The percentage of baby boomers joining the MP3 revolution may be still be relatively low, but those who are into it, are into it:
- Since the days of vinyl records, the music industry has sold its goods in fickle formats that have come and gone, leaving obsolete record and tape players moldering in basements and thrift stores.
For baby boomers, the digital sound files called MP3s are merely the trend's newest incarnation.
"We're a generation that has lived through so many modes of experiencing music - from vinyl to 8-track to CD to cassette and reel-to-reel,'' said Melissa Easton, 38, an industrial designer who lives in Manhattan's Chinatown. "We're sick of changing our modes of listening.''
Still, Easton bought an Apple iPod MP3 player, which she and her husband use at home, on the subway, in the car and in their weekend home in the Catskills. If it weren't for the iPod's superb design and ease of use, Easton said she'd never have fallen for it.
"I don't trust that the technology is going to stick around, so the investment is something I'm reluctant to make,'' Easton said.
Most baby boomers, who range in age from 38 to 56, haven't yet taken the leap. According to a survey by research firm Parks Associates, 40 percent of Americans ages 45 to 54 with Internet access in their homes have MP3s on their hard drives.
That figure, although large, lags the 81 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds who have downloaded MP3s.
But several converging factors point to MP3 becoming a widespread - and perhaps persistent - music format, despite the opposition of the music industry, said Phil Leigh, digital media analyst with Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla.
First, sales of CDs haven't increased for four years, a fact that Leigh figures will push reluctant music publishers to finally offer online a larger portion of their catalogs as MP3s.
Second, the iPod has been a coup for the format, its award-winning design and functionality attracting even skeptics like Easton.
Third, MP3 files are more portable than any of the other music formats.
"Labels and music publishers are finally recognizing that this is a trend,'' Leigh said. "It does look like it's become the de facto format. The labels recognize it's the only way to go.''
For baby boomers, downloading free MP3s on KaZaA or Morpheus - an act of questionable ethics and legality - isn't as attractive as it is for younger users, who may be hard up for cash, said 48-year-old Bill Paige, an MP3 buff who lives in Chicago.
Article comments
1 - Jim S
First, sales of CDs haven't increased for four years, a fact that Leigh figures will push reluctant music publishers to finally offer online a larger portion of their catalogs as MP3s.
I'm not so sure. I think they will start pushing SACD & DVD-A, since they can copyprotect much better than with Mp3.We've been like lambs to the slaughter about every new format they push on us, but the question is will we let them do it again?