Disc rot will eventually wipe out our CD collections, and then what will we have?  It’s not an unusual problem. For example, the first movies were printed on nitrate film, which over time turned into a combustible goo. As a result, 75-90 percent of all silent films are assumed lost forever. Today archivists are concerned with the longevity of digital storage, going so far as to speculate that the the opening of the 21st century–our photos, letters (emails), documents, etc.–will be lost forever. Future historians may see the 2000’s as a dark age, information-wise.

That’s kind of a hard concept for us to get our brains around. Even if my Brian May “Driven By You” CD single succumbs to disc rot, I can always find it online via YouTube or streaming services, probably.

So why bother owning it? For the artifact, of course, and by artifact I mean the packaging. Just look at it–isn’t that a thing of beauty? The compass even works, for crying out loud.

This one is a little tough to price. It’s really only of interest to Queen fans and collectors of unique packaging, but either group would be happy to own it. Additionally, interest in CDs has really waned over the last few years, so the market for CDs is pretty volatile. You might pick this one up for a couple of bucks under the right circumstances, or you might pay 20 bones for a cool little treasure to stick on your shelf and admire long after disc rot has claimed its contents. Happy hunting.