What happens when you give a kid from the iPod generation a Walkman?  Well, the BBC did just that, plopping a first generation cassette player into the hands of 13-year-old Scott Campbell.  The results, well, will probably make you feel old.  It definitely makes me feel like an antique.

It’s amazing just how much has changed in the past five years when it comes to the progress of technology.  For example, was there ever a need for people to carry around 32 gigabytes of music in the old days?  No, we just carried around giant books of easily damaged CDs or a few tapes that we listened to until we were sick of them.  In a way, it’s an explanation of why the record industry has fought so hard against the rate of technological change.  Things have radically changed in such a short time and physical media, the method of music delivery that the industry knows inside out, isn’t there anymore.

Two merchants hold all the power these days, Apple and Amazon.  Do you know anyone who regularly buys MP3s from a source other than one of those two?  I can’t think of a single person, and I’m in the minority as an Amazon user who doesn’t bother with iTunes.  I’m not sure how the profit margins might work, but I’d guess that $15-20 CDs are more profitable than a $1 (or less) electronic file.