Hey Ford, Thanks For Answering My Music Media Question

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By: Greg Miller

So maybe I was wrong. Maybe Spotify isn’t the last nail in the coffin for physical music media. Maybe Spotify just isn’t big enough yet to be the last nail in the coffin.

So let’s think for a minute. Who is big enough? Could it be Apple? Yes, the same Apple that introduced us to the iPod and helped change the way we listen to music. The same Apple who just last week announced that they were going to stop including optical drives in their Mac Mini, something that they already do with the MacBook Air.

Yes, Apple is definitely big enough to put the last nail in the coffin for physical music media, especially seeing as how they helped dig the hole.

But let’s move beyond Apple. Let’s talk about someone else. Who else? Hmmm, thinking thinking thinking. Oh yeah! Let’s talk about Ford. The car-maker Ford? Yes, the car-maker Ford.

See, one of the things I pointed out in my previous article was the fact that while streaming music is great, CDs are still good for playing in your car. And as if the guys at Ford were reading my article something happened last week. Ford announced that starting in Europe (which coincidentally is also where Spotify was born) they’re going to be scrapping CD players from their vehicles and pushing drivers to access their digital music via the internet.

Now I’d be lying if I said I was shocked, but I think my question has been answered. If anyone can kill the CD, it would be the car industry. Think about it. Music in the automobile has always adjusted to change. From the 8-track, to the cassette, to the CD, and now someone is finally taking the initiative to push us into the age of streaming and a completely non-physical ways of enjoying our tunes while cruising down the highway.

So I guess the new question is, are you ready? Are you ready to throw away the past and look toward the future? I personally haven’t purchased a CD in over two years. Some will argue that streaming media does not yet have the sound quality of physical media, but so what? This didn’t stop the MP3, nor has it stopped the millions of people who currently enjoy their music every day via services like Pandora, Slacker, Spotify, Apple iCloud, and Amazon Cloud Player. The fact is that what we’ve learned over the last decade when it comes to music is that convenience trumps quality. Mobility trumps quality. Music on demand trumps quality.

These are all things that physical media does not provide. And with the ever increasing spread and availability of the Internet and cloud technologies, it’s becoming harder and harder for it to even compete. Apple gets it, Ford gets it, Spotify gets it.

Do you?

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About the Author

Greg Miller is an IT Support Pro, digital evolutionist, NBA fanatic, and the founder\editor of LifeAppolution where you can learn to get more from life one app at a time. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @LifeAppolution.

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