Chris Dalla Riva: Nothing is Forever on the Internet.

Eventually, profits dry up. Costs must be cut. Some servers will be shut off and the recordings of your high school band will go with them, along with the photos of your grandparents and the video of your daughter walking for the first time.

This morning, I was listening to one of the first hip-hop albums I ever owned. I had to find an illegal recording on YouTube because sampling laws have kept it off of streaming services. For my money this is one of the greatest ever albums:

It’s not the only one that surprised me recently — apparently two of PM Dawn‘s tracks have been scrubbed from streaming as well, including the song that made them famous.

I’ve lost thousands of photos and hundreds of albums because I thought having a digital version was more permanent than a physical one.