Music is War

By: R. Froese

Digital vs. Analog

MP3's are all the rage as of late, and the record industry has absolutely no idea what to do about this "problem". Some have decided that the thing to do is to utilize subscription services such as the ipod or whatever it's called. Others have released CD's with hundreds of MP3's in 'CD quality sound'. I have come up with the ultimate solution though. Rather than release MP3's independently and risk loosing the revenue that a complete album brings in the industry needs to package the files with a high quality vinyl LP.

Think about it for a second, what is the truest sound available? Vinyl is, it's the last bastion of true analog sound. If people want good sound quality for their songs/files they should look into getting a good turntable and records as they sound gorgeous. If the records do warp or scratch, as little children's tend to do, all one has to do is hook their computer/mp3 player up to their stereo and they are all set for listening to the record in a slightly lower form. People will get spoiled listening to the higher quality sound, and may try to look for ways to hook up turntables in their cars/while they are running/whenever portability is an issue removing mp3's of their job, but the industry need not fear, LPs do not work in cars and thus digital music will be necessary for transportation.

I've heard it said that the thing that will keep CD sales up is the artwork. If this is the case then vinyl is obviously a much better solution. For one, records look much better than CD's. The sticker in the middle is a little smaller than a CD so it doesn't allot for as much artwork as a whole, but having two sides you can get more artwork in the two center stickers than on the one face of a CD. Also the vinyl itself comes in nice colors instead of the generic green/gold or silver that CD's come in. Records also have much larger covers than CD's allowing for much more intricate artwork. 

Vinyl is also cheaper in the long run, as you only need to make the one glass mold and then pour the very cheap vinyl as many times as you need to. 

As for the mp3's getting stolen, I'm sure that the technology to encrypt mp3 files so they can not be shared exists somewhere, all the RIAA has to do is track it down and encrypt their mp3 files that they sell with their records with it. Then they will be able to sell until their little hearts are content.

See, the world should listen to me, I have the ultimate solution. Records could save the world, let alone the music industry.