Digital downloads - let's not get carried away, people.

I'll be the first to admit it - I never thought this downloadable music thing would take off. Illegal downloads, sure - people always want something for nothing. But the idea that people would embrace a notion where you PAY for music to be downloaded into your computer was something I thought would never be popular, and certainly not as popular as it is now.

"Who wants to pay for music you don't physically OWN?" I thought. I mean, surely one of the basic pleasures of getting new music is actually holding it in your hand? As twee as it sounds, one of the fundamental joys of new music is paying for and finally OWNING the CD, flicking through the booklet or reading the lyric sheet or drooling over the pictures if its some pop totty. All of this is redundant with music downloads. Like a certain track, point and click, wait 60 seconds - it's on your hard-drive. Where's the fun in that?

Music shouldn't be so faceless. Think of the generation we're raising, where the notion of album and singles sleeves are not only unimportant, but non-existent. Some of our cultures most famous iconic images have come from record sleeves. Think of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, or Nirvana's Nevermind, or Prince's Purple Rain. Those words alone have put those images into your brain, whether or not you even like the records, you're seeing a bloke on a bike, a swimming baby and a big line up of people in costumes. Our culture has burned those covers into our very subconscious. Will we ever see the like of that again with the onslaught of digital downloads?

CD Single sales have plummeted due to the ease and relative cheapness of downloads, and here's another reason that it's not all great - one of the best things about CD singles was buying it for the title track that you knew, and falling in love with the bonus track(s) on the single. Some artist's best, most character revealing work can be found on B-sides, safe from any commercial stress to put out "hits", an artist can be freed to show a more experimental or playful side, or even just to cover a much beloved song. With digital downloads you pay for the song you know and that's it. Bonus tracks, b-sides, whatever you want to call them, are again regarded as unimportant and are lost forever.

The same could happen with album tracks. The ignorant notion of "buying an album when I only like one song on it" (which is frustratingly common, even if the rest of the album is as yet unheard) will rule. People will happily pay £0.79 for the single they like off the radio, and they won't have to bother with the other 11 tracks. Of course, album sales are still high so this hasn't happened yet, but hey, CD single sales were high once too.

Digital music is easy and quick. But should music BE this easy? Shouldn't the trip to the shops, or even waiting for a CD to come through the post, be part of the process, that makes us APPRECIATE the records that we listen to? Downloading music can be like trying to hold water in your hands, you've got it for a few seconds then its gone and forgotten. Also, the music we listen to should be something we own, something we can hold in our hands, to look at and to cherish. Not just to bung on an I-Pod with 1000 other faceless tunes and be resigned to "shuffle" duties.

And don't even get me started on the horrific notion of downloading movies. That's another rant for another day. For now - by all means have your I-Pods and MP3's for being out on the go - but remember to love, and keep buying, CD's, and the album art, CD art, B-sides, album tracks and hidden tracks that come with them.