Monday, May 12, 2014

Music Goes Mobile


The creation of the Stereobelt in 1979 was the first time people could listen to music on the go. Invented by Andreas Pavel, the Stereobelt wrapped around your waist, like a belt, and used a cassette for playback.  Andreas says that this device was so people could have "a soundtrack to their life".  This was the first model of portable cassette players which was eventually put out of the market when companies had the technology to make portable CD players.

Technology and Music Advertisements


In this day in age, many people believe that they can fulfill their dream of being a musical artist. Rather than trying to get their name out on the street, technology has provided a simpler way for people to advertise themselves. On social networks such and Facebook and Twitter, artists will post links to friends for youtube videos of them performing or on a site called sound cloud. This site allows people to post their music online for other people to listen to and download. Many other artists who have shown themselves on social media have gotten discovered such as Justin Bieber.

BET and it's origin

Black entertainment television was established in 1980. Although the network airs basic cable and satellite television, it also broadcasts new music from various artists, primarily in the black community. The show 106 and Park dedicates its broadcast to show the newest top ten songs/music videos of the week, to keep the audience aware of which songs/video are the most popular at the time. The creation of this network provided blacks with more of an opportunity for exposure. In the early 80s, MTV did not allow black people to be broadcasted on their network.

Thriller Makes history



Michael Jackson's "Thriller "was released on November 30, 1982. The music video, with its different costume changes and special effects, framed the ideas of music videos from other artists. The music video was 14 minutes long, being the longest running music video of his time. By watching the video, one can assess that technology was beginning to blossom even more during the 80s. The Jackson owes much of his success to the popularity of Thriller and its alluring story. Special effects makeup also made the video seem so realistic!

Technology has played a major part in how society acquires music. In years past, many people used popular downloading sites to illegally download music without having to pay for it. People usually use these sites to download songs or ringtones onto their phones or Ipods. Limewire became popular in late 2010. Although many find illegally downloading convenient, it can have negative affects on your computer such as viruses and crashes. Civilization has come a long way in music since the radio!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Napster


Napster was one of the first, and most popular, peer-to-peer file sharing service. It was created in 1999 by co-founders Shawn Fanning, John Fanning, and Sean Parker. Users could upload mp3 music files onto a server where other users could search and download the songs they wanted. Napster however was illegal because users could download copyrighted songs for free. Many recording artists and record companies sued Napster and in 2001 only a couple years later, Napster's service was shut down. Many say Napster led to the creation of iTunes and other digital music markets where people could legally purchase digital song files.



The First mp3 Player


The MPMan F10, created by Eiger Labs in 1998, was the world's first mp3 player.  Prior to this people could only listen to music on the go with a portable CD or cassette player.  This breakthrough of digitally recorded music essentially made CDs obsolete.  Although this was the first, digital players did not become famous until the release of Apple's iPod in 2001.

How Sampling has Changed the Music Industry

Mark Ronson shows how "sampling" has changed music as we know it in his Tedx Talk. Rather than stealing a track made by another artist, sampling allows artists to continue the story of a previous artist on the same track. In the same way that music videos compliment the music itself, sampling another persons track allows for an artist to compliment another artists track and continue on their "story".

Modern Music Videos

Modern music videos are more of an artistic rendition of the song that compliments the music rather than being a separate entity. The above video is "Cant Hold Us" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and is a good example of what modern music videos try to accomplish. They re-tell the "story" of what is occurring in the song in a way that does not interrupt your focus on the song itself, but rather adds perspective and artistry.

Video Killed the Radio Star

Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star"was the first music video played on MTV. As the name suggests, the music industry was no longer designated only for those that had exquisite musical talent. With MTV and this music video came a wave of performers who many can agree became popular purely off the popularity of their music videos rather than any particular musical ability.

The Beginning of MTV

MTV (Music Television) was launched in 1981 and the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys." Its popularity spread and allowed music videos to become incredibly popular.

The First Music Video

Elvis Presley's Jail House Rock became the first music video to ever be made popular in 1957. It sparked what is now an entire industry dedicated to making music videos.

1943 Vinyl becomes top recorder

Vinyl become popular for producing records after the fragile nature of discs that were already made from shellac became more known. It is made of polyvinyl chloride, known as PVC or later became famous as vinyl.

FM Radio is Introduced


EdwinHowardArmstrong.jpg



FM radio was developed in the United States by Edwin Armstrong. The Radio in the video is a
Early 1948 Zenith 7H820 Dual FM Band that uses the Armstrong System. FM became popular in the 1970's and became an easier way to broadcast.

Modern Technology Changing Music

#Selfie is one of the newest songs to make it to the top of the charts using sound enhancing technology. This is an example of how modern club music has used technology like auto-tune to eliminate the need for instruments and vocal talent.

Artists Caught Lip Synching

Top ten lip synch mistakes. Auto-tune can be used to make artists sound better, but some artists cannot recreate that sound in live performances and causes them to lip synch instead. This video shows artists getting caught "faking" their performances.

How Auto-tune Works

This video explains how auto-tune works and demonstrates the drastic changes that can be made using this program.

The First Popular Auto-tuned Song

"Believe" by Cher was released in 1998 and was the first auto-tuned song to become a hit.

The invention of the Jukebox

The Jukebox came around in the late 1890's and continued  to develop through the 1900's. Early Jukeboxes used cylinder's but with the invention of records they quickly became the favorite. Above is a mid 1900's jukebox that used a change-able disc system.

Emile Berliner Invents The Gramophone And Records








On November 8 1887 a man named Emile Berliner, a German immigrant became the first inventor to stop recording on cylinders and start recording on flat disks or records. He accomplished this by inventing the gramophone.

http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gramophone.htm

Thomas Edison records the first sound


He records "Mary Had A Little Lamb" on the first working phonograph, becoming the first inventor to successfully record the human voice. Edison demonstration was held on June 22, 1878, in St. Louis museum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vqvq-f-UtU