Let's buy DVDs again

Participating in the boycott of brands linked to Israel over the past two years has made it increasingly clear to me that most major brands are complicit in some form of war, genocide, human exploitation or destruction of the environment. Sometimes I would feel momentary overwhelm when another go-to brand had to be struck from my shopping list, because it felt like the semi-ethical options on offer were constantly shrinking (particularly as small local businesses have been hit so hard during the three-headed Government of chaos that reigns over Aotearoa - including many of my favourite vegan eateries). Most recently, the call for a boycott of Spotify - due to the CEO investing swathes of his Spotify riches in military weaponry and AI - has required the biggest shift in my behaviour. I listen to music constantly, and most of my podcasts and audiobooks are on Spotify too. I’ve got years’ worth of playlists on there. But I can’t support a company led by someone who would fund the use of generative AI and the building of military weapons. It’s time to move on from Spotify. Time instead to turn toward an alternative I’ve already spent the last few years contemplating: quitting streaming and relying on physical media. 

Reason #1 to embrace physical media again: streaming sucks 

It just keeps getting more expensive to be on the streaming services. There always seem to be services to sign up to, they increase their fees constantly, and they take away cost-saving features like account-sharing. Not only that, but you have no choice over what’s available. Netflix is constantly taking away popular properties and then bringing them back again seemingly on a whim. Plenty of excellent movies or TV shows are only available if you pay for them individually through Amazon/Google Play/YouTube, and even more are just not available on streaming at all. It’s true that music services tend to be more comprehensive, but plenty of small artists aren’t on there because they make less than pennies for their mahi toi (while Spotify rakes in profits in the billions).

Reason #2: DVDs have vintage charm

Remember DVD menus? Remember bonus features, like the director commentary that we never ever listened to? Remember the sick animations and the little printed booklets that made putting on a DVD feel like an experience? Having DVDs in your house adds colour and personality to the space. You can hold a physical thing in your hands that represents a piece of media you love. Visitors can be nosey and make quiet judgements about you based on what movies they spot on your shelves. Don’t you miss that? Actually deciding what movies you really liked and buying them? Making your own decisions that aren’t led by an algorithm?

Reason #3: DVDs are here to stay

Quite literally - we made millions (billions?) of plastic cases with plastic discs in them and they will be on this planet for many years to come. Opshops are full of them. Your nana’s TV cabinet is full of them. Landfills, sadly, are full of them. The upside is, DVDs are pretty cheap and once you own them, they’re not going anywhere. A streaming service can’t take that movie away from you; you can watch Lord of the Rings to your heart’s content. Also, you don’t need the internet to be working to watch a DVD. As long as you’ve got electricity, your DVD and CD collections will always be there for you. 

Reason #4: it’s mindful media consumption

If you’re a prolific scroller of social media, by now you’re well accustomed to being constantly presented with content you can’t predict. It’s normal to experience a sequence that looks like this: brainrot meme/images of beheaded bodies in Gaza/an ad for diet pills/a photo of your friend at a wedding. I’m not a psychologist, but it’s obvious to me just from my personal experience that it’s extremely damaging to go through your day either constantly cycling through emotions, or feeling numb to what you consume. When you pick up a book, put an album on the record player, or pop a DVD in your PlayStation (not even I own a DVD player), you are taking a moment to decide what you want to do and how you might want to feel. You can pick a sad album when you really want to lean into a melancholic mood. You could pick up a book you loved as a kid when you need a bit of comfort. The only thing you’re guaranteed to experience when opening Netflix is immediate overwhelm, and probably a movie choice that is more informed by the algorithm than by your own actual taste. Consuming what is presented to us takes away any real choice that we have, and can cause decision fatigue. I’d rather pick from 100 movies I’ve curated than 10,000 random ones. 

Reason #5: artists deserve to be paid

We know by now that Spotify drastically underpays artists. The most an artist can make from a single stream is $0.003 which, for a small artist, is essentially meaningless. Streaming services like Netflix also don’t have to pay residuals to the actors, producers, writers and directors of film and TV. Back in the day, every time a piece of media was played on television (such as the seemingly eternal re-runs of Friends), the people involved in making that media would receive a bit of money. Streaming services pay to host something on their service, but my understanding is that they are not required to pay based on the number of views/streams. If you want to support your favourite musician, writer, director or actor, buy their stuff! Buy DVDs, blu-rays, CDs, vinyl, books, merchandise. Even buying secondhand means something because it demonstrates the demand for that artist. Then if you do stream their music, at least you know you've already paid for it directly too.

Bonus tip:

If for some reason you don’t want to or can’t buy physical media, there are still options for you! 

1. Alice in Videoland
   Though they’re few and far between, some DVD/video services still exist. Like the iconic Alice in Videoland, based in Christchurch. You can sign up for a monthly subscription and select a number of DVDs to be posted to you, which arrive with a freepost bag to return them in once you’re done. You get to pick from their enormous catalogue of movies, many of which can’t be found anywhere on streaming. I recently picked up Akira, Bedrooms and Hallways, and season 1 of Looking, none of which I could find anywhere else. 
2. The library
   You can get DVDs (and sometimes CDs) from your local library! Some libraries charge a small fee. It’s a great way to support your local library too (they need our love and āwhina!)
3. Set up a friend exchange
   Convince your friends to buy up physical media too and pool your libraries. Swap DVDs and CDs with each other. It’ll cost you less than buying them all yourself, and gives you a fun excuse to talk about movies, TV and music with your pals. 
4. Arovision
   An Aotearoa-based streaming service where you actually pay per movie instead of a general fee. And they have heaps of movies (including brilliant local and Māori films) that aren't on any other streaming services. I recently watched An Angel at My Table on there, one of my favourite movies of this year.

This isn’t really just about DVDs or CDs; it’s about making our own choices in a world where tech billionaires are determined to try to make them for us. Whether it’s ChatGPT writing your shopping list, you watching the movie Netflix serves on the top banner, or Instagram repeatedly serving you the same ad until you make that purchase, we have a greater illusion of choice than ever and yet are using our capacity for critical thinking far less. Anything we can do to wrest back our own minds, our own decisions, and our own attention span from these tech billionaires the better. DVDs might be an unlikely tool for the revolution, but even starting by getting off streaming is a rebellion against what we’re told is ‘normal’ and a decision to think for ourselves again. 

Note: I am not claiming to be perfect or attempting to shame you if you pay for streaming services! I have not yet deleted all my streaming accounts! I’m getting there! The idea of getting Spotify wrapped FOMO is very real, but pales in comparison to the idea of mindlessly putting my money into the pockets of billionaires for eternity. I'm also gonna trial Qobuz so I still have the option of streaming new music, in addition to my CD/vinyl collections (they are one of the most ethical music streaming platforms, and pay artists more than 6x what Spotify pays artists per stream).