Saturday, March 14, 2009

Giving Digital Music that Warm Vinyl Feel in the Age of The Internet - Part II


We posted a curious find on October 15th last year, one that stirred some unexpected nostalgia.

We've brought it back because it seems that original link to the video has been shut-down. Someone at You Tube determined there was a copyright issue. This is strange indeed for if anything the video provided exposure for an artist (for free). The evidently rough sound of the album recorded through a poor quality video camera wouldn't discourage people from buying the music. The quality really is quite bad. (For decades, The Grateful Dead allowed bootlegs precisely because they helped fuel interest in album sales.)

But You Tube demonstrate short-sightedness in another regard. Instead of trying to 'silence' people sharing music, why not incorporate a seamless way for that music to be bought and downloaded? Why not convert awareness and interest immediately into purchase? Why not have functionality built into the site or linked to iTunes? A great missed opportunity indeed.

As a tribute to the age of vinyl here's another example, created by someone inspired to copy the originator of this nostalgia inducing experience.

There's something oddly fascinating about seeing an album turn on a record player while the song plays. Millions of teenagers spent hours doing exactly this, camped out on a bedroom floor scrutinizing the liner notes while the record spun mesmerizingly. How times have changed.

But in addition to the warmer sound that is attributed to vinyl, it was also a time in which where the music was stored and how it was being retrieved was there in full view, something that with cds, iPods and dvd is hidden as a matter of course.

No comments: