Gen X is the only generation that bought the same music five times—and now rents it monthly. Records turned into tapes. Tapes into CDs. CDs into MP3s. MP3s into cloud accounts. And just when we thought we owned it all, we got hit with a $14.99 subscription… to listen to our own collection.
Progress didn’t make it easier. It made it paywalled. Everything we held, organized, alphabetized, and backed up is now behind a login. The mixtape became the playlist. The Walkman became a phone. The shelf became a recurring charge. Gen X didn’t get left behind—we got charged admission to our own past. And it sucks!
This isn’t a format war. It’s financial gaslighting. And Gen X remembers.