digital music icon

Recently, my 77 year old mother-in-law gave me an iTunes gift card. I was tickled that she thought of such a hip gift. We talked about the different types of recorded music there have been over the years. From LP records to 8-tracks and cassettes even CDs, she’s used them all–except digital music. She grasped the general concept of digital music. And she humored me by allowing me wade through a rudimentary explanation of how it works. But the part that sparked her interest was the cost effectiveness of purchasing digital music.


Low cost

With so many websites competing for our money, individual songs can be purchased for less than $1.00. Less than most cups of coffee! iTunes sells songs for 99 cents, Rhapsody for 89 cents. Wal-Mart is even in on the deal with their music download site for 88 cents per song. The cheapest reputable site I’ve found is Buymusic.com coming in at a low 79 cents per song. For us heavy downloaders, sites like Napster even offer flat monthly fee subscriptions. Some of these sites even offer free trials to ensure your hardware is compatible.

Just the songs you choose
Don’t like the whole album? Just pick the songs you want. This is my favorite feature. Many sites allow you to preview portions of songs before purchasing them. This helps make sure you will be satisfied with your purchase. No more wasting money on songs you don’t like. I rarely purchase whole albums anymore. I’m a picky listener. Even on albums by my favorite artists, there will be a few songs I like scattered amongst tracks I dislike.

No more scratched CDs!
I have to admit, I’m not always diligent about returning my CDs to their cases. In an article titled “Dead Formats Society“, a Wired blogger writes “Most of us spent the “postmodern” 1980s re-buying every album we’d ever bought on CD, because CD had “perfect sound forever.” I sure did, and now I’m purchasing some of the same music I listened to in the 70s for the third time! I forgot that “forever” didn’t mean I could thrash the CDs.

Compact storage
Say goodbye to bulky CD cases. Now when I road trip, I simply pack my mp3 player with a tiny adapter that allows me to play my music through any FM radio.

Ease of purchasing
Wasting time in lines is a pet peeve of mine. I’d rather click a few buttons and voila, instant gratification without leaving home. And gone are the days of going shopping for music to learn they’ve sold out of the new release you seek. Music never sells out online.

 As a child during the depression, my mother-in-law’s own frugality won’t allow her to replace her incredible Classical LP collection. In fact, she’s one of the only people I know who still has a record player. While the improved quality of digital sound is lost on my mother-in-law, she appreciates the value of money savvy purchases.