Trends in Digital Music Archiving

Abstract

This article assesses changes in the mode of music consumption from record collecting to digital archiving and subscribing to a music service, and argues that the subscription model is unviable. First, it considers the change in the perceived source of value of the music commodity going from tangible to intangible formats. Then, it tracks the trade-offs made by music consumers who exchange purchasing recordings for subscribing to music download and streaming services, and notes the imbalances in favor of the intellectual property rights owners. Then, it analyzes the features that appeal to the collector's psyche enough to capture the collector into a “digital enclosure.” It concludes with an analysis of the incommensurability between the activities of the music collector and those of the music service user.