One of the recurring themes of the blog here is that I like signed stuff. One of the reasons that I still get CDs, especially from independent artists, is that it's a relatively common item to get autographed when the opportunity arises.
It used to be that any artist that is established enough to have a following had some physical package of music...cassettes, vinyl, CDs, etc. In the digital age, that's not necessarily the case anymore. Especially with independent artists.
What replaces the signing of physical media in the digital world? Does it just change to photographs? Or do autographs go away, that connection to the artist replaced by other methods of interaction like blogs, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter?
I'm not sure yet. For the time being, while I'm buying MP3's from bigger artists, I'm buying CDs by any artist I think I might have a chance to get close enough to ask for an autograph.
Alternative suggestions are welcome. I'll ask around in the real world and if I get any interesting responses, I'll share them.
Wow, I never thought of that. Yes, please share. I'm gonna do some thinking tonight too...
I'm not going to be getting out for another couple of weeks, but I think I'll add that to my list of things to bring up whenever I talk to artists. I'll be seeing 2-3 between now and the end of October.
I've been thinking about it and I haven't decided whether some new physical item needs to enter into it or not. Or if maybe the autograph goes away in favor of something else.