The future of audio?
Tags : audio, cd, iPod, micro-SD, mp3, musicCategories : Technology, iPod, music |
CNET : Is microSD the music medium of the future? This story is something I don’t really see the point of. Sandisk are partnering with the major music labels to release albums pre-loaded onto Micro-SD cards – the idea being to “bridge the gap between the physical and the digital”
Doesn’t make sense to me. I either want my music in one of two formats – either a digital file for my iPod or a physical medium such as a CD with artwork and liner notes that I can file on my shelf. The other advantage of CDs being the quality of the sound is generally better than most compressed digital files such as mp3, aac, wma etc. The disadvantages of the Micro-SD concept are many. If I want digital files I will download them from somewhere like the iTunes store or just rip them from CDs I have bought (my method of choice since that way I have the best of both worlds) – I’m not going to go and physically buy cards with songs on. This would mean either having to continually swap cards every time I want to listen to a different album or to use a computer to transfer them onto a larger card or hard drive based MP3 player (like my iPod). One of the big advtanges for me of an iPod or similar MP3 player is the ability to carry around a library of music so you can select what you want to listen to based on your mood, or just randomise it. So why would I want to carry around a bunch of little fingernail sized cards that can easily get lost? Crazy. Plus it will also necessitate people going out and buying new MP3 players and phones which support Micro-SD. In an age dominated by iPod and iPhone, I can’t see this happening to the extent required for this to be successful.
The future of music is continued growth of online downloads and ongoing improvement of MP3 devices to play those downloaded files. Wireless purchasing like on the iPod touch and iPhone will gradually become more widespread for those who want to get new music while they are out and about and listen to it immediately. Hopefully at some point a worthy successor to the humble CD will catch on and gain wide acceptance (like Blu-Ray is succeeding DVD, albeit very slowly). This will be some sort of high definition audio contained on a standard sized disc, with all the usual booklet/notes/lyrics etc. I know there have been a few candidates in recent years but none has really caught on. This is where the industry needs to get together to build consensus but in times dominated by digital music downloads and the recent video format wars I guess it’s not a priority issue. Whatever the future of audio is, Micro-SD is a dead end alleyway.
