The 2024 shopping season, which began in late November and continued into early 2025, produced plenty of impressive figures. The most striking was probably the total sales in the US, which crossed the trillion-dollar threshold. Diving deeper into that staggering number reveals a statistic that at first glance looks like an error: during the last two months of 2024, sales of used iPods jumped 15%, and interest in them in Google searches grew 117%.
Not iPad â iPod. Apple’s mythological music player, which first launched 24 years ago and whose sale was officially discontinued in 2022. Ultimately, these are still relatively small numbers, but behind them stands an entire industry: add-ons and upgrades that expand storage capacity, enable USB-C connections, and transform the iPod’s appearance into something aesthetic and modern. Instructional videos on the subject have reached millions of views on YouTube.
But in a world where a subscription to a streaming service places all music within reach, in a universe where YouTube exists, and in an era when every person carries a technological marvel in their pocket that plays music at the highest quality available why would anyone want to walk around with an ancient, limited MP3 player in their pocket? The convenient explanation is that this is a vintage fashion trend. Gen Z, born into a world where nothing is needed except credit to listen to whatever music they want, enjoys playing in a reality where a dedicated device and computer files are required to reach their favorite song.
Except there’s an alternative, more complex explanation. The major streaming services, led by Spotify, don’t actually allow us to listen to all the music we might want. Periodically, albums or songs disappear due to conflicts or disputes with studios or artists, for political or geographical considerations. Just recently, we “earned” a reminder of this, with the artist boycott that removed entire catalogs from playability in Israel….