The first week of class we discussed dynamic range compression and why it is so prevalent in music today. I was aware that audio quality had taken a hit but was taken aback by how much more compression exists today compared to decades past. Later, when looking at http://dr.loudness-war.info/ to see how Michael Jackson’s discography looks like, I was not surprised to learn that each successive release of “greatest hits” or re-releases since his passing in 2009 has been poorer and poorer in quality. Perhaps it’s why more and more people are going  back to vinyl. Although I have yet to buy a record player, I have started my vinyl collection as well. Only a handful so far, but it will continue growing. I agree that compression is probably the industry’s response to the internet making more music available for consumption to more people. We have playlists with dozens if not hundreds of songs, on portable devices that can store thousands of them. If they can deliver a cheaper product to greater demand, they will.