physical music media

I wanted to share how I relate to physical media, especially in terms of music.

I had never really listened to music through physical media. I had never used CDs, vinyl, or even MP3s until about five years ago, and more actively over the past three. My use developed very gradually, and each time for a very specific reason. So I’d like to share my experience.

My first experience with physical media wasn’t really physical, it was more like something in between the old and the new: the MP3. I bought my first MP3 player for a very practical reason. I needed something with better battery life than my phone. About five years ago, when I moved to Paris for my studies, I sometimes went back to Nice to see my family, usually by train. The trip took around six to seven hours, and once I arrived, I still had almost two more hours of transport to reach my small town. My phone battery wasn’t enough. Even though I had a power bank, with an iPhone you can’t charge it and listen to music at the same time (with wired earphones, I never had Bluetooth headphones, a good pair is too expensive.) So, I found it great to be able to listen to music without worrying about battery life, and over time I just really liked having an object dedicated only to the music I listen to. Nothing else; no notifications, no internet, no calls or messages. Just one place where all my music is. And it only cost me around 10 euros? SD card, even just 8GB, costs around 10 euros too, sometimes even less, and you can store thousands of songs on it. So overall, you’re spending less than 20 euros. That’s not even two months of Spotify. Which brings me to the second point, beyond practicality: it’s essentially free.

When it comes to money, people might say there’s free Spotify or just YouTube. But I don’t know who enjoys listening to music with ads all the time. And with free Spotify, you can’t even choose what you want, you have to go through playlists, and there are still ads. Some people also say 12 euros isn’t that much. But for me, 12 euros a month is expensive. And now everything is based on subscriptions, so they add up. You end up paying dozens of euros every month just to access music, films, series, or books. I’ve seen that, on average, people are charged around 100 euros a month just for these kinds of services, I’m not sure if that’s only in France or more broadly across Western countries.

I wonder how we let this happen without reacting.

I think one of the few positive things about Spotify is that it makes discovering artists very easy, since there are so many playlists. Even if in reality, I don’t think we discover that much outside our comfort zone. You’re more likely to step out of your musical comfort zone by randomly picking a record in a store than by letting Spotify's algorithm suggest something new to you. 

By stopping listening to music on Spotify, I rediscovered so many songs in terms of sound quality. I hadn’t realized how much Spotify altered the sound. I especially noticed it when I bought my first CD. I honestly rediscovered some productions. Yes, it’s in the details, but it’s not a minor difference, a lot of people can hear Spotify’s flaws. Some say Apple Music has better audio quality; I don’t know, I haven’t tried it.

Now, when it comes to CDs and vinyl, it might sound a bit silly, but since I no longer had a Spotify subscription, I couldn’t really listen to my music out loud anymore, as I used to connect my speaker to my phone to play it louder. My MP3 player couldn’t connect via Bluetooth, so I had no way of playing music loudly in my room unless I used a dedicated player. So I bought my first CD: Brol by Angèle and my first CD player from Boulanger that I paid 25 euros for. I mention the price because I want to highlight how streaming platforms aren’t cost-effective in the long run. I paid 25 euros, and three years later, my player still works perfectly. I think my vinyl records are the only things I bought purely out of curiosity. I wanted to see how it worked. It's mostly about aesthetics, I find the records beautiful, and there’s something almost magical about this analog process. Oh and it’s just so great not having to rely on an internet connection, especially when you come from a small town where fiber isn’t even a thing and the Wi-Fi cuts out every two hours.

Finally, it might be less intuitive for some people, but collecting CDs and other music formats simply makes me happy. I like being surrounded by things I love, things I can turn to easily. I know the trend is minimalism: owning less, being as neutral as possible. But in reality, we don’t have less, we just dematerialize things. I find it precious to be able to hold in my hands words, sounds and voices that move me, that stay with me, or simply make me feel good. And they’re also traces of my existence, like what will remain of me when I’m gone if it's not my books, my records, my journals... I don’t want one small object to hold my entire life. I want things to be scattered. Just like when you walk into one of those old shops and search by yourself; somewhere in all that mess, there has to be something precious, something meant for me. And I notice it in my everyday life, the most valuable things I have are tied to memories. A small object, a piece of paper, even a receipt can bring me back to something. To stay with music, a few weeks ago, while cleaning my bedroom, I came across an album someone gave me four years ago. It made me emotional. I remembered her; Charlotte. She’s the one who gave it to me. She knew I liked Angèle, so she bought me her second album: 95. She’s also the one who introduced me to Bach flower remedies, and since then I’ve always kept a spray in my bag, because I’m naturally quite anxious. And finally, I think it’s all about slowness, about knowing how to slow down, to pause at a moment in human history where everything moves so fast. It feels like a beautiful gift to yourself: allowing yourself to take the time to choose a record, and then do nothing but listen to it.

+ Maybe what I’m about to say is just related to my social anxiety, but I’m tired of having to go through interactive platforms like social media just to listen to music. I don’t want anything between me and my music. I don’t want to come across usernames, profile pictures, or fan comments, etc. I just want to press play. No ads. No checking if it’s charged. No worrying about my connection. No seeing what other people have commented. Just play.

PS: As a small singer, I can say there’s nothing more meaningful than holding your own CD in your hands. And the creative possibilities that physical media gives me are unmatched.