Round 1: Hard Copies vs Digital Copies

So I ditched the whole Excel thing and decided to do a cool time-line thing instead. I attached it to the previous post about random things (including summer music festivals). However, this post is the sum of the information I was going to put into a cool Excel graph/chart.
Who likes lines and numbers anyway??? Enjoy the bout!
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Now I want a good clean fight, no swearing, no poking people in the eye or taking your mother’s name in vain. Now touch gloves and let’s get it on!

In the red corner we have Hard Copies: standing 12 or 7 inches tall (depending on the vinyl record), they are the perennial veteran of the music world.

Reputation: From Vinyl to CD’s, hard copies have ruled the at home music championship since 1912 (until recently was only challenged by radio). The analog or digitally recorded champion has more than established itself as the favorite of many. They have sold millions of copies in many genres.

Notable Victory: Most notably Michael Jackson’s Thriller selling 104 million copies world wide.

Downside: Bulky jewel cases, it’s no fun to run with a CD Walkman and you can’t play vinyl in a car.

Upside:You can hold them, you can touch them and you can even cuddle with them if you so like. They have the best sound quality plastic can provide: HARD COPIES

VS

In the blue corner we have Digital Copies: the new kid on the block. The next generation of music enjoyment capabilities.

Reputation: Recently the powerhouse hard copies have fallen a bit to mp3s, wmas, m4as and wavs. Their accessibility and ease of use have propelled them further than ever before. Has come under fire for ease of illegal distribution of material that has been copyrighted. Illegal music downloading is easier than ever with digital copies and cd burners.

The down side: Sound quality and DRM protection can hamper the digital format. Not all digital media is created equal.

Upside: Point, Click and listen. They are the easy, breezy easy to carry (with the right accessories): digital copies.

Which do you prefer??? Who will win in the fight to the death??
(Well not death… thats a bit violent, but you get the point)

The Unofficial Decision: A poll of 15 people (including some random strangers and some people I know) resulted in an 11-4 victory for the hard copies.

So for now the records survive until the next bout.

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A bit of what some people had to say about their medium of choice:
For Hard Copies:

“Natural sound that humans hear in everyday life is analog.
Birds and babies, the wind and rain; our best friend’s voice or a distant train are all heard in analog.
Our favorite musicians should be too.
Buy a record player.”
-Jacob – Boone, NC

“I like having CD’s because i feel the artwork is important- vinyl is cool too because the artwork is so pronounced– but i prefer to have CDs and then make digital copies, always having the cd there as a back up copy.”
-Krissy – Boone, NC

I have to say that a hardcopy of anything is best. In particular music has much more character when presented to me in vinyl form than when it’s glowing at me from my computer screen. Personally I don’t own many CDs or records mostly because I reserve that wonderful feeling of buying AND holding a new album for people who truly appreciate it…I just can’t seem to get that type of emotion when I walk into a music store. All in all it’s a matter of character for me.
-Adam – San Francisco, CA

“If you want to look at it this way…you get to pull out the insert that makes the front cover of the cd case and put it up on your wall like a mini centerfold. the boys of hanson enjoyed being up on my wall when i was in the 5th grade.”
-Juni – Greensboro, NC

For Digital:

“With the philosophy of sound aside, wouldn’t it make more sense to download new and buy used vinyl whenever possible simply on the basis of environmental impact?”
-Hart – Cincinnati, OH

“It depends on the artist. I would prefer the CD of most but some such as well known r&b artists i would prefer the digital but i i generally don’t care for anything other than their singles…”
-Emily – Rutherfordton, NC

“You don’t have to carry around a bunch of cds or stuff to listen to different songs – if you have an mp3 player you can have thousands of songs on a piece of equipment smaller than your cell phone.”
-Hilary – Chapel Hill, NC

“You’re not buying the crappy filler songs on albums, so you can save money by buying only the songs that you like. Because you’re saving money in that manner, you’re able to buy a wider range of music and experiment with different types as well. You can find pretty much anything immediately through digital music stores. Digital music is easier to mix, and its format makes it easier to navigate through songs (as compared to, say, tapes). It’s also much harder to damage digital music than it is to scratch, break, and lose CDs, tapes and albums.”
-Jennifer – Boone, NC