The War Between Digital and Physical ~ Who will win?

The option to receive media digitally, rather than just physical material, in some aspects, has altered the public’s consumption habits considerably. Strangely enough, with regards to books, the advent of eBooks and reader devices such as the Nook, Kindle and apps such as Audible, has pushed me, personally, more toward the old-fashioned physical book. Although many use computers when writing for business and school, as well as receive bills, and personal correspondence digitally or via the Internet, I find that I shy away from that sort of behavior with regards to reading. I prefer to sit town with a physical book and turn pages, take notes on paper, fold down the corners of paperbacks to mark my page, and cut out pictures, articles and perfume samples from my favorite magazines.  In contrast, when it comes to current events, like many consumers ages 18-35, if it didn’t come to me directly through my RSS feed , Facebook, or CNN.com, I doubt I would ever take the time to sit down and read a newspaper.

With regards to music and movies, as Brandon Hoover discusses in his blog: Digital downloads vs physical media: How will developing countries keep up?,  “The rise of internet capable TVs, mobile internet access, media centers (Apple TV, etc), and services like Netflix have allowed us to watch what we want, when we want, and often where we want .” Music streaming online via sites like Pandora and Spotify has allowed listeners to be exposed to a variety of music that they would never have heard should they be forced to take a chance on a CD, cassette tape or record who’s album art caught their eye in a music store. In the past I bought less and relied on the radio to reveal the newest trends in music.  Now individuals are more active participants in their acquisition of music, enjoying the fact that they can select individual tracks after hearing a sample of them via iTunes or getting a taste of the artist via Pandora. Consumers in their 20’s now seek out more and purchase more music than in the past especially since whatever they purchase can travel with them on a phone, laptop, or iPad.  The same can be said of movie consumption. The easy accessibility of films using Netflix, for example, has made it less of a hassle to see a movie. Since it is streaming there is no thought as to where to store that DVD case at the conclusion of viewing or where to see a film if you missed it in the theater.

Our world is moving at such a pace that consumers now rely on the instant access to all of their favorite media, however they still enjoy dome of the physical aspects as well. For business’ sake, moving to a predominately digital distribution will afford companies the most profit without the upfront costs of printing/manufacturing material. This hybrid of Print of Demand or aggregators give the consumer the option of both physical and digital without all of the commitment. It is my opinion that at least within the United States, Netflix and Blockbuster will move to digital distribution only, but that bookstores will still exist because of the social (library-like) nature of their locations. They market themselves as a comfortable place to hang out and learn rather as just a place to get information. Bookstores will have fewer physical locations but I don’t believe that they will move to digital distribution exclusively.  Physical media is not in danger of becoming extinct until more of the world has access to the technology  (speed, devices, accessibility) available to us here.