Every single one of us has been a consumer of music and we’ve all had it in the same format, whether it was on vinyl, CD or as a download.  It’s come as sound.

There have been some subtle differences in quality and different artists and companies package it differently, but technology is now available that can offer us so many more experiences with our music that nobody at the moment seems to be considering.  This is where the big music stores such as iTunes and the record labels can lead the way to a much better tomorrow.

Let’s take the new Zune 4.0 software as an example of how this can be delivered.  The new software has a new playing view which will show you publicity shots of many artists superimposed with information about them and the track you’re listing to.  It’s an extremely stylish and effective display.  It’s also moving in the right direction but in the wrong way.

Do we want to watch static images moving across our screens?  Is the continued popularity of music channels on cable and satellite TV not an indication of what we really ‘should’ be getting now?

Obviously you’ll have figured out by now that I’m talking about music videos.  Now it’s inconceivable that when you play an MP3 the player software could find the video of the track online and cue it up perfectly in real time.

However why aren’t the online music stores offering the video version of tracks alongside the MP3?  They’re all looking for a unique selling point over people buying and ripping CDs and I believe this could well be it.

It wouldn’t be difficult for music players, Zune, iTunes, Windows Media Player et al to be updated to recognise these tracks and integrate them into your standard music library (maybe they could have a new file extension, *.MPV anyone?).  Then when you want to play them on your portable music player, or in a minimised mode for the media player on your PC or Mac, you could just get the audio track.  When you wanted to view the video however you could open up the player on your screen and that’s all it would take, the video would start, even in the middle of a track if needs be.

Imagine for a moment just how impressive Windows Media Centre or Apple TV would be if, when playing your music collection at a party, it would occasionally slip in a full video along with the visualisations we’re all used to.  After all, this is something music systems in pubs and bars have been capable of for some years now.

Isn’t it time for a change and for a bit of extra value added to the music we buy?