Technology has empowered our universe. It has impacted the way we listen to and attain music. It used to be that when your favorite band or artist came out with a new album, you went to the store and purchased the CD for anywhere between $10 – $20. Things are a lot different now. Attaining music is a simple download for $0.99 and sometimes for nothing.
In the past, crazed fans have waited until midnight to purchase their favorite band’s or artist’s new CD at the store on the morning of the release date. The Internet has made things much easier. Attaining music is as easy as paying $0.99 for a song and downloading it to a media player on you computer and uploading it to an MP3 player.
Since Apple products like iTunes and the iPod have hit the market, listening to and obtaining music has forever changed. Instead of listening to music on CD “tracks” or a videocassette tape, you can purchase an MP3 file through iTunes or another media player and upload it to your MP3 player, or the most popular, iPod.
The iPod originally launched in October 2001. In the last decade, the iPod has evolved exponentially not only from shape and size, but from being solely an MP3 player to a portable computer. iTunes is the media player that serves as a main hub for purchasing downloading, organizing and playing music. iTunes and iPods both work on Macs and Windows operating systems.
Although all this talk of downloading music sounds great, its had some dark days in the past. Downloading and file sharing music and MP3 files has uprooted some legal concerns. Napster, originally designed by a Northeastern student in 2001, was the first file sharing program available on the Web. A number of artists and bands complained that Napster was illegally distributing copyrighted content. Napster only ran from about 1999 to 2001 until it was shut down. Since then Napster has since regained its power and is now available but with a paid subscription only.
Another way the Internet and technology has changed the way we listen to music is by streaming online media such as YouTube and Internet radio. Services such as Pandora offer free Internet radio. It is free to set up an account and you can choose the type or style of music you want to listen to, your favorite bands, and the more you listen, the more Pandora will play other songs and other bands that resemble your favorites that you have chosen. YouTube will also play music videos or home videos of artists in concert.
The Internet and technology has also helped new bands and artists rise to the surface. Artists no longer have to fight and wait for radio play time when it is easier to upload their demos to YouTube, Facebook, and even iTunes. The Internet gives newer bands a lot of exposure to new audiences that regular radio stations can’t do. This has also diversified our musical culture.
The future of music is already here and it is continuously changing. The days of radio stations using radio frequencies and compact discs are dying out. Less and less of today’s generation listen to radio stations. The constant ads, commercials, and talk shows are boring and annoying. It much more pleasurable to plug in your iPod and listen to the music YOU want to listen to.
