You might think Generation Zers have no idea what a DVD, CD or even a VHS is. But I’m here to tell you that is an unfair stereotype about my peers. I’m old enough to remember watching the “Titanic” double VHS at my aunt and uncle’s house and listening to “Hannah Montana” CDs on my Sony portable boombox.
Despite my fond childhood memories, I will admit I lost my passion for buying physical media as I grew up and technology advanced. I didn’t rediscover my passion for it until I was much older and began buying my first CDs and vinyl with my own hard-earned money. When I was 19, I got my first job working at the V. Stock store in the South County Center. It was then that I decided I wanted to grow my collection and subsequently drain my bank account.
While certain formats like the DVD, VHS and cassette tape have fallen out of popularity, other formats, such as vinyl, are staging a comeback. According to the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA), revenue from vinyl sales reached $1.4 billion in 2024, the highest amount since 1984.
Some of the most popular artists on the charts today, like Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift offer multiple versions of their albums on various formats. According to Luminate, a music and entertainment data company, Swift’s 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department” was the best-selling album across all formats (vinyl LP, CD, cassette and digital download), with 3.491 million copies sold.
And, it’s not just a Swift-specific phenomenon. People are buying physical copies of albums like it’s 1999.
Even Hollywood blockbusters are joining in on the fun. A special collector’s VHS edition of “Alien Romulus” was released last December. Previously, the last major motion picture to be released on VHS was David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” in 2006.
Those driving the physical media resurgence seem to be Gen Zers, people born between 1997 and 2012. It seems members of my generation are rediscovering a passion for picking up physical copies of their favorite books, shows, movies, albums and magazines. I know it’s true in my circle of friends anyway.
One of those friends, Libby Stiles, said she likes collecting physical media for the aesthetic aspects.
“I got into LaserDiscs because I loved having record-sized posters on display around my room. I also love the look of shelves lined with book spines and DVDs,” she said. “Most of the DVDs I own are my favorite movies, so these displays feel like a physical representation of me, my tastes and my interests.”
Stiles also said that owning physical media is increasingly important in our digital world.
“With the trend of shows and movies being randomly removed from streaming libraries and not existing anywhere on the internet, nothing is permanent online. My act of collecting is an act of preservation of my favorite media,” she said. “I also like watching a lot of indie and foreign films, both of which are categories often absent from mainstream streaming service libraries. Owning that DVD gives me access into less-seen areas of cinema.”
Stiles said an example of this happened when she was trying to find the 2007 film “Atonement” to watch but couldn’t find it on any streaming service.
“This is a film that was popular when it came out less than 20 years ago, and it was nominated for seven Oscars,” she said. “But it was largely inaccessible to watch online. I found a copy thrifting a few days ago, and now I can watch it whenever I like.”
Carter David, another friend of mine, said his favorite part about collecting is the thrill of the hunt.
“It’s the same as looking for the next issue of Spider-Man for comic collectors, or trying to find just the right Pokemon card at a convention. It just has its own sense of accomplishment,” he said. “And it can be fun to look around and try to pick up recent favorites or all-time classics. I also just enjoy the idea that ‘it’s mine’ in a way. I own a portion of this movie. It connects me to the movies I love.”
It can be difficult to see the upsides of purchasing a physical copy of a new album or movie in a time when most everything is available with the click of a button. You have to keep the discs clean and make sure they don’t get scratched and store them properly. If you’re moving to a new place, your CDs, DVDs or vinyl can be an extra burden on an already stressful experience.
However, subscription streaming services can remove or alter their content any time they want.
Controversy on this subject arose in 2023, when the version of the 1971 thriller “The French Connection” available on Apple TV and The Criterion Channel was edited by four seconds to remove racial slurs. Several publications, like Forbes, The Independent and The New York Times criticized the edit, claiming art should not be censored and the film was aesthetically compromised as a result.
However, if you own a physical copy of a movie, show, videogame or album, it can’t be changed by the technology overlords. There is something special about holding a tangible product in your hands that you can watch or listen to whenever you want. Not to mention all the bonus features they offer, like the liner notes on an album and the hours of DVD special features. Fortunately, Disney+ does have extra features, such as deleted scenes and audio commentaries for certain films, but that’s not true for many streamers out there.
In our ever-changing media ecosystem, it is nice to have a nostalgic, yet practical way of preserving our favorite pieces of entertainment. The next time you’re at Goodwill or Walmart, grab a copy of a movie you loved as a kid or an album you used to headbang to as a teenager. You might just like it.