Morgan Brandon is proof that young people love CDs, too! The 19-year-old Chicago area native prefers the physical format to streaming. Growing up in Chicagoland shaped her as a music lover.
“I’m very blessed to be able to experience the big music scene that Chicago has to offer – musical festivals, concerts, and cool record stores,” Brandon told 360°Sound. “A lot of the artists that I listen to are from Chicago, and in a few years, I’ll be able to attend their shows at famous Chicago club venues!”
In this interview, Brandon discusses her favorite albums and genres, the future of the compact disc, and her popular YouTube channel @MorganBrandon, which has racked up over half a million views.
360°Sound: How long have you been collecting CDs? Do you remember the first CD you ever bought?
Morgan Brandon: I’ve always had a handful of CDs, but I didn’t become a serious CD collector until 2020. These past three or four years I’ve really enjoyed expanding my collection. I’m pretty sure the first CD I bought was 5 Seconds of Summer’s fourth album called CALM. I think that CD is what started my official collection back in March 2020.
The album CALM was released just a few weeks after the pandemic started, but that wasn’t going to stop me from buying the CD. I went to Target to get the Target-exclusive version of the album, which had a few bonus tracks, an alternate cover, and a poster. I’m so glad I bought that CD right when it was released because its value has increased since then.
What do you love about the CD format?
There are so many reasons why I love the CD format. Because they’re so affordable, I’ve been able to buy a lot, while not hurting my wallet too much. Most of my CDs have exclusive posters, signed booklets, and bonus tracks that are not found on other forms of physical media.
CDs are obviously very small and easy to transport, so I love being able to take a stack with me to play in the car during road trips. When I buy newly released albums on CD, I always import the songs to my computer to get more use out of the audio files.
Why buy a digital album, when you can spend a few extra dollars to get the digital files on CD and the artwork/lyric booklet too? I think you get more for your money buying CDs over digital albums or even vinyl in some cases.
Tell us about your YouTube channel. You do a lot of reaction videos for new music releases. Has that been fun?
I started my YouTube channel at the end of 2019 with the intent to post fan edits and time-lapse drawing videos. But, I was also very passionate about music, so I also posted a few reaction videos. Right from the start, those reaction videos performed much better than my art videos and edits, to my surprise. Music quickly took over my channel, and it’s now my main type of content.
I love filming unboxing videos to share my recent vinyl and CD purchases, but I found the most success with reaction videos. I really enjoy reacting to new singles and albums from my favorite artists and engaging with my viewers in my comment section. It’s a lot of fun sharing my music opinions with the world and keeping the discussion going in the comments, which helps to increase my audience.
Sometimes it can be a lot of work to keep up with all the new music coming out, but it’s so worth it because I never know who’s watching my videos. It has really paid off because it has created so many amazing opportunities for me and my channel.
You are a musician yourself. How would you describe the music you make?
I played the clarinet for two years when I was in my middle school’s band. During that time, I was introduced to music production through the GarageBand app on my iPod. When I got to high school, I took a music theory class. A lot of the content in that class I already knew from teaching myself at home, so school never really impacted the type of music that I made. Everything I made was electronic because I was at home making music on my computer, and I didn’t have the equipment to record with live instruments.
A lot of my musical influences came from electronic dance music, because it was the easiest for me to produce by myself, and it’s my most listened to genre. I learned to produce by studying my favorite songs and applying the techniques those artist’s used to my own music. I also spent hours watching tutorials on YouTube. I started with producing EDM, but I was also listening to a lot of pop and rap at the time so I experimented with mixing those genres. My music is heavily inspired by the artists and genres that I listen to. Last year, I released my first album on SoundCloud called Radiance, and it definitely reflects those elements.
I try not to put myself in a box when it comes to picking a genre to classify my music as, because right now I’d say it’s a combination of EDM, pop, and rap. For example, sometimes I’ll have a pop melody or chords, an EDM vocal chop, and trap drums all in the same song. I make music that sounds good to me and makes me happy no matter what genre it is. I was only focused on having a fun time producing upbeat music, so it was very encouraging to receive a lot of positive feedback on Radiance.
What are some of your favorite genres? Who are some of your favorite artists?
My favorite genres are hip-hop, pop, pop-rock, and EDM. But at the moment, I’d say dance/electronic is my favorite genre. EDM has numerous subgenres, and I find myself listening to house music the most. I’ve been a big fan of house, even before I found out that it originated in Chicago. Dance music has incredible energy that brings me so much joy. The dance music community is wonderful, and the music really brings people together.
I don’t listen to many rappers, but my favorites are Post Malone and Juice WRLD. I relate to a lot of their lyrics, and I respect the variety in their vocal performances. Their songs always have great beats, too. Some of my favorite bands include 5 Seconds of Summer and The Band CAMINO. Those bands have multi-talented members, and I love how they add electronic elements into some of their songs in ways that feel fresh and creative.
When it comes to DJs/producers, I have a long list of favorites: Martin Garrix, Zedd, The Chainsmokers, Tiesto, Skrillex, and Calvin Harris. They’re the ones who inspired me to start producing. I also want to shout out some of my favorite small DJs/producers: Drove, Josh Charm, Aspyer, Julian Jordan, and Bleu Clair. They all create exciting dance music that’s so underrated!
How do you feel about the future of the CD?
I feel like CDs aren’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. I am hopeful that CDs will continue to grow in popularity. With the increasing price of vinyl due to material shortages and constant manufacturing delays, I think more people will turn to CDs as the cheaper and better alternative.
I think CDs are more convenient. They’re much easier to store and more practical for people getting into the hobby of collecting physical media. CD sales have been on the rise in recent years to reflect that trend. This year I’ve seen a lot of artists offer signed CDs for their new albums, which incentivizes people to purchase them.
It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for CDs, and I think it’s possible that they could become more popular than vinyl. I hope people of all ages will continue to collect CDs, and I’m excited to see where my collection journey will take me.
Dig Morgan’s YouTube channel @MorganBrandon
