OFF: Future of music...

[Karen Kusic]

Great post Keith!

I can't relate to the sports analogy but I'm with you on feeling the loss
of the, as you wrote:
"self-contained 40- or 60-minute 'opera' of music, that was carefully
written, organized, planned, recorded, produced, packaged, and offered to
the public under a meaningful title, with an intent to be consumed as
such, and remembered as such, long into the distant future."

I felt some of that loss when we went from LP to CD.  No more beautiful
album art and inserts.  I actually have LPs in their covers hanging on my
walls in frames for their artistic merit and sentimental value.

The individual physical media of an "album" is probably doomed with iPods
and other digital storage devices becoming more affordable and the media
to fill them more available.

Article here:
CDs and DVDs are 'doomed'
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/32611.html

And, it was also recently announced that:
"The latest in DVD technology is the disposable EZ-D, a DVD that turns
black 48 hours after it's opened, making it unreadable by DVD players. Set
to sell for $5 to $7, it's cheaper than late fees."

Reference article here:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/columnists/gmsv/674
4523.htm

Let's hear it for our old vinyl!  Maybe that's why some of _our_ more
favorite artists like Porcupine Tree and Tarantula Hawk still release
actual vinyl LPs.

Yup - I think rarer vinyl will definitely retain/gain in it's value.

Karen