I keep in mind shopping for my first DVD—The Godfather, 1999, a two-disc set with a booklet thicker than some trendy screenplays. The load of it meant one thing. Ownership. Permanence. A factor you might maintain, lend, or (God forbid) resell.
Microsoft’s abrupt shuttering of its Films & TV storefront this week—no warning, no ceremony—ought to shock precisely nobody. The corporate’s help web page now reads like a eulogy for an idea we’ve been mourning for years: “You’ll be able to proceed to entry your bought content material.” Be aware the phrasing. Not “your films,” however “your bought content material.” A sterile, company hedge in opposition to the inevitable day when even that entry glints out.
This isn’t new. The tech giants have been softening us up for this second for a decade. Bear in mind Ultraviolet? The “purchase as soon as, watch anyplace” fantasy that collapsed right into a graveyard of damaged hyperlinks? Microsoft’s storefront, launched in 2006, outlasted it by a number of years, however the writing’s been on the wall since streaming ate bodily media’s lunch. What’s galling isn’t the shutdown itself—it’s the shrug that accompanies it. No refunds. No transfers (except you’re in the U.S. and fortunate sufficient to make use of Films Wherever). Only a well mannered reminder that you simply by no means owned a rattling factor.
The studios love this, after all. Why promote a movie as soon as when you’ll be able to lease it to the identical buyer yearly through a rotating carousel of subscription providers? And let’s not fake that is about “comfort.” It’s about management. A DVD doesn’t vanish as a result of a licensing deal expired. A Blu-ray doesn’t buffer. However your digital library? That’s a privilege, not a proper.
Microsoft’s exit is simply the newest domino to fall. The actual tragedy isn’t the lack of one other storefront—it’s the quiet erosion of the concept that artwork is one thing you’ll be able to hold.
So dig out these previous discs whereas they nonetheless spin. Or begin hoarding onerous drives. Both method, keep in mind: In the digital age, you’re not a collector. You’re a tenant.