Park Soundtracks in the Digital Age

As many of you already know, Disney recently announced an August 20th release date for new park soundtrack CDs. Disneyland and Walt Disney World will each have their own updated 2-disc collection, with several new tracks. Of course, this is terrific news, but--for me--the best thing about this announcement is....wait...okay, before we continue...

Let's pause here a second to look at the covers. Raise your hand if you think the cost-cutting "One Disney" merchandising concept needs to stop.

Okay, moving forward to the best part of this news: These titles will be available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and Disney's own online digital music shop!

Disney's been offering several park-related soundtracks on iTunes and Amazon recently (including DCA's original 2001 album), but this marks the first time the current main resort souvenir CDs will be offered as downloads.

I hope these will be offered on a track-by-track basis. That would solve a recurring problem for Disney music fans whose wallets ache when purchasing a new park CD 90% composed of previously purchased tracks. Most of us understand that many old tracks have to remain on the new releases (It would be ridiculous for Disney to put out a mass-market souvenir park CD that didn't contain "Yo Ho" and "Grim Grinning Ghosts"). The possibility for a music fan to select which tracks to buy completely fixes that issue.

The next step, and I hope Disney is seriously aiming in this direction, is to abandon the idea of selling park music in a format limited to the capacity of a CD. They have the ability to create an infinitely expandable online park music store, continually updated with new attraction soundtracks, parades, shows and resort background music.

The Infinite Park Soundtrack -- It's a great time to re-imagine Disneyland Forever and Walt Disney World Forever, the wonderful experiment from years past. This time, the concept can work.
 
Before ending this, let's take one more look at the new cover art. Which character looks like a Disney blogger?

That's right, it's Minnie; She's ignoring the park icons and photographing some unusual little detail she finds cool. You rock, Ms. Mouse!