By: Mitch Ringenberg <[email protected]>

Record stores have been closing rapidly across the country in what is now the digital age of music. In 2006, the mega music chain Tower Records went out of business. Earlier in the decade, this would have been unimaginable. But now, with the increasing decline in CD sales, this doesn’t come off as too much of a surprise.

The kids of “Generation Y” want to get their music cheap, easy and in the comfort of their own home, and now they’re getting it. But with the convenience there is a major cost that is not only ruining the record companies, but the quality of music in general.

It’s obvious that the major decline in sales is due to programs like iTunes, LimeWire (if you don’t want to pay) or Napster where customers can choose to purchase individual songs for a reasonable fee. Since iTunes launched in 2003, CD sales have been slowly decreasing while digital downloads have skyrocketed. Last year, according to Rolling Stone, 582 million digital singles were sold online. While CD sales declined by almost 200 million units.

Admittedly, I may be too young to look back on the days of the “real” album, but it is still saddening to see the concept fade. The idea of an ambitious concept album is slowly and painfully dying. Nowadays, it seems that there are way too many artists bent on making a quick dollar by having a mediocre hit single accompanied by an album full of filler. For example, how many people are going to cherish Soulja Boy’s new CD in 20 years?

When I buy a CD, I like to think of it as a complete experience, almost like a movie or a book. When an artist releases an album, I would like to think that they worked hard on each song and were confident in their album before they released it.

Now, it seems that there are too many ringtone rappers out there, trying to make some quick cash and cheapen the music industry. What ever happened to reading the CD booklet and listening to a whole CD?
Now I will admit that the indie rock scene has done a good job in keeping its albums consistent and fresh. Also, there are probably still plenty of artists still making concept albums, such as Nine Inch Nails’ new one, but it’s the gradual disappearance of them that worries me.

Mainstream music has taken a turn for the worse. The only significant event that has happened in mainstream music that I can recall is the 50 Cent and Kanye West feud. Not only were they both solid albums, the feud sparked more actual album sales than the industry has had in a long while.

I feel like somewhat of a hypocrite because I, too, have downloaded music (most of the time legally) online. At times, there will be an artist that I really only want one song from. Downloading music just seems so easy and it’s hard not to do it when it’s right there in front of you.

But I feel that when I download my music off of iTunes and such. I am demoting the concept of the full album and it saddens me to think that I may be actually helping the record labels die.

If you look hard enough, there is still plenty of great music being made out there. Bands within the indie spectrum especially go out of their way to make music like it should be made.

There are plenty of great CDs people can enjoy for years to come. The only problem is that people just need to buy them.