The Case For Physical Media

I like digital and love gadgets. My problem is that I’m also a huge fan of physical media and the whole culture of collectibles. I love the whole thing. The packaging, the artwork, the exclusives, the limited edition – and as like a friend of mine succinctly put it, “the thrill of the hunt.”

My theory is that for a long time, for the most part; the existence of physical media has not only helped me with my desire but helped the content and entertainment industries with their distribution and copyright law. Outside of the obvious piracy and duplication (which would always exist), the act of placing one form of digital content on a non-digital, limited in quantity, physical media helped manage and create an entire ecosystem, globally. Of course when you think about this today, it sounds rediculous – using non-digital means to distribute digital content; but I’d argue this was absolutely necessary and vital in the beginning.