One billion statements of apathy

My long delayed (and brief) response to this story about the apathy of the "download generation" falls on the eve of Apple Computer's announcement that it's sold one billion songs through iTunes. I'm sure they count album tracks individually if sold as such, but I think that's one statement against the study itself. I personally feel the opposite. The ability to download music, to locate tunes not available in record stores, or available at excessive prices at these stores or online at Amazon, has opened up my appreciation for modern music once more.

The survey states (among other things) that "easily accessed tunes mean many music lovers are no longer excited at discovering and playing unfamiliar work." Surely the surveyors have no idea what it means to seek out information. Via iTunes streaming at work, or simply browsing artists and songs and sampling these online, I have discovered a host of artists and records that I never would have found in a regular chain music store. When I attended college in the early 1990s, there was an independent music store near campus. A great place to find unusual stuff. It faded out a few years ago. My tastes in modern music (setting aside classical and jazz for now) veer slightly off the beaten track. I stopped listening to radio years ago, because they played the same few songs every day, and I rarely liked those songs then, let alone now. If not for the download option, I never would have heard of Trespassers William, Devics, Sigur Ros, The Album Leaf, to name a few. I now thrill to discover new music, whereas a few years ago I gave up altogether and focused only on adding to my classical and jazz libraries. With iTunes I can collect the entire Devics discography for under $50 (currently my latest 'new find' band), whereas one early record costs nearly the same amount from Amazon, and cannot be found in chain record stores. CD prices also prevented me from buying much music. A current copy of Harold Budd's minimalist piano recordings costs twice the iTunes price as CD.

No recorded state is safe forever. Digital copies can get lost, but CDs only have a few years of life anyway. Contrary to the people studied, music remains "life-changing and special" to me, and that's due to the birth of download options. One billions downloads later, apathy as a definition now needs to be re-written. The hell with that study.