With the rise of streaming services in the 2020s and the consolidation of movie studios, DVD and Blu-Ray production has slowed and they have been harder to find in stores. Additionally, conglomerates like Amazon that have competitive buying power are able to sell books at cheaper prices than Barnes and Noble and independent bookstores. What these two issues have in common is that they both vastly affect physical media which is very important in society.
A good thing that has happened with physical media, however, is that vinyl sales has grown over the last two years due to younger buyers such as Gen-Z and Millennials wanting physical music. According to MusicWeek.com, year over year sales grew to 13.3%, up from 9.1% in 2024.
Although vinyl sales are growing, book and DVD sales are at risk due to monopolization and consolidation in their markets, along with streaming services and e-book services like Kindle.
Perhaps the biggest negative with streaming services is not that every studio has one–this practice has been argued similar to book blocking, a now illegal practice in the United States–but the issue that streamers are able to censor content at will to meet regional regulations. That means you are essentially renting their content and do not own it.
Another issue that many find is ads, and while some streaming services may charge to remove them they often charge much more. On top of this, streaming services like Netflix rarely put their films in theatres.When they do, the window in theatres is typically shorter than before, and only the blockbuster films go to theatres, not the b-grade and lower budget films. Of course, the other issue with these services are frequent price hikes. With prices on some services more than doubling since the start of the decade, “streamflation” is very much an issue.
As far as books go, Amazon has a sizable market share on them since they started selling in the mid 90s. Since then, it has only grown bigger and cheaper putting independent bookstores at risk of losing business or going out of business altogether. Even bigger companies like Barnes and Noble have been at jeopardy, although they have made a comeback with Elliott Management Group, a private investment and hedge fund company that bought Barnes and Noble in 2019 and changed executives.
The solution to these issues, however, has been debated and requires many pieces. Some argue that prices need to go down, and others argue that movies should stay in theatres longer. However, the solution here is not black and white. These streaming services should lower prices, put more films in theatre and for longer and still sell them on DVD and Blu-Ray formats. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission must step in to prevent further monopolization of these services through the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 which specifically targets mergers and acquisitions. This can and should be utilized towards studio mergers and companies like Amazon.
Additionally, while people own physical media forever, it is also important due to the tangible connection with it, the lack of internet needed and it’s not just cool to have, but also can be a good conversation starter. This is why only YOU can save physical media. Go to your local bookstore today!
