The reasons [for the new music market shrinking] are complex—more than just the appeal of old tunes—but the end result is unmistakable: Never before in history have new tracks attained hit status while generating so little cultural impact. In fact, the audience seems to be embracing en masse the hits of decades past. Success was always short-lived in the music business, but now it hardly makes a ripple on the attention spans of the mass market.

(Via Ted Gioia’s The Honest Broker)

Based on the expense I’m incurring to reestablish my physical media library, especially with music, this rings true.