This week in Digital Media: Borders Closes, Netflix Surprises

Last week, Netflix announced it would increase the pricing of their DVD & Streaming package by 60%. This came as a shock to the millions of Netflix consumers, and prompted lots of animosity towards the company. What was previously $9.99 and bundled both streaming and hard copy DVD rentals, has now become two separate packages priced at $7.99 each. While this move makes good sense from a financial standpoint, it is simultaneously sending a message to consumers that hard copies of digital media content are becoming less desirable methods of distribution.

Netflix is not the only company to make moves like this. Apple’s iTunes has always been 100% digital and Amazon has been pushing the use of its “cloud” service and Kindle devices for quite some time.

While the Netflix price hike came as a shock to many, the complete closing of Borders is a move that has left many people wondering if physical copies of media will soon be a thing of the past.

Are we coming to the end of CD’s, DVD’s, and books? While nobody wants to come out and say it directly, it’s most definitely on everyone’s minds and several online marketplaces and tech companies are preparing the public accordingly.

Is it possible that our own media consumption is to blame for these changes? When digital copies of music, books, and movies started to become readily available, the public became accustomed to getting more for less. As a result, we have now reached a point where the rationale to owning a physical copy of media is quickly fading.

How long will it take for physical good to become unavailable? Chances are it will take years, but if we continue to this trend it may come sooner than you think.