September 1, 2012 editorial: comments

Dear Fellow Audiofanziners!

http://greenupgrader.com/files/2010/11/glassmeyer-top.jpgI’d like to bring to you a touchy subject perhaps – the issue of your collection of music/books/videos which by now certainly includes digital music, ebooks and videos.  Most of us might be a bit young for this depressing thought but did you know that most digital content that you buy is non-transferable?   Hence, what will happen to all this collection when you die?  Does it just simply die with you unable to pass it on to your loved ones?  Even though the ones close to you may not necessarily share your taste in music it certainly makes for a chance to step into ‘your world’ and discover other music.

According to Amazon, “You do not acquire any ownership rights in the software or music content.” Apple limits the use of digital files to Apple devices used by the account holder.  So we have a problem then unless you save all the passwords to the accounts you own or start investing in hard copies of everything .   For the latter, I know there is a resurgence in vinyl records as people are again discovering the benefits of owning a physical record of music.  It’s just, well, takes up space to store all this stuff and move it from one place to another every time you change address. 

Anyhow, my parent’s records from the 60’s are something that I will always treasure, all scratched, the cover being crusty and falling apart it is proof that they used to be hip!  What collection will my kids inherit from me?  Hard to say cause after the grunge era I stopped buying CDs and records.  They will probably think their mom’s musical taste began with Def Leppard and ended with OK Computer.

Chater-La