By Kelly De Palma

Music consumes much of our lives. Just think about it. We listen to music in our cars, when we work out, when we do our homework, when we are on the computer, and for just pure entertainment as well. In the beginning of the music era, there were only two ways to hear music. You could either go to a concert hall where opera and symphonies were held or play it yourself. Now the music industry has expanded into a worldwide phenomena. It hardly resembles the beginning of the music era. With the use of iPods and MP3 players, the music industry has compacted its success into these small devices that holds an enormous amount of our entertainment.

Early Beginnings of Music Technology Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph in 1877 ignited the birth of music technology. The phonograph dominated the music world from 1877 to the 1950s until new technologies emerged. The primary market was for businessmen, lawyers, and court reporters who used the phonograph to capture important thoughts and compose letters. Later on, the phonograph evolved into a cheaper and simpler machine which would enable people to buy them for their homes. This inexpensive concept that could play back but not record music led to the development of the disc record or gramophone which could make large numbers of disc recording copies.

Early Beginnings (cont.) By 1900, three million records were sold in the US alone. In the next twenty years, the recording industry experienced phenomenal growth. The record industry was one of the most important in the world.

Music Technology during the Depression Era Introduced in the late 1920s, electrical recording was an improved form of the record. This type of recording used microphones and electronic amplifiers to make records in the studio. During this time, a combination radio-phonograph was introduced. Soundtracks were developed for talking motion pictures. Research increased for improved technologies due to the sales of recording equipment to motion picture companies. This period saw a widespread increase in the use of jukeboxes which required a changing assortment of a large quantity of records.

Music Technology during and after the War Years Music technology adapted to the needs of the military who used music for entertainment purposes. Music recordings for the military switched from a ten inch disc which was the standard record size since 1900 to sixteen inch V-discs. These flexible vinyl plastic discs held fifteen minutes of music and could be shipped overseas without fear of breaking. The US army experimented with other recording devices such as magnetic recording on wire for journalists. These music devices did not have a tremendous impact but were an indication of the music technology to come. The introduction of studio tape recorders in 1945 from Germany revolutionized the production of records and movie soundtracks.

War Years (cont.) The sales of high fidelity electronic equipment, developed during the 1930s, increased after WWII. The 45-rpm disc and the Long Playing record for albums was introduced in These high fidelity discs mentioned above created a new era in the home record player. The portable record player seen after 1945 were small and had a handle but it needed to be plugged into a electrical outlet. Small portable radios were common after 1940 True portability began with transistor radios that came on the market in 1955 and were top sellers. Transistor tape recorders began popular with teenagers who would re- record music from the radio or records.

Music Technology in the Rock and Roll Era The LP or long playing record album was a surprise hit in the 1950s. The LP was not used for singles which was the main product of the music industry since its inception. LP sales were helped by the hi-fi or High Fidelity movement which was extremely popular in the 1950s. Music technologies were developed in order to achieve high fidelity sound quality which became the focus of the music industry. High fidelity equipment attempted to reproduce the exact sound of a studio recording in the home.

Rock and Roll era (cont.) Tape recorders in the studio enabled recording engineers to edit and enhance the musicians performance. Multitrack tape recorders allowed for greater enhancements such as instruments and vocals being recorded separately and then combined later on. During the psychedelic stage in the late 1960s, technological manipulations such as with stereo sound were used to produce exotic new sounds.

Rock and Roll era (cont.) Battery operated portable tape recorders were the highest selling tape recorders at the end of the 1960s. In 1965, the 8 track system was introduced by Ford Motor Company to be used in cars. The 8 track tape’s success was a surprise and in the late 1960s and early 1970s it’s sales were a third of all recorded music sales. The 8-track would eventually fail but lead to the birth of cassettes.

Music Technology in the Cassette technology improved with innovations such as Dolby B noise reduction and metal tape. The Walkman tape player was introduced in 1978 and combined high fidelity with portability. MTV emerged in the 1980s and music videos were created for television. In 1982, CDs which were digital came on to the market. Unlike albums which were analog and that scratched easily or tapes that would stretch and distort, compact discs was a more reliable way to store music. By 1990, the boom box which was a radio and tape player combination and the Walkman led to the cassette replacing the LP as the main form of home music technology.

Music Technology 1990 to Present The digital audio player was introduced in 1998 and is commonly referred to as the MP3 player. Digital audio players (DAP) compress sound into a very small computer file while retaining sound quality. In 1999, digital audio players song storage was increased by using a lap top hard drive versus a low capacity flash memory. During late 1999, the Personal Jukebox came on the market which stored 1200 songs and was considered the jukebox segment of DAP. The market greatly expanded with the arrival of the iPod in 2001 followed by the iTunes store in 2003 which created the legal download music business. The first solar powered player, the MSI Mega 540, was introduced in 2006.

Future Technology New technology is coming onto the market at the speed of light. Around the corner is sure to come the Bluetooth of the music industry. Earpieces will have recordable media and are wirelessly connected to a network. That means no more iPod and computer for your music needs. Within 5 years, the DJammer will be available that enables DJs to digitally create scratch sounds versus having to make the sounds by slowing down or speeding up the album. It is wirelessly connected to the turntable so the DJ can be anywhere in the room. By 2015 streaming would replace music collections altogether. Music streams to you through wi-fi (wireless fidelity). A large jukebox of all music is available to you anywhere and at anytime through inexpensive monthly subscriptions.

Pros of Today’s Music Technology Portability- compact size let’s you carry it in your pocket or clip it on your pants while working out. Versatility- the iPod can be played from your home stereo system, computer, and outdoor speakers. Price – The price of existing products is decreasing because new technology is continually coming onto the market. Today people buy single songs for 99 cents instead of a CD for $18.

Pros (cont.) Sound quality- sound continues to get better even though the size of the product gets smaller. Storage- thousands of songs can be stored in a product the size of a quarter. Cataloguing- now you can group songs by type (classical, rock) or by use (party, exercise).

Cons of Today’s Music Technology You miss the whole album experience. Now the focus is on the single song. Advancement in recording techniques allows the listener to change the song so that it no longer sounds like the original song created by the musician. Using earplugs to listen to music is now very common and can lead to hearing loss. Listening to music has become an individual versus group experience.

Ethical Issues from New Technology Piracy- People participate in illegal downloading or file sharing of songs with friends so they don’t have to pay for them. Unauthorized charges to credit card – People are using other people’s credit card to download songs. It often goes unnoticed by the credit card owner because the charges each month are for small amounts.

How New Technology Affects Society There is an increase in accessibility and portability because you are able to have music anywhere, all the time and this has changed the way people listen to music. Music compression enables listeners to have more music in their libraries then they ever had before. People want to share their music without considering the rights of the artist. Moral values are tested in the home because you can illegally download music without anyone knowing. People started to download a large quantity of songs regardless of their taste in music. They became greedy for as much music as possible. There are more ways now for music listeners and musicians to communicate such as YouTube.

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