The Illiterate

This report on digital and vinyl sales, despite it’s own slightly wondering tone, doesn’t surprise me in the least. The key, which the article mentions but doesn’t make much of, is the growing trend of including download codes with vinyl releases, giving consumers the best of both worlds: a solid, permanent, fetishistic object (CDs just never made it in that respect) which also provides great sound when you’re at home, plus the ease of portability—all without having to spend two hours burning the music from vinyl. It’s a win-win, and I can’t understand why more labels aren’t taking advantage of it. Personally, I would also like to see them include download codes for the music from live DVDs. If the music by itself wasn’t available anywhere else (at least legally), a lot of fans would eat them up. I’d have bought Leonard Cohen’s Live in London DVD if it had included one.