why physical media is making a comeback

My generation is a bit of an anomaly. We straddle the line between Millennials and Gen Z — digital natives, but not quite born into it. We didn’t just grow up with the internet; we grew up as it grew up.

The original iPhone came out the same year I started high school. It felt like mobile phones and I were maturing in tandem. I remember cassettes — just about — but I was very much a CD kid, then an iPod tween, and an iPhone teen.

My taste in music evolved alongside how I listened to it. iTunes was where I made my first solo music purchases. Everything was digital, and you paid for what you wanted. It felt simple. Yours.

Then came Netflix’s transformation — from mailing DVDs to letting you stream films, if your internet could handle it. (For younger readers: yes, there really was a time when streaming a video was an event, not a given.) That shift kick-started a media revolution. Suddenly, nearly everything was on Netflix. For £4.99 a month, it felt like you owned the world.

But then the suits caught on.

Content owners realised they could keep a bigger slice of the pie by launching their own platforms. At the same time, Spotify reshaped how we consumed music. Apple Music and Tidal soon joined in. For a while, it was glorious — one monthly fee for endless content.

Then came the fracture.

One streaming service became two. Then three. Then… too many. Prices rose. Content vanished and reappeared elsewhere. You’d be halfway through a series, only to find it yanked offline. Maybe it’d return on a new platform — months later, if at all.

What was once convenient had become frustrating. And for a generation who’s grown up in economic downturns and has only ever known inflation, we’ve had enough of paying more for way less.

So what’s the alternative?

To some, returning to physical media might seem regressive. But it’s not. When you look into the nerdy stuff—bitrates, transfer speeds—you learn something surprising: a humble CD or Blu-ray regularly beats streaming in quality.

More importantly though, it’s yours.

You can lend it to a friend. Gift it. Sell it. Donate it. Stack it proudly on a shelf. You don’t just consume it—you keep it.

For me, the return began with 4K Blu-rays. I wanted to see my favourite films in the best quality possible. Then came CDs. I’ve collected vinyl for years, but let’s face it — vinyl is bulky, expensive, and not the most practical for everyday use. A CD? It’s compact. Accessible. Underrated.

I’ve loved trawling second-hand shops and eBay listings for hidden gems. I love having a small corner of my office that reflects my musical taste, physically and unapologetically. I’ve rediscovered the joy of listening to an album properly—cover to cover, in the order the artist intended. No skipping. No shuffling. No algorithms.

Just music, as it was meant to be heard.

Will I ever go fully cold turkey from streaming? Maybe. But not yet. I’m not a luddite. Apple Music still helps me find new music cheaply and easily. YouTube Premium saves me hours of my life in ads. I’m not anti-modernity.

But my relationship with streaming is different now. I no longer rely on it. It’s not the only option, or even the default. It’s just one part of how I engage with art.

And maybe that’s the real shift.

We were promised access, but what we’re craving now is ownership. Permanence. Intentionality. Quality over quantity.

Not everything has to live in the cloud. Some things deserve a spine, a surface, a little shelf space.

Maybe even a second listen.