It seems many kids these days, starting at 7-9 years old, if not younger, are getting their own iPods or other digital music players. This leads me to wonder if the future of tangible music, be it in the form of a compact disc or even the ol’ vinyl record, is in serious jeopardy.
Maybe I am romanticizing the craft, but is anyone else bothered, even just a little bit, by a generation of kids growing up thinking of music as merely a bunch of digital files?
I cannot imagine ever becoming the passionate fan of music I am today without having liner notes, artwork, and the physical disc in my hands to pour over, cover-to-cover, while the disc was playing. I would, and still do, read through a band’s “we would like to thank” section of the liner notes to see what bands or artists that particular group considers friends, an inspiration, cool, etc. I would then go check those other acts out. I discovered so much of the music that I still listen to today, by simply connecting those dots and following the path to new and exciting musical discoveries.
Does a band’s My Space page and their list of “friends” replace all of this? Considering how false that whole process is and how the word “friend” has been completely degraded by it’s My Space usage – I seriously doubt it.
In addition, will kids learn to appreciate the work that goes into making a full length record if they never actually see the thing itself?
Also, at what point does a child need a $200+ personal electronic device? I mean, where is an 8 year old going that they need an iPod? Commuter train, workout session? I would not consider it safe to be listening to music while riding a bike at that age, so how and where are these things being used by that age group?
The other factor to consider is the “bar-raising” issue. Say you do spend $200+ on one single item for your child’s birthday or as a holiday gift. What do you do next year, their own personal plasma screen television? At that rate, by the time they become a teenager they will be expecting Chanel handbags and a personal submarine!
Jeff
OWTK
https://www.owtk.com
