MP3 Players and Music Today: Is Music Still Alive?
In the late 1960’s Don Mclean wrote the song “American Pie.” The song was a profound description of what was taking place in the music scene of the times. Music was changing and to some it was believed to be dying as well. Because of the onset of rock and roll and the farewell to wholesome musicians like Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens many felt that the music industry was failing to do the job that it had always accomplished up until that point. The loss of good-old-American melody left consumers feeling unsure and skeptical of what was to come in the future.
Jump ahead forty some years and entirely new perspective of music is sweeping the nation. People young and old alike now enjoy the capabilities of having music at their fingertips. Today Grandma can get online and listen to her favorite “oldies” while junior might be in his bedroom downloading the latest new release from a alternative rock band. Mom and dad can burn a CD with all of the songs they listened to when they first met and even create a soothing soundtrack for baby that will help carry him off to dreamland.
So, is music really dead as Don Mclean predicted so many years ago? It seems as if music is truly alive and more versatile then ever. With so many products and services
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beckoning consumers to take control of their own listening enjoyment the future of music appears to have more promise then any other generation and the possibilities are endless as to what can be accomplished.
The combination of computer technology and music has taken all types of music to a new level of possibilities. Before the innovation of computers listeners were limited in their ways of obtaining music. The usual method of getting a desired album in the 1980’s required the customer to drive down to a record store, look for the album they wished to purchase, contend with the mobs of people by standing in line and so on. Music was usually in the form of a record, 8 track, or tape deck. These forms of music were scratchy, inconsistent and required the listener to find individual tracks by fast-forwarding. This was definitely low-tech.
Today music is digitalized, has premium quality sound and has the ease of skipping tracks or customizing play lists. MP3 players, a device that can hold almost...