We're now well into the digital music revolution, to the point where we can now say with some authority that vinyl and cd are here to stay. If you have to read that twice because you think there might be a contradiction in the sentence, I can assure you there is no contradiction. New technology always gets hyped, and digital music and the new ways of distribution and delivery that digital music formats make possible, is no exception. Just like the cd supposedly heralded the demise of the vinyl record, and VHS video spelled the death of the cinema, so mp3s were supposed to see the end of cds AND vinyl (again). Truth is, that all these formats and media have their advantages and their distinctions over and above later technology, depending on the intended usage. After a few years of running around like headless chickens working within the technology, the new media or entertainment industries can now begin to see more clearly. We can now say with some confidence what formats record labels will be releasing music on for the foreseeable future, and what formats the public will be buying music on in the foreseeable future.

Here are the main points… Vinyl is here to stay for DJs and collectors of niche genre music such as Techno, House, and the other New Beat musics which drives dance clubs and associated chill out and beat-heavy spaces. Vinyl will also be considered the best format for other genre aficionados too. More and more DJs are using digital files and digital dj technology. But many are choosing to stick with vinyl because they think the sound is better, because they like the control that the hands-on approach gives, and because with vinyl records the DJ doesn't sweat waiting for the next software crash that ruins the vibe or terminates the party. Oh.. and let's not forget… those black discs with their sleeves, labels and those grooves that somehow contain the music, are just plain addictive. In the early 1980s when CDs were being developed, who would have predicted that it would be underground club DJs who would create a reason for the continuation of a music technology that the technology industries thought they could supercede? Vinyl. Never underestimate the relevance of cultural and social factors when predicting the technologies of the future.

CD is here for a very long time for classical, jazz, live performance, and concept releases that rely on all the 'tracks' being purchased for the work to be understood and appreciated. Make no mistake, downloads are purely for convenience. Convenience brings many benefits and opportunities for the artist and listener. But if you want quality, in most cases you have to buy CD or vinyl. Not many people realise that MP3s you buy on most digital music stores, including iTunes, are a degraded version of the master recording with a sound quality worse than the Chrome or Metal Compact Cassettes we all threw in the rubbish bin years ago.

Whether you make, sell or buy music, the format you choose to sell it in or buy it in has never been more difficult to decide. Currently, we have the two physical formats, CD and vinyl, and the main download formats, MP3 WAV, and AAC. We also have AIFF, which, like WAV is a master-quality full frequency digital sound file that matches the sound quality of a CD or vinyl record. We also have AAC+ which is becoming a standard for mobile phone music downloads. There will be more digital formats to come. You don't have to upgrade your CD player or your turntable regularly, but you might have to accept as normal that you have to bin your digital music player regularly in order to buy the latest tracks on the latest formats.

If you are a buyer and consumer of music, then you are likely to be familiar with vinyl, CD and MP3. Most of us do not have turntables to play vinyl records anymore, and our vinyl records are likely to be in the basement or loft if we still have them at all. When CDs were first introduced, manufacturers of CD players and CDs told us that 'the compact disc digital audio system offers the best possible sound reproduction on a small convenient sound carrier'. The key word here is of couse, as always, 'convenient' (Why do manufacturers tell us we need convenience over quality?). More than a few of us trusted our ears and decided that although CDs were convenient, the sound was not as 'natural' or 'warm' as records or 'analog vinyl sound carriers' to use the correct term. Of course vinyl records scratch easily, and unless they are stored and used with care, the sound can deteriorate. They are also bulky and heavy. Even so, the choice was taken away from us: We didn't really have a choice in the end as the record companies stopped producing their latest releases on vinyl. Let's not also forget that we couldn't get many of our favourite back-catalogue releases on CD for years either…

CDs do provide a high quality sound, which has got better since their introduction as a result of improved studio and recording technology. If you tend to listen to music on a high fidelity sound system you are likely to be buying CDs for years to come, because MP3s are an inferior sound, even if they are more convenient. Once again, it's that word 'convenient' which is supposed to seduce us into putting all our CDs in the basement or loft, and throw the CD player away too even if it's working fine.

MP3 is a convenient way of moving music around and storing music. Nevertheless, there are still compatibility issues between players, protocols, software and storage devices (I'll get to this point later on). But it's the quality which is compromised. The fact is that the MP3s that that are becoming the main format for music are of inferior quality even to chrome or metal Compact Cassettes we all threw away years ago is not generally appreciated. Yes, that's right; your MP3s will sound ok on your MP3 player or on your boombox, but when it comes to sound quality, they're a retrogressive step. The MP3 codec is a highly compressed version of the original master file. Compressing the sound results in certain frequencies bring removed to reduce the size of the sound file. One day, people will wake up to the fact that they've got a collection of music that sounds crap on a good music system.

The quality of MP3s can also vary widely. MP3s purchased from iTunes are usually 256kbps (kilobytes per second). Electronic music MP3s maybe 320 kbps, which is the highest bit rate mp3 possible at the moment, as DJs demand a better sound quality. Many DJs will not use MP3s at all, instead using WAV files or AIFF files. WAV formats are available from some niche electronic music digital retail stores. AIFF files you can rip from your CDs. Maybe the major labels and the major retail stores like iTunes might begin offering WAV files. At the present time, it's just MP3s.

For the buyer and consumer of music, it's probably better to buy the CD and rip your MP3s to use on your MP3 player or phone, or to store on your computer. That way, you have a copy of the master recording made by the artist and released by their record label, and you can also rip WAV files or AIFF files on your computer, giving you back up copies of your CDs. If you buy MP3s you can't do any of this. You've just got yourself a mediocre quality sound file.

If you buy Techno or House music, or Hip Hop or other Dance genres, CDs may not be an option. Our label, Third Ear Recordings, does not always release dance music on CD. Usually, music we expect only DJs or collectors to buy, we release only on vinyl and as both high quality MP3s (320 kbps) and as WAV files. We may collect a series of vinyl and download releases on a CD at the end of the project, but only if we made some money on the vinyl sales and downloads. The fact is that releasing an album (10-14 tracks) as a download release is a commercial disaster waiting to happen. Nobody who downloads buys all the tracks on a album when they have the choice to buy individual tracks. The buying habits of consumers have shown us this without any doubt. So, as a label, we only release 2 or 3 or 4 tracks at a time, which is the ideal number for a download release and also the usual number of tracks on a vinyl 12" release.

For a record label, the past seven years have been a prolonged and difficult time, during which we have had to decide whether to continue releasing music on vinyl and CD, and had to agonise over when to begin making the jump to digital. We've agonised over which format to use for promotion to send the music to djs or magazines and websites for review. With three formats to choose from, and no hard data on who is buying what format, or which format is the public's preference, which is different for different genres – just to make it even more difficult to plan ahead - product planning has been a nightmare for over five years. We've been brainwashed by Internet companies, technology gurus and the telecoms market, to believe that digital downloads are the future of music, when in fact the Internet has provided the means and the justification for widespread piracy (theft) of music, causing many small record labels to go out of business. It has been very difficult for record labels to look favourably on a technology which seems to be nothing more than the cause of the general haemorrhaging and devaluing of music. Tell those people that digital music technology is the saviour and future of music! It may still be, but not right now.

Also, with digital music, what do we have as a product? Nothing that we can see or touch? No physicality, no artwork, no lyrics or messages. Nothing for the listener to hold or to bond with while listening. Personally, for me it's all about the music. But I'm ok, because my desire for record covers and artwork is satisfied by my own label's commitment to packaging our releases in sleeves which bear photos and paintings by artists and photographers, and which are designed by designers. I get these kicks by working in the independent music industry. For many buyers, gazing on their music collections now is increasingly no more visually or sensually stimulating than checking their e mail. The future could bring all kinds of funky imaging opportunities to associate with music purchases, but it's not happening yet.

In the here and now of 2007, the future is a little easier to see. First of all, there is now an established digital download supply chain, with aggregators, distributors and retailers growing all the time. Currently downloads account for about 30% of our sales, which means we can now see a return on investment and marketing of digital sound carriers (downloads). There is a bright future for digital distribution without many of the drawbacks of physical distribution and manufacturing. But we now also know that vinyl is here to stay for a very long time (I wouldn't predict its disappearance at all). And CDs have their use and their value, as I've explained already.


Most of the latest releases in rock and pop are now once again being released on vinyl…. and of course still CD and as downloads. To beat piracy and make CDs still relevant, labels are now offering rarities, unreleased tracks, live versions, demos, and all kinds of interesting and value-giving products on deluxe CD packages.

For us in the music industry, we're now at a point where we can see what's happening, but as a consumer…. you are getting a worse deal. Not only are your MP3s an impoverished sound quality, but you have to pay every time you want the same music on a different format. Instead of buying a product (a vinyl record or CD or MP3), what if you could buy a license to own the music? You could then acquire the music on any sound carrier for no extra cost. Got the MP3 and want the vinyl? Go into the record store with your purchase authorization code, give it to the shop staff, who will scan it and approve that you've already paid for the music and give you the vinyl format copy without you having to pay again. Sound good? It is, and it is already being discussed, particularly as a result of consumers being asked to pay twice for a download and then a mobile download. But it could and should extend to include the physical formats too. Of course the cost of manufacturing and shipping the vinyl has to be included in the cost of the license…. Nothing's for free, right? But it might be something that the customer wants.

But does the customer always get what the customer want?…. NO!

The buzz word in the digital music industry is 'interoperability'. This is the dream of being able to connect all your devices up to all the digital music (and video and text) channels without having to buy new software or new devices, because they all work with each other. Can we do that yet? NO! Are Apple and Microsoft and Sony and Universal Music working hard to bring us Interoperability? NO!

So, things are clearer…. But are they better? I leave you to decide that.

There are 10 kinds of people....

Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Word!

Deli G. has been presenting his radio show 'The Touch' on Vibe101 fm for a long time. The show has recently been axed by EMAP the UK media conglomerate that owns everything from trade jounals like Construction Weekly to London's Kiss fm. EMAP used to own Mixmag, but recently junked it. EMAP have just bought Vibe101 and intend to bring the UK Bristol-based radio station under it's castrated and emasculated Kiss fm brand.

There are two important points we all need to know about this.

1) Our music is once again under threat from the corporate clowns who see a quick buck in pushing the mindless hedonism which many amongst the general public primarily associate with dance music.

2). These clowns truly believe that the music and the people who work hard to keep it alive and thriving, are also mindlessly hedonistic and consequently candidates to treat unprofessionally and without respect.

The manner in which Deli's show was axed at Vibe101 demonstrates the frightening lack of respect that we have from the mainstream music industry. The corporate clowns might not have much repsect for us, but they just have enough intelligence, just enough not more, to know that we are a threat to them.

Individually, as companies, as artists, we are vulneable. Together we can beat back the wack-assed corporate clowns and their puppet djs and producers.

Just remember, they do not fight fair. Be prepared!

Keep the faith - Fight for our music.

My body is not a temple.......it's an amusement park. Word!