Physical Media Matters
by Alexa Tapia
In times when music couldn’t be more accessible through streaming, why care about physical media? Streaming allows for millions of songs to be played within seconds and cultivating playlists on music streaming platforms has become a religion among the youth.
While streaming is convenient for the consumer, it’s not all that great for an artist.
Streaming platforms such as Spotify have been under fire on social media for their policy change in 2023. Spotify’s payment model as of November 2023 has made it difficult for smaller artists to monetize their music.
“Starting in early 2024, tracks must have reached at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months to generate recorded royalties,” according to the Spotify website.
Essentially an artist who would have generated even a small amount of money before this policy change will not make any money off their music. Even if artists weren’t making a sole living off streaming, paying artists shouldn’t be up for debate.
The discussion revolving around streaming mainly involves Spotify because it is the dominant music streaming platform.
According to Forbes, Spotify holds a dominant 30.5% of the market share. While Apple Music holds 13.7%.
Thanks to streaming, physical media sales have tanked over the years. Carlos Anguiano, the manager at Kaos Records in Covina, offers his perspective on the tyranny of music streaming.
“Physical media has taken a big hit since the beginning of online streaming,” Anguiano said. “Most artists who aren’t playing arenas or stadiums make money on physical media at their concerts.”
Buying directly from artists is a sure way to get money into the pockets of artists.
“I’d like to make people aware that music venues and festivals do take a cut of all merchandise you purchase, with the exception of music,” Anguiano said. “Buying physical media straight from a band at a live show is a huge help, most bands make their money to continue on merchandise. So please buy directly from the band!”
Anguiano has been working in the music industry for decades, with a wide range of experience. He has worked for Capitol Records and at Whisky a Go Go, the first music venue to make it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also works closely with several bands who supply their music at Kaos Records today.
He is 56-years-old, and he has lived through the times when streaming wasn’t an option. Physical media was all there was. Anguiano has witnessed the dawn of streaming and the fall of physical media sales.
Anguiano has amassed an incredibly large physical media collection over the past 50 years. He began collecting vinyl records at 6-years-old and now has over 2,000 vinyl pieces, hundreds of CDs, lots of music DVDs, music books, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes. He also has collected hundreds of concert posters, backstage passes, and over 3,000 custom guitar picks. He is a well-seasoned collector who has a genuine passion for owning physical media and supporting the artists he loves.
Even if a person only listens to popular or mainstream music and does not care about the pay discrepancy between a big and small artist, Anguiano would like to make people aware of the quality differences between a physical CD or vinyl and streaming platforms.
Streaming services compress their files to fit them on their platforms, Anguiano said. Listening to music on a phone just does not do a song justice in Anguiano’s opinion. Music has multiple layers that can only be heard and experienced through playing a record on a stereo.
“There is no comparison when it comes to the physical media versus streaming debate,” Anguiano said.
These two Citrus College students have a love and appreciation for physical media. Their music collections serve as a reminder that collecting music is not a lost tradition. The youth still cares about supporting artists, experiencing the authentic quality of CDs and vinyls, and owning physical media.
