Technologys Effect On The Music Industry Media Essay

Technologys Effect On The Music Industry Media Essay Ever since mankind has existed; music has been a big part in peoples lives. Even the Mayan Indians had ways to make music that would express their feelings, emotions, and show how their culture influenced them. Now, we use music to not only express how we feel, but give our life story. As technology has changed, the way that music is heard and seen has changed also. With advances in technology, producing music, listening to music, and downloading music has become much easier over the years. One major thing in the music industry that has changed along with the advancement of technology is how people record, or produce, music. The first device used to record audio and be able to play it back was Thomas Edisons phonograph. This device used grooves to record and playback sound which would make it hard to redo a recording if you messed up. As years went on and technology became more and more advanced, magnetic tape recording came out. Magnetic tape recording allowed people to record sound, and if they didnt like it, they could rewind the tape, and record over it as if it was never there. Although this worked for many years, as technology advanced, the way people can record their music advanced, leading to how we record music today (Morton). In todays society, people may still use the old style tape recordings because theyre cheap and easy to use, but most big recording sessions use programs on computers such as ProTools, Power Tracks, SONAR, Cubase, and many more. The convenience of these programs is the fact that not only can you record and delete audio, but you can also edit audio that is recorded to add effects to it. For example, if an artist wants to record a song that they have been working on, but their singing isnt the greatest, producers can use these programs to add affects to their voice so that they sound better. As technology has advanced, the way music is produced is not the only thing that has been affected. Before technology became real big in todays society, people would listen to music from record players and cassette tapes. As technology began to expand, people started listening to music on computers, CDs, and now iPods. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Sony developed a disk that allowed people to add music so that they could listen it where ever they went (EDinformatics). This also impacted music producers and artists because these disks could hold more memory than a record could, so this meant they could record more songs to add to albums and sell to the fans. One of the biggest things that have influenced how people listen to their music world wide is the iPod. In 2001, Apple released the very first iPod. iPods have allowed people to use one device to hold all their favorite music, videos, and photos. This device has impacted how we listen to music so much that it is being used worldwide (Things). Another thing that impacted how people listen to music is websites on the internet such as YouTube. In 2005, three people had an idea to create a website for people to watch their favorite music videos, listen to music, and post their own videos. Little did they know that the website that they had created would become as popular as it is today (Laco). As years went on, people are now getting most of their music by downloading it. When people want to get the newest song that is out on their iPod or mp3 player, they usually go to iTunes, YouTube, BearShare, or any other music downloading site. Downloading music has become so big, that it is the only way you can get music off of the internet. According to cnn.com, iTunes alone has at least 5 billion song downloads per day (Elmer-Dewitt). That is not counting all the other websites that allow people to download music. As technology keeps advancing, it affects music in more ways than one. Ipods, recording software, and downloading music are just a few ways that technology affects music, but they are the ones that stand out to us the most. As time goes on, technology will come up with more simple ways to complete tasks in the music industry, even some that are simpler than what we have today. New websites will probably be developed to help download music and new software for computers will probably be invented to help music producers make music that fans will love to hear. If it wasnt for technology, music would not be such a big part of our lives as it is today.