Does downloading music dampen the listening experience?

A recent study commissioned by Dr Adrian North, of Leicester University’s School of Psychology, culminated with the claim that the current trend of downloading music has made people apathetic; suggesting that music is now so easily accessible that it is no longer prized, that it is a commodity rather than an experience. But do recent advances in how we listen to our music really create a lack of interest?

Growing up, I seen the music I purchased as part of a package. I’ll never forget buying my first album, the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. I opened the case slowly and carefully, placing the tape in a piece of equipment older than me. I sang along to Under The Bridge following the intimate, handwritten lyrics supplied. I studied photos of the band member’s dazzling array of tattoos, proudly displayed in the accompanying booklet, then tried to copy them using a blue biro and my Ma’s makeup mirror. Would I have had the same moments, which I remember fondly, had I downloaded the entire album and stuck it on my iPod?

Then there were the long, drawn-out Sunday evenings, listening to the Top 40 on the radio, my fingers poised over the ‘play’ and ‘record’ buttons, waiting for Bryan Adams to fade out so I could tape Ice Ice Baby. The process of pressing two buttons at once was honed to perfection. It had to be; mess up and you missed precious seconds, in my case Vanilla Ice announcing to his VIPs to KICK IT. This was all part of the experience, replicating those 1960s kids who would hunt car boot sales for the edition of their favourite band’s latest album that came with a sticker set, or a limited edition coloured vinyl. Music was hands-on, often illusive, always rewarding.
During my teenage years came the rebirth of this phenomenon, with bedroom Djs like myself scouring the racks of Doc Roberts and Backbeat for the version of Phat Planet that came with that killer remix. I remember my brother grimly searching for YEARS for a copy of KRS One’s ‘Sound of da Police’; and his euphoric laying of vinyl to steel once he acquired a copy. Today, he could download it within minutes. Hell, recent software like Final Scratch means he could even transfer it from MP3 to a ‘blank record’ that can read a digital source. DJ-ready in moments. This may seem like the easy option, but you can’t help but feel that Dr North has a point. Ever notice that indifference to chocolate during the later part of the Christmas holidays? With all those selection boxes, tins and tubs within arm’s reach? Same thing.

But, of course, as with every debate bar one citing the benefits of listening to Westlife, there comes the argument FOR instantly accessible music. Apart from the obvious (i.e. the last three words of the previous sentence), the download era has also allowed for bands, that would have otherwise been eclipsed by the likes of the aforementioned warbling Irish quartet, to shine through. Music websites like Myspace.com allow struggling acts to get their music heard, to establish a fan base. The cutting out of record label middlemen - bands upload their songs and fans download - means that the relationship between a band and their fans is becoming increasingly intimate. In fact, many established acts are now using Myspace to ‘test’ forthcoming material, gauging fan’s reactions and so bridging the gap between what the public want, and what their idols think they want. Thus, our ‘listening experience’ benefits from this rapid exchange made possible by the internet.

So will downloaded music turn us all into a bunch of anaesthetised, small-minded listeners, or will it allow for bands and their fans to bond on a whole new level? If one band epitomises how the influence of downloads can equal success, it’s got to be the Arctic Monkeys, who recently managed two number-one singles, mostly due to their online fanbase, as well as the introduction of counting downloads in sales figures. But the fact that they also sell out their gigs in seconds suggests that the download generation still know there’s no substitution for seeing - and yes, listening to - a live band.
And at the end of the day, what is music, if not a group of people, playing instruments live in a room, for our enjoyment?