Media Glut
Overproduction of Digital Media
US News and World Report just ran a report entitled: 21 Things You Should Never Buy New. Number one on the list was “DVDs and CDs”, followed by “Books” and then “Video Games”. Actually, news items like this coming from the mainstream media are quite surprising. This is the the equivalent of the oil company telling everyone not to buy things that use oil.
Long-Term Durability Of Past and Current Media
Today’s digital media has a very long shelf life. I just checked a a few minutes ago and the first Compact Disk I bought still plays just as if it were new. At the time Compact Disk players could be had for $350.00 and the media itself would have fetched a handsome $25.00.
The new digital age would transform how we viewed music. The cassette tapes we had grown up with only lasted a few years at the very most. Each time you played them, they sounded just a little less clear. With this new medium I could listen to my favorite music hundreds of times with perfect clarity.
For the first few years after the introduction of the Compact Disk, most of us would only buy a few disks. Just our favorite artists; only a disk a month or so. This medium was a modern miracle, but was too expensive to buy in quantity.
Without much fanfare, the price for this new medium began to fall. It became apparent before long that you would be able to buy these disks used at a fraction of the cost of a new copy. Businesses all over the neighborhood began opening to take advantage of this new phenomenon.
I guess at the time many of us did not see that this would lead to a new dynamic. Whereas the though of buying a used cassette was not appealing, used digital media would become big business.
Supply and Demand
It is common today to drive to a local used book store and see shelves of digital music available for sale. Everything from light rock to heavy metal can be purchased by the arm full for anywhere from a single green-back to fifty cents or so.
Why is it so cheap? Because everyone already has too much of it. Go to a friend or a neighbor’s house and ask to see their music collection. It is quite likely that they have a whole corner of their house dedicated music once popular. Granted some of you were probably not bitten by the bug as much as I have been. But the fact remains that the glut is still there.
Future Manifestations
These examples have focused on the music industry so far. Consider also the number of DVD’s that you own. How many of those disks will you have the patience (or the time) to watch again? Offering another two hours of my life to watch an old movie does not seem very plausible to me. One thing we all seem to lack is enough spare time to enjoy all of the new media being produced. A trip to the local movie theater often comes with a 30-minute preview of movies about to be released. Many of the movies listed I will never have the time to see.
Ease Of Modern Production
Producing a digital recording rivaling even the worst professional band would have been impossible with the equipment and tools available in the 1990’s. Multimedia software for computers was a joke and the analogue equipment needed was very expensive.
All modern computers today have a high-definition sound card capable of recording CD-quality audio. It’s almost impossible to find a computer without this capability. Any why bother to produce a CD? Just make an MP3 and put it on the web somewhere along with a really cool album cover. (One dollar please).
More people are taking this path. If you have looked a record sales in the last 10 years or so they are abysmal. Most of the young people I have talked with are tired of the media determining what they will like and how they will consume it. They have a strong interest in local bands and with “celebrities” they can get to know on a more personal level.
While the economy is taking another dip I believe that we are in for a new kind of depression. The mainstream media outlets are in trouble. Newspapers, record companies, movie and game makers will all struggle in the for a profit. Many are already in the red. They simply cannot afford to produce large budget titles and sell them at bargain bin prices.