It's my birthday today. I never usually tell anyone it's my birthday, but in this Facebook age everyone knows anyway, so I thought I'd do a birthday inspired cmu-blog.

It's birthday inspired because last night a twenty pound iTunes voucher popped into my email, a birthday present from my sister up there in Leeds. I have to say, this is one of the best presents I can receive. I will now spend much of tomorrow morning wandering around the iTunes Music Store deciding what  25 songs I'm going to download – some new stuff, Sebastian Tellier's Eurovision song will be high up on the list – and some old stuff, you know, all the things I already own on vinyl or cassette, but which don't currently randomly play on my computer. I can't wait.

I've done exactly this thing with past iTunes voucher presents, and it occurs to me that part of the fun of it all isn't that I get to download 25 new songs, but that I get to download JUST 25 new songs. Of course I could just chuck my credit card details into my iTunes account and carry on downloading all weekend, or go and find a less reputable provider of digital music and download everything for free. Or not download anything and just live in the knowledge I can listen to pretty much anything I want on demand via YouTube.

But in a weird way it's the having to get my wish list of songs down to just 25 which is so much fun – ie there's as much enjoyment in the downloading bit as in actually listening to the music once it's on your PC. In much the same way I seem to remember quite enjoying trailing around the various record shops of Stoke-On-Trent in my younger years, seeing how far I could make my ten pounds record spending money stretch by buying each single from whichever record seller was offering it for the least money, and investing the change in a few random purchases from the 50p basket.

And why is any of this relevant? Well, I guess I agree with Amazon chief Jeff Bezos who earlier this week said that "a few different [business] models can be supported in digital content". We may be in an era where most music is, in theory, available at anytime, for free or by subscription, but there is still mileage for services which can provide that pleasurable experience of discovering new music, or rediscovering old favourites, and having to decide which you will and which you won't give your attention (and your money) today. Quite what the commercial model is for those services I'm not sure (eMusic is the closest existing one I guess), but I suspect, or at least hope, such services have a long term future in this mad digital age.

Though, of course, I am old. 33 years old today to be precise. Perhaps the kids have no interest in the "fun" of having limited access to tunes, and having to decide which tunes to prioritise. Though if that's the case, that's a shame, because I think it's all part of the excitment of being a music fan.