CDs have been a familiar feature in cars since 1984, and cars are one of the last remaining ways to still access them. In fact, the sale of CDs were on the up in the first half of 2024, though the aforementioned discontinuation will most likely have an impact on the commerce of CDs. Yet there is something so tactile about holding an entire album in your hands, the act of putting it into the CD player and hearing that familiar whir of the machinery before the first beats of a track blasts through your speakers. This, undeniably, is a rebuking of the hyper-consumerism of streaming, with the entire album being listened to in one sitting. As the art of listening to a whole album fades with each AI playlist catered to you, perhaps the CD will become a collector’s item.
There is something to be said, however, about the act of physically owning your own music; the artists are paid an appropriate fee with each CD purchase, and you are not reliant on streaming sites to keep music. With this in mind, while CDs are undeniably losing their accessibility in an era of smartphones, perhaps there will be a place for them in counter-culture and those who want to appreciate their artists in a more direct way.
