Musicpass Cards (Summer 2008)

It is definitely a great time to call yourself a numismatist.  [...] Every once in a while, there comes something that changes the hobby, if not forever, at least for a while.

Many of us remember the phone card craze. There was a lot of ink spilled in the collector journals and magazines about the good and bad of them. “Phone cards will ruin the hobby,” said the doomsayers. “Phone cards are a neat way to get young people into the hobby,” said the pro-faction. And in the middle of it were a few voices pointing out that similar arguments were to be heard when people started collecting credit cards. Years later, after the dust has settled, we can see that there are some avid credit card collectors, as well as some avid phone card collectors. Both have their spot within the hobby, and neither have ruined it. Now, that sort of cycle stands poised to turn again.

If you are not the type to frequent music stores, you may not have heard of Musicpass cards. These plastic cards can be purchased just like a CD (or an LP, for the somewhat more “chronologically superior” collectors), and when purchased, can be used to download the singer or band’s music directly onto an iPod or an MP3 player. Musicpass cards are the same size as a credit card, and each has original artwork on it, just like an album cover or a CD case. Plus, they are being marketed as collectible. So, while they may not be as directly numismatic as a credit card, they do have a connection.

A credit card allows a person to use the promise of money to pay for goods or services. Musicpass cards are paid for with the promise of music that can be downloaded into a person’s digital collection. The Musicpass card pictured here, of the Backstreet Boys’ work “Unbreakable,” is just one of many that was for sale at a FYE (a music store) in the metro Detroit area recently. Keep an eye out in the next few years. These may become yet another collectible within the broad field of numismatics. If you hated phone cards, brace yourself. They’re not coins at all, but there is some common ground. Well, there we have it for the time being. Plenty of new quarters and dollars are out there, although you have to ask around for those dollars. And something totally new to boot: Musicpass cards.