SRIRAM RAVISHANKAR
THE ODYSSEY OF MUSIC MEDIA
As mediums of music consumption are rapidly changing, the question of their profitability still remains.
After asking around many musicians about their
preferences in terms of music consumption, many were
actually in favor of the changes and only held on the older
streams as mere means of nostalgia. From the phonograph
to Spotify, how people consume music has evolved
steadily, but also made huge leaps with each change.
as an upgrade from the cassette Walkman. Simultaneously
with the onset of digitization, 2G digital cellular phone
services were introduced, including the ability to access
media content on mobile phones. During this time, the
Internet was also born which was seen as the future (at
least as a vague instinct if not for a definite direction). And
with the advent of the internet, computers applications,
It all started with Edison’s phonograph that could both
digital media players that could handle several standard
record music and play it back. From there came the
digital formats in no time set foot into the internet
graphophone, gramophone, the era of vinyl’s, magnetophon
streaming format with Pandora’s digital radio streaming
which set the stage for widespread use of magnetic tape
and the Music Genome Project to customize a user’s music
technology which recorded and delayed broadcasting by
experience. This set the foundation for the rest of the
TV & radio stations. After this, came the car radio which
things that we are now familiar with.
eventually led to the era of cassette tapes. The cassette
tapes’ immediate offspring, the 8-track tape cartridge
Undoubtedly, the digital revolut ion has made everything
and player evolved into the introduction of smaller tape
easier and opened up a world of possibilities for musicians.
cassettes. Sony introduced the Walkman - a portable
But the cluster of challenges that come with this
compact cassette tape player which was an instant hit
convenience not only questions the future of musicians
amongst the masses and immediately made way for what
but also the industry’s ability to cope with it and more
is considered one of the most popular forms of music
importantly, how both of them will remain profitable.
consumption - Compact Disc or CD for short. The evolution As we are at the prime of digitization and technological
from here on is probably what most of us are very
genius, the streaming model of music has left everybody
familiar with where the ‘mp3’ file extension format was
hanging waiting to see how the model will turn out.
standardized for digital audio files; complementing this,
With their expansive catalogues, freemium model (Free
Sony released a portable CD player which was perceived
access that leads to paid access) of business, and an
increasingly diverse economy of musicians and audience
to cater to, online streaming players seem to be facing
more questions than answers. Immediately, one may
ask amidst all this, what does the future of record labels
look like? Clearly, we are looking at a record label-less
future. Avenues like YouTube, Spotify,
Apple Music, SoundCloud, etc. have
virtually eliminated the role of a record
label owing to its massive immediate
outreach which gives musicians the
liberty to have their own independent
label or channel which gives complete
independence from mediators and
control over their economic fate,
overseeing all aspects of developing,
marketing and distributing their work.
The online economy is much more
open, accessible, and limitless. What is
pivotal to remind ourselves amidst all
the enormous changes, is our primary
motive of why we are doing music. When
our objective is strong and singular, changes
on the way should in fact be used as bonuses
rather than a hindrance. And besides, no
matter how many changes come about, art
and humor will still be our biggest weapons
to fight the blues.
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
19