On the Death of the 45 Single

Over the past couple of weeks I've made mention of ballparks closing, newspapers folding, comedy clubs disappearing... it seems like a lot of some core elements of our popular culture are evolving faster than anyone might have anticipated. Sometimes it's not such a bad thing-- almost all of the new ballparks are superior both aesthetically and commercially than those they replaced (though of course, in many instances, they result from average citizens funding major cash cows for the teams' owners, so it's hardly an unmitigated positive change). But usually these changes are cause for sadness. I just found out that the BMG Music Service (formerly the RCA Record Club, which at some point also absorbed the old Columbia Record Club) is shutting down. This was the outfit that always advertised "Buy 12 Records for a Penny" on the back of Parade magazine (and elsewhere). Obviously they've fallen victim to the same plight that has recently struck down so many record stores, including big chains like Tower and beloved independents like Home of the Hits in Buffalo, NY, Rodeo Records in Ellensburg Washington, and Big B's in Las Vegas... the list could go on and on. The fact is that people have largely stopped buying recorded music in physical form (as opposed to downloads in the form of binary code). As a longtime music collector, I mourn the loss of those older outlets (even the BMG Music Service, which I belonged to for many years just to take advantage of the once a year or so sale of "five for the price of one"). But the fact is, it was the music industry itself that cut it's own throat, and they did it out of greed and shortsightedness that makes their impending collapse almost poetic justice. There is a lot of evidence in support of that charge, and maybe I'll write some more about this as time goes on, but today I'll just mention one example of their incredible hubris: they wantonly killed the 45 single.

For years and years, the 45 record was the cornerstone of the industry. It provided two songs (one on each side) on a slab of 7 inch plastic. It was preceded by the 78 which was abit larger and thicker, but again, gave the consumer two songs, an a-side (the intended "hit") and a b-side (essentially a bonus for buying the popular side). They were cheap, somewhat portable, and they provided the perfect entre point for young consumers to get hooked on record collecting. But sometime in the late 1980's/early 1990's, as vinyl was being replaced by CD's, the record industry largely gave up on the 45 (and their seeming descendent, the CD single). It became incredibly difficult to find and buy the hit you heard on the radio unless you were prepared to shell out the inflated price of $15 or more for a full length album. Given the industry propaganda about how much superior digital technology was to the old analog product, consumers (for awhile) seemed willing to bite the bullet, but after awhile it became apparent that they were being ripped off. This is why people turned to downloading music-- once again they could select and purchase (or share) only the music they wanted to hear, and not go broke trying to stay up to date wit the hit parade. One can argue other aspects of the downloading issue with respect to things like copyrights and so forth, but the reality is that the industry as it was constructed twenty years ago ignored (or actively tried to stifle) this new delivery system rather than developing strategies to exploit it, and thus maintain some role in the shifting environment. In other words, they deserve to fail (much more so than retailers who were the most immediate victims of the companies' shortsighted policies).

In case this appears to be a troglodytic rant, bemoaning the cultural artifacts of my youth, let me assure you that I do not miss this other antiquated system of music delivery (also largely killed off by CDs and downloading):