I think it’s interesting how often we look at mp3s as the source of problems for the music business, but it’s worth taking a look at how CDs are the real problem. One of the things that got me thinking about it this week, is the idea of 3-D movies. More specifically, Avatar (which I still haven’t seen).
As much as they’re in trouble too, the film industry has done a great job at moving forward with new mediums. When DVDs were first released, they weren’t that easy to share. Once you figured out how to crack the copy protection, you had to compress it so that it would fit through the Internet’s pipeline. The majority of people who watch movies illegally are doing it on the backs of piraters who have done the heavy lifting for them.
DVDs are slowly being replaced by the larger format Blu-Ray. If you want to share an uncompressed DVD, you are looking at 4-8 gigs of data, but Blu-Ray is exponentially larger. You are not going to share an uncompressed Blu-Ray movie, although again there are people compressing them down to more manageable sizes. It is indeed a cat and mouse situation, but the film industry continues to be creative with handling the issue.
Avatar is interesting because it’s the first major blockbuster in 3-D. Some animations have been in this format, but this is the first box office killer in the format. What’s cool about this is: with a version in 3-D in theatres, how many people are going to want to watch this at home in a low-quality version? I don’t think that many want to. When it hits Blu-Ray, there will likely be a 3-D version for viewing at home(like Coraline), which will be eligible for pirating, but by that time the movie will have raked in so much money I don’t think it will matter.
A few weeks ago, Bono wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times. In it, he says, “The only thing protecting the movie and TV industries from the fate that has befallen music and indeed the newspaper business is the size of the files”. This sums up my point very well. But it begs the question, why has the music industry pushed for smaller file sizes, rather than get ahead of the problem by actually upping the quality of the product?
The Audio CD format has been on the market since 1982. VHS tapes became available not too long before that in the late 70s, yet were starting to be phased out by the early 00s.
When creating an Audio CD, you render your project at 16-bit 44.1 khz. But the audio equipment we use has had much better options for years. The format that most engineers would probably love to heard in people’s homes is 24-bit, 96 khz. There is also another interesting way to deliver audio, and that’s in 5.1 surround sound.
The music industry toyed around with a format called DVD Audio which sported 24-bit and 192 khz specifications, with support for 5.1 surround. The common belief is that people can’t discern the higher quality sound, and therefore this wasn’t necessary to jump up. There was also the SACD format, another format which seems to be doomed as well.
I don’t think it’s good to impose new formats on consumers simply because the large file sizes make it harder to share, but I do believe there is considerable benefit to increasing the quality of the sound for the overall experience. 5.1 is a reason right there to upgrade the format of delivery.
The artist BT took on an ambitious project a few years called This Binary Universe. It’s a beautiful album that features a live orchestra and compelling computer animations, all mixed in 5.1. In an interview a few years after the release, BT admitted that he regretted doing the album in 5.1 because he didn’t think many people cared for it. I was a little upset to hear this, but realistically, I don’t think I ever managed to find a setting where I could hear the album in surround. Amon Tobin has done a brilliant job at taking his DJ sets around the world in 5.1, but aside from him, I haven’t been to any other shows in this format.
So, while movies are taking on new lifeforms in ways such as Blu-Ray at home, and 3-D in the theatre, what is the future of music? Is it just people listening to iPods on the bus, and small iPod docking CD players at home? The only glimmer of hope for high quality listening experiences I have found in recent years is the fact that some luxury cars come equipped with the ability to play DVD Audio, but I would like to see this concept expand.