Listen carefully, and you'll hear the sound of a revolution. In just five years, many of us have radically changed the way we obtain and listen to music. With download sales set to overtake CD sales in the US by 2012, Richard Brophyasks six music fans of different ages how the shake-up has affected their collecting habits

OVER THE past five years, the way people buy, consume and interact with music has changed radically. The success of iTunes and the growth in popularity of MP3 players, coupled with the availability of high-speed broadband, means that increasing numbers of music fans are downloading music.

Not surprisingly, as more consumers buy digital music - iTunes reported at the start of 2008 that it had sold four billion songs since its 2003 launch - or download it from peer-to-peer networks, sales of music in physical formats have fallen.

CD sales in the US were down by 9.5 per cent last year, and market analysts Forrester Research have predicted that sales of downloads will eclipse CD sales for the first time in the US in 2012.

This projection implies that CDs could eventually suffer the same fate as cassettes and become defunct. While the only other physical music format, vinyl, actually increased sales last year, it represents only a tiny segment of the market, appealing to collectors and specialist fans.

Low prices, together with the selection and availability that downloading offers are advantageous, but what implications does the shift from physical music formats have for the relationship between music fans and artists? Will fans continue to buy records and CDs - and if so, why? Is it because they like to hold a CD or record to appreciate the sleeve design and artwork and to read the lyrics and sleeve notes? Certainly, it is hard to imagine collectors hunting down and hoarding MP3s with the same passion and fervour as they do with limited-edition records.

There are also difficulties in viewing a hard drive or an iPod full of MP3 files in the same way as a collection of records and CDs, gathered over years.

And it's hard to imagine that digital music will provide the same emotional fulfilment as a physical "record collection". Record and CD purchases mark events, moments and turning points in our lives, our changing tastes and feelings. Will purchasing computer files achieve the same effect?

Or will downloading turn music fans into even bigger collectors? Price and storage space are no longer big issues and increased availability means that downloaders can access more new and old music than before - iTunes has a vast archive facility - and consequently broaden their tastes.

Certainly it is cheaper to download than to purchase a CD, but do low prices mean that music has become devalued and that the role of the artist is less important? Consumers can download one song or cherrypick a few songs - something that doesn't bode well for the future of the album format.

Despite the advantages presented by downloading, music fans may also miss the social aspect of browsing and discovering music in record stores, interacting with staff and getting recommendations and tips about new music.

Downloading is quick and efficient, but it is also usually done in isolation, alone in front of a computer screen, which removes the social, convivial aspects of music buying. Maybe downloading is simply a reflection of a wider shift in society, where time-poor consumers crave convenience, but it would be regrettable if buying music became a soulless, purely functional task.

The resurgent interest in vinyl and the availability of some music only in this format could be seen as a reaction against downloading, with some fans craving a real, tangible connection to their favourite artists.

However, it is also true that social networking sites such as MySpace and blogs have been successful in shortening the distance between artists and their fans and affording exposure to unknown bands. The Ticketspoke to music fans from different age groups about their relationship with their music collections.

 Teens

Galena Murray (18) 

"I buy CDs so I can find out who wrote the lyrics or who is in the band. Downloading doesn't seem like the same thing"

A student from Dublin, Galena is a fan of the Foo Fighters and singers such as Laura Marling and Lilly Allen, but doesn't download much

"I still use a Discman, so I buy CDs in HMV. I like listening to CDs around the house and I'm too lazy to transfer them onto my iPod. I use iTunes when I just want to buy one song, but not for a whole album," she says.

Murray points out however, that among her age group, downloading music to a range of devices is the most common way to access music.

"My friend downloads music to her mobile phone and then sends it to my phone using Bluetooth," she explains. "I was even at an 11-year-old's birthday party the other week and they were all Bluetoothing."

So given that she still buys CDs, does Murray feel that downloading has made music more disposable?

"They are still songs: it's not really important how you buy them," she says, but then adds: "I like to buy CDs so I can read the lyrics, find out who wrote the lyrics or who is in the band. Downloading doesn't seem like the same thing, MP3 files feel like they are only there temporarily and could be lost or deleted."

Social networking services such as MySpace are the most significant way that technology has enhanced the relationship between fan and musicians, she feels.

"If I hear about a new band, I go onto their MySpace and listen to their music," she explains.

"I'm a big Lilly Allen fan, so I go to her MySpace a lot. She puts up new music and has a blog there. It's like a diary. It tells you about what's going on in her life - it's easier to connect to her."

20s

Barry Donovan (23)

"I have specialist tastes and all I've ever known is vinyl: if I was downloading, I'd miss the fun of looking through second-hand shops in Rotterdam or Berlin

As one of the resident DJs at Dublin electro club Lunar Disko, Barry Donovan goes to great lengths to procure music. Unlike most people his age or other DJs, however, Donovan is still an avid vinyl collector.

"If you go to a club in Dublin now it would be unusual to see no laptops - that's what most DJs use, they buy MP3s to remain at the cutting edge," he explains. The knock-on effect of this trend is that there are few specialist record stores left in Dublin.

"Nowadays, I mainly buy online, even though it is very expensive," he explains. Donovan doesn't spend as much money on records as he used to - "I bought a rare Dutch disco record for €40 on eBay a few years ago," - but still goes on trips to Europe to hunt down limited-edition vinyl. "I have specialist tastes and all I've ever known is vinyl: if I was downloading, I'd miss the fun of looking through second- hand shops in Rotterdam or Berlin," he explains.

Donovan, who has just moved to Rotterdam, is also adamant that his collection will outlive digital music.

"What are you going to do with a hard drive full of MP3s? That's not collecting. As long as I have money to buy music, I will spend it on records."

30s

Sarah Murray (36)

"Whatever affects people emotionally isn't dependent on the format it's played on"

An IT consultant with two young children, Sarah Murray says that she doesn't have as much time to buy music as she used to. "It has become a side issue in my life," she admits.

Murray puts on her iPod in "shuffle" mode or listens to internet radio stations while working on her computer, but is wary about downloading music because she has experienced computer crashes that have wiped out a hard drive.

"I am still a CD buyer because the sound quality is better and because I like owning music in a physical format," she explains. "A section of the population will always feel that way."

However, she believes that the internet offers unlimited possibilities to discover new music.

"It is a much wider concept than collecting: there is a huge volume of music online and loads of communities for the more obsessive fan. Whenever I read about a band, I can hear their music online if I'm curious - there's almost too much music out there," she says.

She also believes that irrespective of format, fans will always be able to bond with music.

"That emotional connection is something that cannot be broken," she says. "Whatever affects people emotionally isn't dependent on the format it's played on."

40s

Ben Jones (47)

"I hope that physical formats don't die out, but my children wouldn't know what a record is: once they can listen to it, they don't really care where it comes from"

Ben Jones, a telecommunications engineer, has been collecting music for over 30 years, and now buys CDs online from CD Wow. He says that he has not yet "crossed the line" to downloading, but, due to storage issues, is likely to start doing so soon. Jones believes that the digital format can change the user's relationship with music.

"A friend of mine transferred all his CDs onto his iPod and uses the 'shuffle' function - it's a totally different experience, like listening to a DJ on the radio," he says. "It's certainly different to sifting through CDs and records."

While Jones misses hunting for music in record stores and believes the archetypal moody record store assistant is a dying breed, he thinks that downloading has its advantages.

"ITunes is convenient and the range of music is amazing. Digital lets people swap music more easily and for small bands that may never release an album, MySpace offers great exposure," he says.

What about the emotional connection to the physical product?

"I remember when CDs were introduced and looking at the inlay and thinking 'wow, that's small', and now iTunes lets you download the album artwork.

"I hope that physical formats don't die out, but my children wouldn't know what a record is: once they can listen to it, they don't really care where it comes from," he says.

50s

Colm Murphy (51)

"I go into the archives and buy old songs, music  that reminds me of certain times in my life"

Murphy, who works in the finance industry, grew up listening to T Rex, Horslips and Thin Lizzy and used to buy vinyl and cassettes. He switched over from buying CDs to downloading a few years ago, and now mainly uses iTunes.

"I go into the archives and buy old songs, music that reminds me of certain times in my life." While Colm has his vinyl collection stored away safely, he says downloading is now the best way to collect music.

"There aren't many shops where I live and I can connect my laptop wherever I am and browse. I used to buy albums on the basis of a single and then the album would turn out to be crap, which was a waste of €18. Now I can just buy a few tracks I like."

Murphy doesn't believe that downloading devalues music and feels that iTunes offers such a broad range that it allows users to discover new artists. He is also upbeat about the album's survival prospects.

"I remember when Jim Fitzpatrick was designing Thin Lizzy sleeves, people were almost as interested in the artwork as the music," he recalls. "There will always be a hardcore group that will buy albums - that niche will never die away."

 60s

Ray Preston (67)

"The internet has made the world a much smaller place and jazz, ethnic and world music idioms are fusing"

Preston grew up listening to Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra as well as jazz pianist Oscar Peterson and Clifford Brown who, he says, "changed my life". One of the few jazz harmonica players in Ireland, Ray has built up a collection of jazz CDs and records. While he doesn't buy as much as he used to, he still buys CDs.

"I like the physicality of it, to be able to take the sleeve out, read the liner notes and see who is in the line-up," he says. "Music is something that most people have a passing interest in, but for me, it goes a lot deeper than that."

Murphy feels that downloading caters mainly for commercial music and that specialist fans are still more likely to buy physical formats.

"You can say you've collected 1,000 MP3 files on your computer, but it's 1,000 MP3s of what?" he asks. However, he feels that technology has helped to fuel a resurgent interest in jazz in Ireland - and has even been responsible for facilitating new fusions to develop.

"Jazz is getting more popular again and that has been helped by changes in communications technology," he believes. "The internet has made the world a much smaller place and jazz, ethnic and world music idioms are fusing."