How do you listen to audio? Music? Podcast? Radio?
Have we actually lost the quality of how we listen?
When an artist creates an album, they’ve taken the time to create that art for the listener to experience in the best way possible. But we live in a world of playlists and shuffle buttons. Not only that but do you really know the quality of the audio? Can you tell the difference between and mp3 and WAV?
WAV’s are uncompressed and contain more data compared to MP3 files that lose some audio data during the compression process. Does it really matter? I guess its personal preference and how much you value what you’re listening to. Spotify allows for different audio quality whilst listening. You actively have to find this setting and even then, what are we listening through? As a business that works with audio on a daily basis this idea of not appreciating and really using our sense of sound is a genuine shame.
This leads to the conversation on the figures showing a huge resurgence of vinyl. In the UK vinyl LP’s hit their highest level last year since 1990. Vinyl holds more information than a digital file. You have to find monitors and create a set up. Is it just about the feeling of actually owning music, having that physical aspect of taking time to pick an album and listen to it in full, turning it half way through. Making it more an experience and appreciation for the sound? Have we gone full circle and realised this?
Or is there a world in which we have both and both are equally as important. Music on the go, that accompanies us through our day activities, background soundtrack that we consume in a way that doesn’t need to be high quality. Allowing space and time for when we really want audio to be absorbed and cherish that moment.
