Is retro really so sad?


Composer Ivan Moody shared yesterday's post about the renaissance of vinyl on Facebook with the exhortation to "Discuss". To which fellow composer Dennis Báthory-Kitsz responded: "Discuss which? The excellent picture or the sad article? Retro makes me sad, but I like the pretty picture -- a kind of museum". So today I am posting another pretty picture taken on my visit to Holland showing the bike park at Leiden central station. Some may dismiss the scene as a sad museum. Others will see it as impressive evidence of how visionary support for a retro technology - the bicycle - by the Dutch government and populace has resulted in a massive improvement in quality of life. This morning BBC News has run the following story:
More than one million vinyl records have been sold in the UK so far this year - the first time the milestone has been achieved since 1996. The figures mark a largely unexpected resurgence in an industry now considered to be dominated by digital.Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live's Wake Up to Money, Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company said: "It's really remarkable. We're seeing it come back as a significant earner for the music industry as well.
How sad is that? - remember that streaming is not a "significant earner" for musicians. Classical music needs to think outside the box - in more ways than one. Classical music also needs to realise that all new technologies - internal combustion engines and digital platforms - are guilty until proven innocent.

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Comments

billoo said…
Thanks for that, pli. The last line reminded me of G.A. Cohen's joke:

Professor Cohen, how many Fellows of All Souls does it take to change a light bulb?

Change!?!

The article is here

Well worth a read since it points to how we can be attached to particular or personal things that have value without thinking about what is, all things considered, 'better'.

Best wishes,

b.
12:27 pm
Ivan said…
Absolutely. It is surprising that it is is surprising to so many that the CD is still significant in the "classical" sector. Digital has arrived with little understanding of its implications for us and certainly no regulation.

Ivan

http://www.ivanmoody.co.uk
8:40 pm
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