restricted his music purchases recently, I had to think long and hard about my purchase: Was a physical product—complete with liner notes and lyrics—worth the extra $2 I’d pay in a record store? Or should I take my $9.99, all-digital iTunes bargain?
The problem made me think of two articles—this piece from Esquire about how the digital music age has led to the rise of "The Homely Era" of rock stars (which includes Colin Meloy of The Decemberists), and this piece from NPR about how music videos are now crafted for the small screens of YouTube players.
It also made me realize that this dilemma isn’t a problem with a good deal of local musicians. I did a quick search on iTunes for Charlottesville musicians whose records I own and, while many popped up on iTunes, a good deal (Jim Waive, The Nice Jenkins, Truman Sparks) were nowhere to be found.
Maybe this is a good thing. Why? Read more after the photo.
The Nice Jenkins: Not on iTunes, but worth seeking out.
For a good deal of local acts, there’s no digital package—no bundle of tiny album art files and mp3s. When I uploaded my Young Divorcees records, I had to dig around online for album art to take up the empty space on my iPod’s screen.
And, hell, if you can’t find the record online, it encourages a strong knowledge of the local music community. Before an audiophile can upload Nice Jenkins’ Elephant Twisters onto his iPod, he needs to know a record store that carries local tunes or find out when the band is playing next and buy the record from the source.
Here’s my question for you: Do the benefits of looking and listening local outweigh the ease of buying digital music? Leave your thoughts here.
*This glitch was quickly corrected; my actual credit is $0.08. And, since they aren’t local, I’m definitely buying that Decemberists record online.
