The Rise of Digital Dominion: Bidding Farewell to Physical Media

In October, the gaming platform and marketplace Steam introduced a notice to its checkout procedure, informing buyers that they weren’t genuinely acquiring the game they’d placed in their cart, but rather a license to access the game. As the Verge noted, this indicates that you do not own the games you purchase from Steam — particularly those that necessitate an online connection to play.

This inclusion was prompted by a change in California legislation that requires such disclosure. Currently, video game corporations can — and have — pulled games from libraries or ceased servicing them, treating specific games more like subscription services than owned products. In 2023, Sony did likewise for television shows bought by consumers after its licensing agreement with Discovery altered.

Licensing can be an immense inconvenience for consumers, especially for those traveling across borders. If you’ve ever lost access to books, albums, TV programs, or even games while relocating between countries, you’ve faced the frustration that arises from losing access to the content you purchased — or, more accurately, the license you acquired.

Audible, Amazon’s audiobook service, is a leading offender. However, it’s not the only one. Businesses frequently deny customers entry to personal digital libraries when crossing borders, akin to a border checkpoint inspecting your suitcase and seizing your bought novels. If you move permanently, the issue worsens: you could forfeit access to all your purchased materials, unable to transfer your account — and all your content — to your new location.

The transition to digital formats of entertainment has resulted in a decrease in the manufacturing of devices capable of playing physical media. In December, LG proclaimed it would discontinue all Blu-ray players for good — what was left of them, at least. Microsoft too is moving away from discs, introducing a new Xbox console without an optical drive, although other models still include one. Sony has also been cautious with drives, offering both a disc and disc-free version of its PlayStation, with the former being priced lower than the latter. However, there’s considerable speculation that the next generation of Xboxes and PlayStations will be entirely driveless.

The progression towards digital media and streaming perpetuates a cycle: as the demand for physical media reduces, so does the production of the hardware necessary to utilize it, which further accelerates the diminishment in the availability and production of physical media. Paris Marx discusses how challenging it is to find a Blu-ray these days. As physical media diminishes, streaming platforms and online vendors gain increased control over what consumers can and cannot access. This authority intensifies daily as they develop content strategies to optimize profits, which may involve eliminating content to save on taxes and licensing fees.

Some individuals are struggling to uphold physical media, but it frequently appears like a futile endeavor. The entertainment and electronics sectors are significantly concentrated, dominated by a few key players such as Amazon, Disney, Sony, and Microsoft. These companies exert considerable influence over a vast portion of the entertainment ecosystem, crossing lines between content production, hardware creation, and retailing. Walmart, Best Buy, and a few other retailers further limit availability, deciding what is featured on their shelves and what is not — and physical media simply occupies less shelf space nowadays.

Ultimately, the transition to digital media symbolizes a more profound power shift. A handful of multinational corporations are amalgamating control over the marketplace, dictating what is available and who has access, with minimal room for alternatives.

Control is the core element in this scenario. Previously, companies had authority over what was displayed on shelves. But once you acquired something — a VHS tape, DVD, Blu-ray, cassette, or CD — it was yours to keep. Technology has evolved over time, but changes in format didn’t translate to direct and immediate governance over what appeared on any shelf, anywhere, at any time, or the retroactive removal of material you had already bought and placed in your entertainment cabinet. You owned and governed that content.

This is no longer the reality. We have lost that authority and control. As current conditions stand, we’re unlikely to regain it anytime soon.

Striving to maintain physical media and the ability to utilize it on various devices is admirable, but the actual conflict is transitioning toward legal safeguards for those who acquire digital media and enroll in streaming services. While we should continue to support physical media, assembling and sustaining a library is challenging and increasingly so — and the capacity to utilize those tangible items will continue to become more complicated. What we can do is insist on more robust regulations to prevent companies from exploiting their market supremacy in the digital realm.

The acquisition of a digital item should reflect ownership, unequivocally. Whether online or offline, purchasing something should secure the buyer the rights to access and utilize it anytime, anywhere. You ought to be able to read your books, view the shows and films you’ve acquired, play your games, and listen to your music as long as you desire, wherever you choose, after completing your purchase.

Establishing a worldwide framework of perpetual ownership and access is no straightforward endeavor. But that’s precisely the reason governments exist: to formulate and enforce laws and arrange international agreements. National policies ensuring authentic ownership and access across platforms are, evidently, a prerequisite to a global framework. The sooner we advocate for these protections, the greater our chances of being able to keep entertaining ourselves — potentially to death — for the foreseeable future.