This morning my Amazon purchases arrived, two Will Young CDs that my wife had expressed a desire to have.  They were very cheap from Amazon each around £7 and they promptly arrived the next morning.  So what did I do as soon as I cracked open the plastic wrapper?

I threw them into the computer and instantly ripped them to MP3.  That way I could easily listen to them while I sat at my computer, wake up to them in the morning, listen to them in the shower room, and even have them on my iPOD while out pounding the roads on my bike.  The life of the CD was therefore assured as it wouldn't get continually moved in and out of the case incurring the risk of scratches.

So why do I not buy them straight from somewhere like iTunes?  Well I have tried to do that in the past, but I just don't trust locking my music with these guys.  I bought the National Treasure soundtrack from iTunes, and not only will my iPOD no longer accept this album, my iTunes has been moved from machine to machine and the hassle of moving my locked digital music is way too much.  I have since burnt the music from iTunes straight to CD (which I then subsequently ripped to MP3!).  But I am losing out all all the beautiful artwork and the pleasure of owning something physical.


For me at least, the ability to own something is far greater than the rights to merely play it.  I don't trust the software of today to be able to keep my digital music safe as I move forward with my life and my array of gadgets that I don't yet own.