If you wanted to buy a new piece of music to play in the 1970s, you would have to go to a dedicated record store, look through their catalog of vinyl discs and buy one for a hefty price. Today, it’s as simple as downloading an app to access thousands of songs. Despite this, vinyls, compact discs, print books, digital versatile discs and other forms of physical media are still around today, and have surged in popularity in recent years.
The internet popularizing physical media plays a large role in the growing popularity of it. Letterboxd, a movie reviewing website with 17 million users, played a role in driving this. Letterboxd promoted blu-ray.com, a site that sells DVDs, as great gifts, which led to a survey showing that 74% of all users on Letterboxd preferred physical media over streaming.
However, there is also a more emotionally-fueled reason. Though the growth of physical media might be seen as contradictory as society slowly develops and becomes more intertwined with technology, this rise in popularity relates to the powerful feeling of nostalgia. People tend to associate many difficulties that they have with modern changes, believing that time before was simpler and better.
“I used to go to the movies … much more than I do [now],” said freshman Nicholas Dai. “COVID killed [movie theaters]. That was more fun than watching a movie at home.”
As a result, physical media and their vintage style offer an escape from the tiring modern technology, often evoking fond memories from one’s childhood. The ability to do so marks an aspect that today’s media isn’t able to. This distinctive experience is an important part of the childhoods of elderly people, who often find it familiar and comforting.
“[People turn to physical media because] it’s more like what people grew up with, and the distinctive sound of old music might sound nice,” said freshman Justin Zucca. “What you grow up with is what you know from the start, so that’s what you become used to. And when that’s not there, you want to get that back.”
Along with the desire to reminisce, the sentimental value of “owning” a physical piece of music that is very special to a person is important. Buying the music specifically can “show dedication” to the artist in a way that playing the music through a streaming service doesn’t.
“People get CDs for music that they really love,” Zucca said. “It’s a way to be part of the fan community [for those artists].”
Moreover, in today’s world, a very large portion of our life is digitized, from work to communication to entertainment. Being able to play music or videos without having to go online is very appealing to some. Physical media offers a way to relax and have fun without having to spend even more time on a screen.
But the slop fatigue that people feel isn’t the only reason why people are turning to physical media. Due to many different services online now being fully subscription based models, some people complain about having to constantly re-up their payment monthly.
“It’s great that once you buy something, it’s free,” Dai said. “You don’t have to keep rebuying it.”
Today, a vinyl disc for any selection of your favorite tracks can be only $25. However, with services like Spotify Premium costing $13 a month, within a year, it costs more to buy than three albums. Many find that physical movies and music in the form of vinyls, CDs and cassettes are more economical and allow them to truly own their favorite content.
Despite these reasons, it is also possible that the affinity for physical media is just a trend that will pass. With social media’s prevalence, trends are coming and going faster than before, making many question how sustainable this rise in physical media is.
“[The growth of physical media] doesn’t make sense at all,” Dai said. “It’s illogical because currently there’s a large selection in music you can listen to online, free downloads [and] even pirated movie sites.”
However, the resurgence in physical media popularity may have more reasons behind it.
“The popularity might lower eventually, but there are still reasons for it … like nostalgia,” Zucca said “it won’t die off like a trend would.”
Though the sustainability of physical media is still up to debate, the growth of physical media has allowed people from all generations to connect with the memories of their past. Even with the growing technology, this small trend of physical media may mark a larger trend in old-style and vintage throw-backs in the future.
