A massive boom of digitized media began near the turn of the millennium and only continues to grow today. The era of CDs, DVDs, and VCR tapes is no longer—these spaces are now occupied by Spotify, Netflix, and HBO. Here, though, is the crux of this development: these forms of media don't actually occupy any physical space. The up-and-coming digital world completely transformed the—formerly physical—media consumed by so many. With easier access to trending content and cheaper production costs, this transition was almost inevitable. In a time where technology provides a sleek, modernized, decluttered interpretation of creating and acknowledging art, how does the diminishing presence of physical media change the way art is perceived and produced?

In the past, buying a movie or album meant you physically owned that item. A palpable representation of the film or music you enjoyed enough to purchase was in your possession. The idea of owning another’s art had a more concrete meaning than it does now. Today, owning these forms of media is only representative of the digital access you have to them. Apart from the obvious difference in tangibility, this also means that this media can be revised and edited en masse even after it is purchased by a customer. Scenes in movies can be cut or changed, songs and episodes can be completely removed, all without the consumer's knowledge. The tactile association behind media ownership is nearly extinct.

The decreasing association between appreciating art and having it in one's possession not only changes the way the consumer perceives art, but also shifts the way the artist approaches it. Traditional art has original copies, the piece itself is an original and is replicated from there. There’s something intimate in the idea that the artist created a unique, one of a kind piece and that they have control of what happens to the piece. Digital art, however, doesn’t resonate with this idea as easily. Files can be easily exported and converted to different formats, edited, and distributed. This distinction between digital and traditional artistry is not inherently negative but it does begin to draw a clear line between physical and digital media. Something about the personal interaction with the media is fundamentally different.

Perhaps most noticeably, this era of digital enlightenment has changed the way music is produced and made palatable to the world. In the past, albums were packaged and sold as a cohesive unit, often telling a story in the transition from one song to another. Now, because albums are seldom bought and often streamed, the intent behind them has changed. Songs are typically shuffled or added to playlists individually within streaming services, slimming the chance of the album being perceived as a whole. In response to this, artists are less likely to tell a story through an entire album than in just one song.

Apart from media itself, the emergence of social media platforms altered the way people approach consuming it. With on-demand access to virtually all content, consumers have more room to explore their preferences and become involved in hyperspecific online communities. However, specific types of content are often pushed by social media algorithms, leading to oversaturation of specific trends in both short and long form content. Oftentimes when one craze is dominating the explore pages, people attempt to reproduce the trend—which only ends up flooding social media with repetitive content ideas.

Ultimately, the world is becoming digitized. Somewhere between the development of mobile music players and phone cameras, physical media lost out. Be that as it may, there is some unequivocal charm associated with tangibility. The physical confrontation between a person and their artpiece of choice is not something easily recreated digitally. Whether or not society moves to let go of physical media wholly, or preserve it as an art, it fills a space—literally—digital media cannot.

Written by Reagan Hughes, Photography: Zayna Sayyed, Design: Cella Deer, Social Media: Falyn Forrest, Styling: Wilhem Reichmeider & Jiya Ghorpade

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