Physical media is having a moment

For as long as humans have made stories, songs, and other forms of self-expression, we have also endeavored to find new and theoretically better ways to share those efforts with others. Cave paintings, illuminated manuscripts, wax cylinders, vinyl, laserdisc and so on — each new medium brings its own unique set of assets and challenges. These not only shape how we consume the media in question, but also help define the role of art in our lives. 

In our current era of digital streaming, finding a movie to watch, an album to listen to or a game to play can be an exercise in sofa-based instant gratification. But a growing number of people are rejecting what they see as ephemeral app-based media. Instead, users have begun returning to the assurances of physical media that exist outside the whims of streaming's powers-that-be. Turned off by the churn of licensing agreements, streaming rights, and other structural forces that undercut any sense of digital ownership and permanence, consumers are once again embracing DVDs, CDs and other forms of tangible media. Once purchased, these items belong to them and them alone. 

Is this return to once-abandoned mediums simply an exercise in nostalgia, or are the apparent flaws in the streaming ecosystem truly driving people back into the arms of tape decks and video game cartridges? Whatever the reason, physical media is undeniably having an unexpected moment.

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"As volatile as it gets"

The "great pitch for streaming" at its onset was the notion of a convenient, one-stop shop for consumers to find their favorite media. However, rising subscription prices and the introduction of ads have made the entire industry "even more hostile" to users, IGN said. Moreover, if a streaming service opts to remove its original content without offering a physical alternative, then that show or movie "pretty much ceases to exist." Physical copies, then, are the "only way to ensure you can always watch them."

Streaming service libraries are as "volatile as it gets," agreed CNN, which pointed out that "digital purchases aren't actually safe either." Meanwhile, the "limits of modern home internet" means 4K Blu-ray quality will always be higher. Perhaps most importantly, some films and shows "just can't be found on streaming services or even as digital purchase or rental." Owning physical media is "valid and in some cases necessary" not just for personal enjoyment, but for the "preservation of cinema and TV" at large. Buoyed by praise from high-profile directors like Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson, 4K Blu-rays in particular have become a major factor in the pivot back to physical media, with sales up "almost 6% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 2022, and "up 20% year-over-year" at the end of 2022, The Wrap said, citing numbers from Digital Entertainment Group. It's the one area of physical media that's "actually growing" as the market goes through a "period of intense transformation." 

Given the sheer convenience of streaming services, it is unlikely physical media will "become the norm for the general public," one movie critic said to tech site Livewire last month. But it could "regain popularity, especially among collectors and enthusiasts."

"More important than ever"

The appeal of physical media to niche groups of consumers is already apparent among anime fans. For example, those who have helped Justin Sevakis, founder and CEO of postproduction company MediaOCD, "find success by playing specifically to the small, passionate communities," said The Verge . While a "good hit in the niche Blu-ray space will move something like 5,000" discs, Sevakis told the outlet, the fact that they are not "huge numbers" does not lesson the fervor of committed fans who get "excited over the idea of physically owning media like this." The ephemeral nature of streaming means the work that Sevakis and others like him do "feels more important than ever." 

It's not just film and television. While video game downloads have become a major avenue of sales worldwide, "it seems Japan still absolutely loves physical games," Kantan Games’ Serkan Toto told The Verge, citing Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association estimates. These showed that "65 percent of PlayStation 5 games" were physical purchases in Japan in 2022, compared to the "70 percent of full PS4 and PS5 game sales in 2022" sold globally which were digital.