David French's Blog

 

With smartphones, smart/Bluetooth speakers, laptops and so on as well as music streaming services, the digitization of music has led to significant alterations in our consumption.

The rise of technology and subsequent evolution of streaming services such as Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music has led to global, revolutionary changes in how and when we consume our music. At any time, we have instantaneous access to millions of songs at our disposal and it has led to a steep increase in the amount of music we consume, and the way in which we consume it. Whether this has impacted the quality of the industry is another question entirely, but what we do know is that regardless, it has changed how music is consumed by the everyday person. With people of all ages constantly signing up for these services, music is no doubt set to continue its current trajectory.

 

This article by Forbes looks into what is so attractive about streaming services for consuming music, particularly among the youth/millennials.

This bar graph represents the growth in paid premium subscribers on Spotify from 2018 to 2019. Source: https://www.ifpi.org/downloads/Music-Listening-2019.pdf

The biggest factor for this growing change, particularly in the last decade, has been the introduction of smartphones. With a device that is almost always on our person, there is ready access to music services at all times at the click of a button. Rather than relying solely on physical copies at home (vinyl, record players, 8 tracks etc.) and the radio, we have an almost unbelievably enormous catalogue of music at our disposal, anytime. As of 2020, Spotify has over 50 million tracks to choose from. Of course, this leaves the argument of the ‘paradox of choice’, in which this extraordinary variety has actually led us to dissatisfaction and a lower appreciation or gratitude for the content itself. This TED Talk by Barry Schwartz discusses this idea in depth, and as such this idea is highly applicable to music considering it is one of the biggest forms of entertainment in the world.

How we consume our music, or through what device, has a huge impact on when or where we are inclined to indulge.

This pie chart outlines how we are most inclined to consume music according to a recent global study on various licensed and unlicensed services in May of 2019 by IFPI. Source: https://www.ifpi.org/downloads/Music-Listening-2019.pdf

As seen in the pie graph, radio is still highly prevalent despite the immersion into digital, streaming platforms. Local Bathurst teenager Alec Bradford often relies on such when driving to and from work.

 

With no sign of slowing down anytime soon, streaming services are set to remain the norm when it comes to music consumption. An attempt to revert back to cassettes, vinyl would be futile and while radio is still indulged in by many it is seen as a dying industry by others. Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Soundcloud and so on have ushered in a new wave of digital consumption that began with iPods and has peaked with smartphones, so the question is, what is next? Where this leaves the music industry as a whole in future is yet to be seen, but it is sure to be exciting either way.

 

By David French

davefrenchprowrestling@gmail.com

Hi, I’m David French. I am a second-year journalism student from Sydney. I enjoy music, bushwalking and writing. After analysing and documenting my personal media usage over two 24-hour periods, I noticed an alarming increase in my usage of devices during the week compared to on the weekend. I consumed over seven hours of technology according to my weekday log, compared to just three hours on my weekend log.

 

My laptop/PC was the dominant media that I accessed during the week, which didn’t surprise me as I often use my PC more often on weekdays. However, I also use the same mediums on my PC as I do on my phone such as Spotify, Reddit, Netflix etc. which is evident by the data from the weekend as my phone was more prevalent. Also, when I am socialising, it seems I am more inclined to be using my mobile phone for my media consumption, although still at a lower intake than usual when I’m alone or at home.

The main dominant genre I accessed would be Reddit and Spotify. Reddit is a social media platform that allows users to browse and join communities and discuss and vote on content provided by other users. Content posted includes text, image or link posts. My personal page features discussions on news, music, nature, art and television that I am particularly interested in. Spotify is a music streaming service where users can discover millions of songs and create their own customised playlists. Completing these media logs has allowed me to see how much spare time I spend on these platforms, often unneccesarily, whilst on both my phone and PC.

 

Most of the time, I consumed my media alone rather than with others. There were brief periods where I would, but mostly I was socialising when with others rather than using media, other than playing/listening to music.

I predominantly consumed my media at home, alone either on my laptop or phone. When I am elsewhere, I am often preoccupied with study, exercise or socialising.

I found the amount of time I spent on media platforms or browsing rather than studying or exercising was time wasting, realizing the procrastination technology can cause.

The aspect of the media log that proved insightful to me was how it provided me a new perspective on how I plan and organize my time. Seeing it mapped out made me reconsider my habits and allowed for improvements to be made.

Media Log Weekday David French

Media log weekend David French

Article 1- The “Analog vs Digital” Debate

https://medium.com/hd-pro/which-is-better-analog-vs-digital-806449f7147d

This article details the upsides of the digital age of music, explaining that it makes it much easier for musicians to produce and create content with the advancements of technology. Rather than a physical copy, music can now be streamed online on various platforms at the click of the button. Writer Vince Tabora also argues that the audio quality can be decreased in digital format. I personally believe that the ease of digital music is an incredible advancement for the improvement in distribution and production as Tabora points out, however the quality has decreased in terms of who is able to create the music with little practicality involved and a lack of authenticity.

Article 2 – Which Sounds Better, Analog or Digital Music?

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/which-sounds-better-analog-or-digital-music/

This article analyses the digital means of producing and reproducing records and whether any quality is lost compared to the physical process of analog. Writer Katrina Morgan discusses the difference between the directly sourced records or the digital copies, referencing her own experience listening to “A Day In The Life” from Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on record and reporting a “deeper and fuller” listen. This article aims to decipher whether the vinyl argument still stands and if digital remastering and reproduction affect the quality and consistency of the music.

Article 3- The New Analog: a musician’s view on why we need noise in a digital world

https://www.dw.com/en/the-new-analog-a-musicians-view-on-why-we-need-noise-in-a-digital-world/a-41807450

This article provides the perspective of a musician themselves discussing the digital evolution involved with music and its creation. Damon Krukowski speaks on the ease of presets, programs that provide these crutches for a lack of honest musical prowess or legitimacy. “It’s such an easy way to jump towards something that looks good or professional, or sounds good or professional, like an Instagram filter.” Krukowski goes on to explain how this leads to a complete lack of individuality and creativity, as generic and predetermined works of music which seem professional but are rather devoid of any hard work or abundancy of skill. I wholeheartedly agree with this and I believe true authenticity and originality has been incredibly watered down by this digital age of production. The technology has evolved but the man-made factor that made music truly special has been lost to many.

https://youtu.be/LtmLFkZsSXE

This clip embodies the teenage, high school, coming-of-age nature of the show. Outlining how friends and romantic partners alike can make you feel on top of the world, or the bottom, which is integral to how the plot of New Horizons will unfold. In terms of my production process I could have made better use of audio and more of a visual wow-factor, but I thought using images from pop culture’s past in regards to television and movies would demonstrate the style the show will follow.