Ditto the compact discs on another smaller shelf on a different wall.
While we do own some digital content, when it comes time to “buy” an album or a movie, sure as shootin’ you’ll see we buy a physical copy.
This is why.
We’re like Miz Booth in the Farley Family reunion, who took her x-rays home from the doctor because she paid for them.
I realize owning physical media carries risks with it. They’re not nearly as portable as digital copies. They can get ruined or lost. They need to be stored, as on our wonky shelves.
But once bought, once taken care of, they’re ours. Nobody can arbitrarily take them from us, unless we’re robbed.
Robbed. That’s probably a good word for what some purveyors of digital content are doing.
This isn’t to say we don’t use digital content. I watch a good number of movies and television shows for free thanks to Amazon Prime. With these Prime viewings, however, I know the contract is different. They’re offered to me for free to use. I don’t own them. If they go away, that’s my sign to find something else to watch. They’re part of the value of our Amazon Prime membership.
But if I paid top dollar for, say, a season of Psych, I’m going to be upset if some obscure clause in the terms of service indicate what I’ve bought really isn’t mine to keep.
Terms and Conditions:
Someone tries this on me, I won’t buy from them again. Ever. I may singlehandedly keep the physical media manufacturers in business.
This also brings up another point: If I were ever to get a book published, how would I want my digital customers to be treated?
Well, once they buy the book, digital or not, it’s theirs.
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