Ephemeral Culture

More and more people are downloading music in the form of MP3 files instead of purchasing CDs. All around us we see the demise of local record shops big and small. Some very important things are lost when CDs are replaced by MP3 downloads: sound quality, the artistic expressions of many great historic performers, and a tangible, durable storage medium.

Those who appreciate fine music are not satisfied to download "a song," play it a few times until they are tired of it, then discard it. Rather, they search out the best performance(s) of a symphony or a string quartet. They listen to it over and over to experience the nuances of emotion conveyed by the performer. They may put the recording aside for months, or even years, and then re-visit it for a renewed experience. They share it with friends. They hope that the sublime listening moments will be preserved for the enjoyment of future music lovers. The MP3 downloads are limited to recent performances, have reduced sound quality, and can disappear with the stroke of a key, or a power surge.

But only 3% of the population is sufficiently discriminating to pay the necessary cost of these treasures. Because our public schools are failing miserably to communicate the stronger cultural and aesthetic values, I worry that the size of this elite group will diminish.

To be financially sound, orchestras and recording companies must market to the other 97%--people who value things that are “good enough” for them: low cost, sound quality that is adequate for the low-cost playback machines, performances by people whose names they recognize, and the “instant gratification” that speedy delivery provides.

Fortunately, CDs were the medium of choice for several years before MP3 downloads became available. A greater variety and depth of music has been transferred to CD than was ever available on long playing records or magnetic tape. Some of the non-classical items in my collection demonstrate the scope: Sea shanties, Scottish pipes, Portuguese fados, the jazz recordings of Bix Beiderbecke. The rarities are hard to find, and they may have to be shipped across the country, but to those who appreciate them, they are worth the wait. They will probably never be available for download, because almost nobody is interested in them.

Some few entrepreneurs will pursue the 3% niche market, and continue to make CDs available. They will offer their products on the internet because they reach more potential customers than dozens of record shops, and they require only one inventory site. I really miss the opportunity to browse the bins of my local record store for historic recordings. But the inventory of the local record stores only touched the surface of the tremendous variety available. By searching the on-line sites, I can learn of their existence, locate them, and acquire them. I periodically check about 15 different sites for new releases, many of which are on small independent labels.

Much of the new technology does tend to isolate people. The philatelist who used to meet a few times a year with fellow collectors to buy, sell, and trade both stamps and information about them now seems content to sit in front of a keyboard and a monitor exchanging key strokes with other machines out there. The listener who downloads MP3s misses the opportunity to share opinions with fellow music lovers in the local record shop. We have even devised anwering machine 'trees' so that the telephone becomes an isolation machine instead of a means of talking with people. We are engaged in a struggle to make our machines work for us rather than letting them make us work for them. When we succeed, we are rewarded with great bounty. If we give in to the machines, the trend could make intellectual dummies and social cripples of us all.