Digital downloads are a great way to get music for two key reasons. The first is that it's quick. You place your order and within minutes the songs you have purchased are downloading onto your computer. The second, and probably far more consequential reason, is that it is far better for the environment. The vast majority of American households now store, organize, and listen to music on digital devices that sync with their computers, and thus CD's have simply become an in-between delivery mechanism. What this usually means is that when people do buy CD's is that the music gets transferred from CD to computer, and then the CD languishes in a closet somewhere until it eventually gets discarded. Or the CD is kept and the case is discarded.

Either way, the plastics involved are usually not recyclable, to say nothing of the nasty chemical process that is used to make the blank CD's. Those chemicals and plastics have to go somewhere. We like to think that all this stuff at least makes it into a landfill, where it is going to sit for many thousands of years doing exactly nothing, certainly not biodegrading. However, some of you might be aware of a little issue the size of Texas known as the North Pacific Gyre, now also called the North Pacific Garbage Patch. It's the area of the Pacific north of Hawaii where the currents form a circle, so once objects enter, they stay there. Currently, it's filled with plastic garbage of all kinds, including lots of small pieces. Plastic water bottles, CDs, plastic bags - it's all there. It's out of sight and out of mind for most, but if you check in with news crews that are actually doing investigative reporting, it's a pretty astonishing story. You can see all about it on the Vice TV website.

The bottom line is that the more we can do to avoid plastics, the better off the planet is. Sometimes it seems unavoidable, but when we can avoid disposable plastics, at the grocery store, drinking water, and buying music, we make a positive choice. Thank you for reading and thank you for considering buying digital on my site! :-)

If you still hesitant, you may want to have a look at our Download Guide and our Music Software Guide. If you're new to the world of digital downloads or storing music on your computer, these may be a valuable introduction. And, you may also contact me directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions.