You are aware that you can still use a CD if you want, right? Even now, 40 years after their introduction, you can STILL buy a CD player and it will sound just fine. Hell, you can buy excellent new record players and current music on vinyl and with a decent setup it will sound amazing. That's a format our grandparents and even great-grandparents would be familiar with.
Also, if you own something in a particular format and a new format comes out, you can usually manage shift your media to the new format. Back 15 years ago we all ripped our CDs to iTunes. I OWN the digital copies I made of those CDs. It's my data, on my hard drives. I don't have to pay a fee to play the files. See how that's different from Spotify? Just to put it in perspective, if I'd been paying $10/month for the last 20 years to listen to my music, I'd be out nearly $2.5K today and access to that music could still disappear next month if I stopped paying.
Video is tougher because the quality jumps have been more dramatic, but even if blu-ray (for example) gets superceded by a better format, that doesn't mean your discs and player just evaporate into thin air. Sure, maybe 20 years down the line it'll be hard to find a blu-ray player -- but if you're looking that far ahead for a streaming service, you're putting a lot of trust in that service still existing down the line too. Think about it, when you "buy" a movie off iTunes, you're assuming that Apple will still be runnng servers down the road to stream it to you, that they still have streaming rights, that they won't replace it with some re-edited version or something... and that's not even touching on the fact that you can't sell or loan out that movie you "bought".
You make some good points.....I guess my bigger point is for the most part, most things that people "own" now....will be replaced in the future. Yes, there are exceptions.....and theoretically the items don't vanish & one could still continue to play whatever media they currently have (i.e. VCR & VHS), but from a realistic standpoint, how many people here will honestly admit to still owning & WATCHING their VHS copies of movies regulary?
Cars, TV's, clothes, appliances, furniture, shoes, computers, etc. all (from a consumer & business standpoint) have a "shelf life"......Most people replace these particular items & more. In fact, many times the items don't cease to stop working.....but they are still replaced by newer updated products. How many people are wearing the exact same clothes they did 15 years ago, or using the same computer, or watching the same TV? How many people truly use items until the item is destroyed? There are plenty of traded in used cars, plenty of shoes that still function of shoes, plenty of HD TV's & PC's & landline phones that could were still operating when they were replaced.
There's this perception that those who have physical media will keep & use these items indefinitely & that digital media users are getting the sort end of the stick because a service could stop at any moment. While that's true.....someone could lose their physical media as well....to theft, damage, natural disaster, etc. Nothing is guaranteed to last.
There are a host of "What If's" and while one "could" continue to use a physical media format, doesn't necessarily mean they, realistically, will 10, 15, 20 years down the road.
Cost wise, it just depend on the individual. The $10 a month scenario you mentioned for streaming for the last 20 years could also be applied to the cost of a CD. In it's hey day, most CDs cost more than $10 (especially depending on where you purchased them) Virgin Megastore, Tower Records, Sam Goody would regulary charge $15 to $20 per singular album....If one purchased one CD a month for the last 20 years, the cost would exceed the 2.5K. previously mentioned.
Bottom line is there are pros & cons to both. There is no right or wrong answer. For many, they prefer digital media for a variety of reasons, the same reason people may prefer physical.
I'm not basing my digital media use on what will happen in the future. It's what I'm using now.....If it all stops & something new comes along, either I will adapt or I won't.
It still doesn't stop me form enjoying the digital media I have now.
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I have had numerous discussions with my way younger colleagues over this and similar topics (down to owning a flat or house). The shift of paradigm is happening elsewhere : my younger mates tell me, that they do not want to
own anything. Just having
access to something is good enough. And not owning anything does not anchor you down to someplace. You are free like a bird.
So, yeah...
I agree, I think there is a shift.....while some may not agree or understand, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's "wrong" or that person is somehow shortsighted.
Over the last couple of years, there's been a shift where many people are more interested in "experiences" rather than owning things. There have been so many surveys where people where asked to choose between vacations or a new entertainment set up & vacations overwhelming win. For many, ownership isn't a goal anymore......in fact they prefer NOT to be tied into something.
People value different things, doesn't make one right or wrong, but for many, as long as they have access to something, it fits into their lifestyle.
