Technology

The technology that I chose to focus on is music streaming. Music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora would not exist if not for the many technologies that came before them. Going back to the 1800’s, the invention of the phonograph marked a breakthrough in music technology. It allowed for sounds to be recorded and re-played with quality and accuracy. Phonographs became very popular and themselves led to the next advancements in music technology that allowed many people to experience the same songs together. One is the record store, the first of which was founded in 1894, and the first in America coming in 1932. Record stores allowed people to discover new music and develop their own tastes. Additionally, the invention of the jukebox placed music in public places, allowing for a convenient listening experience. While the concept and first type of jukebox came in the 1890’s, the actual term began in the U.S. in the 1940’s. While these technologies were major breakthroughs, they ultimately lead to the invention of the broadcast radio, which revolutionized music and news. Starting in the 1920’s, people could tune into radio stations from the comfort of their own home and listen to the same things as countless others. People who lived in remote areas and may have not had access to music and breaking news finally had a way to connect with the rest of the world. Over the first six years of radio’s invention, over five million families in the U.S. owned a broadcast radio. The growing record sales of the past began to decline as people moved to radio listening, and the timing of the Great Depression also contributed. The radio era brought with it some controversies and issues. For example, record labels were known to bribe radio stations into playing certain music in order to increase sales. This was often done under the table and eventually, laws were put in place to attempt to prevent this, although it still occurs. Additionally, the types of music played on the radio created controversy as well. Many people initially disproved of rock-and-roll and other new and unconventional styles of music, thinking that it would corrupt the youth and instill negative ideals. The invention of the portable radio in the 1950’s was another important step towards the current Internet music streaming era- people finally had complete control over where they wanted to listen to music. They could bring their portable radios to the office, school, beach, or even in the car. Then, in the late 1990s, portable music players that could play mp3 files began to take over; most notably, the iPod in 2001. The transition to digital listening had taken place, but there was still a place left for radio, now, in the form of Internet music streaming. Last.fm launched in 2002, followed by Pandora in 2005, Soundcloud in 2007, and Spotify in 2008. Rather than allow radio to be erased by digital listening, many companies chose to move radio into the 21^st century. New services are appearing frequently, such as Apple Music in 2015, Youtube Music in 2016, and even Amazon Prime music. These services are shown to be profitable and are popular among young people, and combine new technology like sorting algorithms to recommend and promote new music to users, a feat that the radio of the past couldn’t accomplish.            

            In the future, I believe that Internet radio will influence new technology beyond just music. I think that the algorithms used to determine what people like to listen to will become even more sophisticated and will be further incorporated into advertisements and data collection. Additionally, Internet radio will converge with the countless other technologies that exist today to create single pieces of technology that can perform basically any function needed- like a smartphone, but even more advanced. While it’s impossible to know exactly what lies ahead in the future, music will always be an important part of our society and I believe that digital music will continue to be what prevails.

Sources

Edwards, B. (2011, October 23). The iPod: How Apple's legendary portable music player came to be. Retrieved from https://www.macworld.com/article/1163181/the-birth-of-the-ipod.html

Gil, L. (n.d.). History of Music Streaming. Retrieved from https://www.sutori.com/story/history-of-music-streaming--zqSr2qQSuWhuDsXbmAUxfi6Y

Zantal-Wiener, A. (2017, March 8). From the Phonograph to Spotify: The History of Streaming Music. Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-internet-radio