Before I get into my impassioned dismissal of streaming services, I have to admit that, as the music curator of Monocle Radio, I do use Spotify and other apps. They allow me to easily discover new artists and quickly create bespoke playlists. But when it comes to listening to music in my own time, I prefer physical media over streaming.

I still listen to CDs and collecting them during my travels is a hobby that I have maintained since I was a teenager. Schlager disco from Germany, amazing city-pop compilations from Japan or fresh electro from France are always top of my list when I’m on the move.

An increasing number of young people value physical experiences over streaming. Not only do these formats feel more nostalgic but they also offer better sound quality, allowing you to connect more meaningfully with your music. I still own a beautiful walnut-veneer CD player by British audio brand Ruark. There is nothing better than arriving home, choosing a CD and listening to it front to back with a glass of wine or two. Will it be a Madonna Ray of Light kind of day or more of a bossa nova-compilation evening?

I recently started to feel dreadful anxiety that my seventh-generation iPod Touch (the last model that Apple produced) was reaching its full capacity. I really didn’t want to delete any of my 28,000 songs. So how could I obtain more space while sticking to a streaming-free experience? Following lengthy research and recommendations, I found a website that sells custom-made iPods with storage of up to 2TB. I chose a chic mustard-yellow model. After three long months, it arrived through the letterbox, ready for my freshly acquired stack of CDs to be uploaded. Yes, I do it the old-fashioned way: I burn my CDs onto my laptop then upload the songs to my iPod.

Many music fans are unhappy with the poor sound quality of streaming platforms. According to a survey from Dolby, 80 per cent of streaming users have upgraded or switched services to one with better audio quality. There’s the added drag of needing a working internet connection to browse these platforms. How well would Spotify work if you were stranded on a desert island and in the mood for some French electropop?

But it’s not just music-streaming services that are pushing users towards physical formats – film and TV platforms are guilty too. When it comes to choosing something to watch via streaming, there are seemingly endless options. But it feels almost impossible to find the one classic that you really want to see when algorithms thrust selections upon you instead. I prefer to make my own choices. The image quality on certain platforms can also be extremely poor; it’s no surprise that the sales of 4K Ultra HD discs went up in 2024. 

So buy a DVD. I promise that it will be worth it. The quality is superior to streaming in every way: subtitles are guaranteed, image quality is sharp and you can collect beautiful sleeve artwork. Clever companies such as Criterion Collection have made this even easier.

Innovation and technology are amazing things. But the quality of streaming services is not as good as it could be, especially for those of us who grew up with records and CDs. My cute mustard-coloured iPod has been a game-changer. And, yes, I always use it with wired headphones.