During my annual attempt to expunge the clutter that I’ve accumulated over the course of one—or multiple—years, I unearthed a box full of Blu-Ray discs, DVDs, and VHS tapes. I’d be lying if I said that these items had been used recently, or even seen the light of day for that matter, even though I still contribute to the collection. Rediscovering this box made me consider the rise and fall of physical media, and how the consensus of their practicality in today’s world may not be completely correct.
To many, their once-favored collection of discs and tapes no longer serve a purpose. They’ve all been supplanted for the digital; the instant and ever-accessible. Some may even go as far as to say that my box of films—along with the CDs, vinyls, and PlayStation and Xbox games—are nothing more than relics. Yet, to define these items as “relics” may be disingenuous to those who still prioritize acquiring them or, at the very least, to those who seek to preserve their place in our world, if one still does exist.
In the age of streaming, where vast libraries of content are at our disposal for an over-priced monthly fee, it’s difficult to see any practical use that a Banker’s Box packed tightly with discs may have, or any kind of physical media for that matter. Our viewing habits have evolved, and this is evidenced by the discs and tapes that have been sequestered to storage closets, donated to second-hand stores, or the ones resting peacefully in the dust-lined drawers of our parent’s entertainment centers. We quickly exchanged physical catalogs for digital ones.
Of course, this shift doesn’t necessarily establish a required change for all. Those with limited internet access may rely heavily on ways to watch and listen that don’t require Wi-Fi. Connoisseurs of physical copies could justify their reliance on better picture and sound quality or for the extra features. Collectors may seek to acquire all forms of a particular film, or, there’s the hoarders who—due to negligence or selfishness—continue to retain their ownership over these items.
Physical media carries with it a tangible worth, one that often can’t be quantified or reproduced within the streaming model. There is no right way to watch, but conforming to one standard due to its simplicity feels complacent. Rather than cling to ideals, like some virtuous old soul vying to die on the hill of physical media, may we not reminisce on the nostalgia these items bring? Could we appreciate the evolution of our viewing habits while simultaneously continuing to uphold the necessity of physical copies?
It’s safe to say that the boxes of physical media I own were once again saved from the donation pile, but this sense of salvation and the growing impression of their demise stems from one major economic shift that has recently taken place.
Last year, Best Buy initiated their respective physical media erasure when the company announced that all physical discs (besides video games) would be gone by the end of 2024. Soon after, Target followed suit with announcements that they’d begin to dispense physical media as well. While difficult to see depending on your appreciation for physical discs, these choices don’t come as a surprise. The end of the physical media era happened long ago, so why did it take these stores so long to catch up?
In the streaming era, discs are seldom used. Again, an obvious claim to make. Discs and tapes are placeholders; vestiges of a time before many could access vast catalogs of content dependent on what a particular streaming service has to offer. Streaming services streamline our appeasement. The process with which content is created and produced and released has been expedited with next-day-shipping speed. Why buy a disc when I can acquire a digital version? Why wait when I can access my library with the click of a button?
Stores like Best Buy and Target can’t (and shouldn’t) be blamed for transitioning away from physical media. They did what they must to adhere to the times and the purchasing patterns of their customers. And as far as a potential resolution, restoring the availability of physical media to these stores wouldn’t be the answer. In fact, doing so could potentially put physical media at further risk of obscurity.
Perhaps the real issue lies within just how abrupt this transition seems to have taken place. Online options to purchase from these outlets have been completely removed, further strengthening the idea that every piece of physical media is at risk of extinction.
However, the major stores that have unburdened themselves from the weight of physical media seem to be forgetting the secondary life these items yield. The enduring lifespan of discs and tapes are infinite and find safe havens in the smaller, often locally-owned stores who uphold these kinds of items. Maybe they’ve found a better home somewhere less monopolized, places where their importance is still upheld.
The phasing out of physical media was inevitable and long overdue. Yet, those who deem this as an oppressive representation of the end of all physical media are mistaken. If anything, it’s a much-needed wake up call to appreciate what we un/knowingly have stored away. It might be time to take inventory.
To reiterate, the massive library of discs or tapes that you or your parents and grandparents have buried away in storage may not have held the value they once did. Yet, prioritizing the monetary worth of these items above all else proves to be a misguided view, one that sadly shares similarities to the large stores who ultimately washed their hands of our past viewing habits. If you’re in this oddly-niche world for the money, you’re long past the point of profitability. Regarding our collections of physical media, Richard Brody recalls that “its essence is found not in the objects themselves but in the pleasure that they provide, by delivering movies, music, literature—by providing the experience of art.”
Maybe the most disparaging notion regarding this transition is that for many of the newest generation, the digital will be all they know. Their library will be reserved to memory space and subscription fees. They will in large part be deprived of the sensation that acquiring a physical copy elicits—spared of rewinding the tapes or buffing out a disc with the edge of your shirt. To them, physical media is a relic, but it’s a relic that continues to serve a valuable purpose in our world. Physical media is not defined by the monetary value of each disc, or the relative consistency of their use, but rather serves as a reminder of how our content used to be viewed; how our choices were reduced to what we owned or could rent within a certain vicinity.
The death of physical media is emblematic of our evolution, compressing our experiences and storing them in the cloud. It’s condensing without regard for what the future may hold. There will always be collectors and those who rebuke the changes. Either digital or physical, judgement over one’s library should be reserved to the owner.
Perhaps this so-called death is not that at all, but a revitalization, a warning that these material objects can serve as an exhibit of our interest and tastes. If anything, it’s a way to stave off the inevitable, even if it’s just until next year.
Sources:
What We Lose When Streaming Companies Choose What We Watch – Richard Brody – The New Yorker
No, Physical Media Isn’t Dead, Even If Some Retailers Are Giving Up – Robert Workman – Medium