CD, MP3, streaming – how have these evolutions shaped our consumption of music?
InterviewsLucas Lauer is a Trends & Insights Consultant with NellyRodi. Through his child-became-expert point of view, he explores technological revolutions and their impact on how we consume and own – or not – music.
It was the winter of 2000, and the hit had been on the airwaves for several months, sending 10-year-old mini-me into a trance each time. Finally, I was handed the single “Can’t fight the moonlight” along with, and more importantly, a portable CD player and headphones.
For the first time, music came directly into my ears, and I chose the volume and how often I listened, wearing that single out. At that age, having control over what I listened to seemed like a small technological revolution, and all of my pocket money was split between the singles I collected – the best of (always) female pop stars from the early 2000s – and candy. Ignoring that in a few years, iPods and portable MP3 players would completely disrupt how we consume music, I created my own treasured musical catalogue, carefully organized in a CD carrying case. I took it with me everywhere and became the musical director of my daily life.
A few months later, I had forgotten about it, focusing instead on what then seemed essential: an MP3 player with a huge storage capacity, run by disposable AAA batteries, and following that, my first iPod (still loaded with French variety from the mid-2000s), given to me by a friend who had already become bored with it.
Last December, Spotify Wrapped put me face to face with the 46,578 minutes of music I’d listened to during the year (the equivalent of listening to “Can’t fight the moonlight” 13,863 times). And I started to wonder about the technological innovations – dematerialization and streaming – that had made music so easily accessible to everyone. Though there are purists who have kept their CDs or collect vinyl, I’m not someone who reveres objects.
A random, quirky arrangement of the music in my playlists has replaced the careful organization of my CD case. Instead of the logistics and preparation required to carry music with us (deciding which music and which CDs, organizing them in the carrying case, considering how much it all weighs), we’ve collectively adopted the practicality of streaming services along with the algorithms we call ridiculous.
Maybe all that remains is Coperni’s CD-Player Swipe bag. It’s 3D printed, USB-C rechargeable and an improbable meeting between modernity and a nostalgia steeped in Y2K esthetics that reconcile our old ways with new ones.
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