Abstract

A revolution in music consumption has taken place in recent years, from communally buying tangible products within local shops to individually downloading music over the global internet. Aspects of this change are investigated by comparing narratives from two age-based music consumer tribes – Baby Boomer and Generation Y – each with a predilection for either music shops or downloading. Short-form prosaic poetic selections are presented to offer comparative, summary tribal webs of meaning for each community's music buying behaviour. The study raises questions about generational identity, relating to identified pre-internet, communal materialism and modern, technology-led music consumption featuring individualistic solipsism.