By
lo-fi
Sun Dec 26, 2004 6:34 pm
Obsolete?
The electric guitar did not replace the acoustic guitar, nor did the Fender Rhodes replace the acoustic piano. Digital or software synths haven't replaced analog synths, and digital photography has not made analog photography obsolete. In all these examples, the analog technology offers artists something that their digital counterpart can't.
But with a consumer medium like DVD versus VHS, this is not the case, and therefore I'm pretty sure DVD will replace VHS in the forseeable future, just as the CD has completely replaced vinyl as a consumer medium.
There are many DJs for whom vinyl holds no advantage over CDs - house DJ's who don't scratch but just mix, for example. My guess is that they will in time switch to a digital medium, but this will take many years because:
a) they have (and value) their existing vinyl collections
b) the infrastructure that provides them with new music is still largely vinyl-based
c) to many, it is still 'cooler' to show up at a gig with a crate of records than with a folder full of CD's.
For hiphop DJs and turntablists, vinyl still offers a lot of things that digital media can't. Plus they are part of a vinyl culture - no group reveres vinyl as much as the hiphop community does (well, perhaps some audiophiles and record collectors). Therefore, hiphop DJs will be the last to completely switch to digital, if they ever will. That said, many of them already use some form of digital DJ technology to complement their vinyl performance, even if it's just bringing a couple of exclusives to a gig on CD.
To cut a long story short, my guess is that analog and digital DJ technology will continue to exist side-by-side for a very, VERY long time.