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iTunes really is quite amazing. Revolutionary, really, once you think about it more in depth. Now, before you say I've gone off the deep end, think back with me to the not-so-distant past... it's not too far... a mere 11 years ago. What were you doing in 2000? Other than breathing a sigh of relief that you won't be using that cabin you bought in that remote place, just in case of the world ending for Y2K, of course. Because I know you were concerned ;) No, in 2000 we were all still going to the stores and buying CD's. Walmart, Target, Family Christian, you name it; wherever you got your music from. It was the norm for most of us. Why? Because iTunes hadn't been introduced yet. In January 2001, this new thing called iTunes was launched by Apple, and as I look back now, I don't think anyone really could see how it would change a lot of us. Or even change the way we bought or thought about music.
Songs, songs, songs. Those glorious tracks on CD's that we eagerly anticipated hearing after our purchase. Remember what a wonderful feeling it was to start at #1 and go all the way to the last track, listening song by song? Of course, you had to, otherwise, how else would you know what songs you did or did not like? That was the part that always bothered me. I'd love half of the songs. Or all of them, save one or two. Or, maybe, and this was rare, I'd spend my hard earned money on a CD I was so looking forward to owning, and upon listening to it, realized I hated every single song except for the one they played on the radio that had drawn me in the first place! Why? Why couldn't these artists just produce amazing songs, #1 hits you might say, in each of the track slots? Why the slow song that I thought was too slow? Why did they even record this one? Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but suffice it to say, 11 years ago, I was still a bit dramatic. But that wonderful thing called iTunes... now that was something special... something so different.
The revolutionary thing is that on iTunes, you didn't have to buy the entire album. I remember being blown away at even the thought or prospect of it. Who came up with this idea?! It's amazing! I don't have to spend $9, $10, or even $13 on the whole CD, just to find out I like only 3 of the songs? Incredible. Groundbreaking. I loved it. And oh! Wonders of all wonders, each song was a mere $0.99. Not even a whole dollar. Shy of one cent, this was enough to entice me over to "the iTunes side", and having only flung my dollars at a few occasional, actually round and hard CD's with the hole in the middle, I've barely looked back these last few years. Before, there was something mildly comforting in lugging around that case full of CD's, having to flip through the pages to find what you wanted, take it out, put it in the CD drive, and select the song. Now you just open iTunes and click. Convenient.
But as I was thinking this all over today, thinking back to how for years you go about doing one thing, and then something comes along, and now it's the new normal and you forget what you did for years... the 'ease' and 'convenience' of iTunes popped on a lightbulb in my head. We're a selective people. And iTunes caters to that, and they know it. We can now select what we do and do not want on our food at restaurants. We can select which spouse we want, and then, just as flippantly, select another if that one gets boring. The same goes for artists, and the way we've come about selecting our music. Don't like this particular artist, but that radio song is so catchy? Just download it! It's less than a dollar! Decide you don't like it again (after the fad dies down, two short weeks later)? Just delete it. You're only out a buck, right? Oh look! There's another new single out! I must have it! It's so cheap. It will download instantly, and cater to your every musical whim. Classical one day for your studious mood, rock the next for that extra boost to your self confidence. Why do we so easily snap at the chance to be so selective, not only on iTunes, but in our own lives as well? Is it doing good, or doing harm? Some might say, in the long run that it's not. It's just a song. How much damage could it do to your outlook? To the way you reason and think? Will the "Instant Nation" craze catch us up too, sweeping us along in its tides of pleasure seeking and the me-first mentality? Is it changing the way we look at artists and their value? Do we devalue them down to ninety-nine cents and that's it? Are their flashy and bright covers enough to pull us in to their popularity contests? We already have American musicians who have only published their album to iTunes, no physical copy whatsoever to be heard of. Who will be the next, great, big iTunes ten minute sensation? Made entirely that way solely by us, the listening public?
I like iTunes. I really do. I'm actually using it right now to listen to music as I write this. It's a revolutionary technical age we live in, adapting as we go... but still.. sometimes I wonder.
