Week #7 – Radio & Music Continued

48 thoughts on “Week #7 – Radio & Music Continued”

1. What do you think of Napster and the Napster Story?
   – The history of Napster has had a significant impact on the ways in which people access, stream, and share music in the modern period, in addition to other forms of audio-based information. Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker established the ground-breaking peer-to-peer file-sharing program known as Napster in the year 1999. It made it possible for users to search for and download music files from the internet in an easy and convenient manner. This was a game-changer since it gave people access to music without charging them and hence eliminated the need for them to buy CDs or download music.

   How does Napster’s story play a role in the way that people access, stream and share music today (or audio based content in general?)
   – It didn’t take long for Napster to become widely known; within a few short months, the service had millions of users who were sharing millions of songs. Because the files that were being downloaded had not been licensed or paid for, this posed a significant challenge to the music industry. This resulted in Napster and the big record labels engaging in a legal battle with each other. In the end, Napster was compelled to close its doors in July of 2001, despite the fact that the company’s influence had already been felt in both the commercial and cultural spheres.

   The ways in which individuals download, stream, and trade music now are all a direct result of Napster’s groundbreaking work. Napster opened the path for subsequent services such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora, which allow users to stream music from the internet without the necessity of purchasing physical copies of albums or songs. Napster was a pioneer in this field. The general public is now able to obtain music considerably more easily and at a lower cost, and this has enabled musicians to connect with a far bigger audience.

   In addition to music, Napster’s legacy also extends to other audio-based products, such as podcasts and audiobooks. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Audible are just some of the services that have made it possible for users to easily access and stream various types of content. In the same way that Napster made it possible for people to access music, these services have made it possible for users to easily access and stream various types of content. Users are now able to listen to whatever they want, whenever they want, and this has led to a further growth in the accessibility of information that is based on audio.

   In general, the history of Napster has had a significant influence on the way in which individuals access, stream, and share music and other audio-based information in the modern period. It paved the way for the development of further services that have made it simpler and less expensive for individuals to access and share audiobooks, music podcasts, and audiobooks. This has had a big impact on the music industry, as well as other audio-based content markets, allowing them to reach a far broader audience and extend their consumer base.

   Because it altered the method in which individuals gain access to, stream, and exchange music and other audio-based content, the legacy of Napster is one that will continue to exist for many years to come. The general public is now able to get their hands on these kinds of content more easily and at a lower cost, and it has enabled artists to connect with a far larger audience. There is no question that Napster has been a significant factor in the development of how individuals obtain, stream, and exchange music and other forms of audio-based information in the modern era.

   What did you learn from the Radio, Cinema & Television crash course video?
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2. Napster was a great idea, even though it doesn’t look like it was worth doing in the end. They did all the hard work coding, browsing, and importing to get sued at the end of it all. Although their journey ended, it was a great thing that they managed to do; it got people to experience different types of music and have the chance to listen for free. The spread of the downfall of Napster most likely motivated many coders and music fans to create apps or sites to download or listen to music for free. I used an app that few people knew about, but it’s where you can listen to any music you want, and the creators update it every two weeks with either new releases or adding more to the collection. It got shut down years later, but it was a blast having to experience a lot of artists for free. Due to Napster’s fall, people were able to keep the legacy alive by passing on the idea through generations!
   I didn’t know that Thomas Edison helped with the telephone invention; not only that, but he was deaf.
   Now, this makes me think about what else I don’t know about other historical people and wish school taught us about the person as well instead of mostly being what made them famous.

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   1. Napster was a great idea and it was the pioneer for streaming websites today. It was unfortunate all the legal issues they had to face but I think it was still worth it and they will go down in history.

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3. The Napster story was very exciting to read, not only was it what seems to be the beginning of free music but it described how much people are willing to do or show to listen to music for free, such as the YouTube video explains it, “I didn’t think anyone would open up their hard drives but peoples emotional ties to music, their general interest to music, was more than enough to overwhelm any security or privacy concern”, this I feel speaks volumes about how important music can be to people, but it was also a threat for the music industry because now music is no longer held down to purchase to hear it but instead it can be found in napster, a place where everyone would share these different files. This digital shift was marked a huge impact in our history, because now music went from being purchased in the store, by a cd, to now being digitalized and free to hear. Now we don’t necessarily have napster, but you can access all types of music for free in different applications, such as YouTube, or and Spotify which was the big ones, sure the sacrifice might be some time watching ads, but you still are able to watch or and hear your favorite music without having to pay for it or go to a store for it, that’s the shift that Napster caused. What I learned in the crash course video was essentially a short but very well explained summary of how the history of music/sound began, how even Edison was involved in different technology involved in music but also in video/movies. We also learned how Edison had patented movie cameras and this limited movie production or ideas to be shown by other creators of that time, eventually though Edison was challenged for the patented cameras exclaiming that “only the cameras of that brand he used were to be patented” and the others weren’t, essentially this also pushed for production studios to be moved to LA.

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   1. Excellent points and insights. I love that quote that you shared – emotions are strong connectors, receptors and aggregators! When that rapport becomes dominant, transcendence of previous rules diminish and the new energy flows!

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4. I think Napster was a cool idea. It must have taken so much code to be able to create that site. I think it was crazy to sue Napster because in the end they lost tons of money. Well because of the successful rise and fall of Napster many were able to find their favorite artist and listen to them for free. It helped connect people through the love of music. When it had to shut down the mass popularity allowed for other people to create similar systems to Napster to allow music sharing for free. When I was younger I had an app that could download music and keep it on my phone. It was so good it had tons of music to download. But after a while the app stopped working and could only find music that is actually free. Like copyright free music which is not interesting to listen to. This app was probably conceived after Napster because of the massive impact it had.

   I learned that Thomas Edison had a hand in helping with the telephone invention. The most interesting thing was also that he was deaf which is something I never knew. I wished that schools had taught us that when they told us of his invention of the lightbulb. Which they also forgot to inform us of the contributions of Nikola Tesla. An opinion I have is that when it comes to audio they advance more on noise cancellation feature to make music more immersive.

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   1. Well said and well done!
      Napster represented a timely change, a tinme for technology based innovation, but humans are always afraid of change, sadly, and then the greed set in, fomo’ing “how much they may loose in revenue” with the system that was in place, that already takes advantage of people…
      Will we ever learn our lesson?
      Yes, Edison was Deaf! Funny how history seems to “leave out” that huge detail, lol… sad!

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   2. I used to use an app or something like that, but it updated it every two weeks or so; but yeah, I haven’t heard about Napster and you saying that they motivated others to do the same is something I agree with.
      Which is why it exists today and has a critical impact.

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5. I found the napster video to be very interesting and informal. I remember for christmas back in elementary, my dad gifted my and sister I our own mp3 players with thousands of sounds he downloaded into it. I was always aware that it was illegal but never knew how it was done. I wonder if this is what my dad had used. Napster definitely influenced major music streaming apps such as Apple music. Although napster had its cons towards music artists, it almost was a test bunny on the outcome of online streaming. Seeing that millions of people were continuing in this new era of digital download, it became evident it was a possibility to do it the right way (legal wise).
   I learned a lot of material from the crash course video. I never knew all the other inventions Edison created and the impact he had. It was cool learning about Radio, Cinema & Television. I loved how it gave more insight on the improvisation of communication through processing and how the technology was invented.I honestly have no clue where audio will be in a few years from now, just how past generations probably didn’t even think that it was possible to be so technologically advanced compared to their times. Audio will continue to evolve in ways I can’t even comprehend. I am excited yet a bit fearful of how things continue to change.

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   1. Great! Thank you for sharing the reflective story, Napster spread like lightning between the years of 1999 -2001 – it was really incredible to witness! So, if you received that mp3 player between those years it could be! But also, it could have been after – once people downloaded the music they had the ability to rip it onto CD roms, and then directly into other software, like itunes.

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   2. Yeah that video was so informative on how much Thomas Edison helped to contribute on many inventions.
      I also have no clue where audio will go but heres hoping it becomes better than it is now.

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   3. hey Deborah, I agree when napster was a hit at that time, I was one of those students downloading many songs and albums. This consept was a hit odviously until the whole copyright infringement started happening, and then at that time it felt like we was sneaking around and doing something illeagal. Then came apple, which changed the game all together.

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6. I think the Napster story is a great story, it laid the groundwork for what we now know in the field of streaming or sharing music. I think Napster was a very important part of the process of audio-based sharing. There are a lot of companies now that do the same thing as Napster and so much so that most third world countries can have access to almost every music there is on earth. I also believe that Napster played a vital role in artiste having fans as most fans would not have been able to attend a concert for an artiste that they may admire or have been a fan of for years. From the Radio, Cinema, and Television crash course video I learn that Thomas Edison created a lot of these technologies that we are still using and because of him, we can have these devices/gadgets at our fingertips. I feel like audio-based content has evolved with time and will continue to evolve as time goes by because we always find ways in which to advance technology. I think companies like Spotify and Pandora will always find ways to keep their listeners interested, especially with the addition of podcasts.

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   1. I agree Maalia, Napster allowed for fans to connect with each other through the love of music. Which in turn made it possible for their to be a stronger connection to the artist. It made it possible to connect with other fans of their favorite artists or allowed for people to make new discoveries of good music

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   2. I agree with you Maalia, the Napster story is a great story, and it truly did lay down the groundwork for the streaming of music we have now. It’s truly incredible learning the background of it all, how one event/idea created a domino effect into revolutionizing how music is shared. I think you said it best though, that you feel like audio-based content has evolved with time and will continue to evolve. Now we have the Meta rolling in so we can see this evolution of music is just getting started, I do wonder what the peak would like but over years to come we’ll know more and more.

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7. The Napster story was fascinating to me, who would have thought a piece of computer software was released that changed how we listen to music forever. His innovation allowed us to have a better, more reliable, and fun way for people to share music and see each other’s music collections. Napster was revolutionary because it allowed users to connect directly and share their music without a middleman. And most importantly, it was free. I learned about how they evolved. I had no idea it all started in New York and New Jersey. That was funny to me because I too lived in Brooklyn and moved to New Jersey. Thomas Edison moved me because he never stopped trying. Despite all his failures and criticisms he still paved to way for the innovation of technology and entertainment. The rate of digital audio innovation is astounding. Audio-based content evolved through the emergence of smart speaker technology, podcasts achieving mass scale, and the arrival of audio branding linked to mobile gaming. This rapid evolution means brands now have more creativity and interactivity

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   1. Yessss, that piece of software was a huge disruption to not only the music industry, but created a whole industry around “how” files and date could be shared!

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   2. I agree thomas edison was very motivational. I honestly never knew he was hard of hearing yet he was able to create innovations with audio based content. Really shows anything is possible despite any circumstance.

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      1. Yes! Much like your favorite Deaf professor! :)))

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   3. Yes faith, it is crazy that some of the greatest inventions have happened in New York. I guess this is the place to come to when wanting to make it big. Yeah Thomas Edison was a great inventor who never gave up.

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8. Napster’s fantastical universe came tumbling down in the face of several copyright infringement lawsuits in 2001. They had the chance to become a platform like Spotify.I believe that Napster and Napster’s storyline provided many musicians with a very enlightening perspective on how much the service contributed to music promotion. Through the audio streaming service Napster, many individuals exchanged audio files. The history of Napster served as a foundation for many of the media-sharing websites we use today. Napster was a peer-to-peer file-sharing service that gave users desktop software access to download and upload files. Files were kept on users’ computers rather than Napster’s servers in order to get around copyright rules. The user’s computer would then establish a connection with Napster’s ostensible central index server to inform it of the files it had stored. Napster would then index the files on its fictitious search engine and make them accessible. Users would essentially download files from another user’s computer. The documentary included thorough explanations of how information may be conveyed and processed, as well as how communication has changed through time. I think that during the next several years, an increasing number of these apps will be created and improved for these digital platforms.

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   1. Great description here, thank you! Would spotify exist with out Napster paving the way? :0

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9. Napster is a software program that was created by Shawn Fanning while he was a student at Northeastern University in Boston. Napster enabled any internet user to share and download music. It was founded on June 1, 1999, and the first files were shared through the service in September of that year. It also had over 26 million users by February 2001. However, it was shut down in July 2001 due to legal issues. I believe that shutting down the company was the best option, although it helped in the promotion of music. Napster’s story plays a role in the way that people access, stream and share music today in the sense that Napster paved the way for many of the media-sharing platforms that exist today. It has influenced modern technologies in the distribution of digital audio files. The Radio, Cinema & Television crash course video is a great video! It’s informative. I learned a lot from it. Thomas Edison was a brilliant and intelligent man. He invented a lot of technology that is still effective in today’s world. I like how the video pointed out the improvement of communication through processing and how technology was invented. Thanks to scientists like Edison, these devices serve as tools that make our lives easier. In my opinion, audio-based content will keep evolving with time. Because individuals tend to have so much interest in audio-based content. For instance, rather than watching a YouTube video or reading an article, it gives one the chance to listen to digital music, podcasts, and video streaming services like Spotify while exercising or working out or even just relaxing, or even play an audiobook while driving.

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   1. Thank you! Many audiobooks today now have a live captioning aspect to them, so one can choose to read, listen, watch the captions or all of the above 🙂
      Napster seriously disrupted the industry in more ways than we ever would think of at that time!

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   2. Do you think there will ever be an app that will beat/replace apple music or spotify? or do you think they will always be on top

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      1. I say yes, as more and more immersive technologies manifest, I believe “the next new thing” will give spotify a run for the money!

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10. remember. I remember that period of music. Everyone was using Napster to get their music. It was the best way to have all your music in one place. Morally, I’m pretty sure most people knew it wasn’t right but I guess that doesn’t stop much. Unfortunately, the artist was losing money even though the record labels were keeping most of it. There was a lot of information in the history of science video. I didn’t know that Thomas had a hand in all those things including the first motion picture. Also, the first long-distance message was from England to Canada. Skies the limit for audio-based content. What comes to mind is the Facebook oculus which is primarily for virtual purposes have recently come out with headphone that will complement the headset. Even devices such as sunglasses that also serve as headphones that can sync with your phone or portable device makes it easier for people to listen to content on the go.

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    1. Yes, and Im sure there will always be another “napster” that will soon come through to disrupt the markets once again!

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    2. I would have wanted to know how napster was when it first came out. It looked cool in design to bad it was cut down short. Luckily others took it place to continue what it first started.

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11. In the early days of the world wide web, there was a music file-sharing computer service called Napster. This service allowed users to share music files, electronically, stored on their own computers over the Internet. I think that Napster and Napster’s story was a very inspirational outlook on many artists and how much it helped to promote music. Many people shared audio files through Napster, an audio streaming service. Napster’s story helped to create a base for many of the media-sharing platforms we have today. Napster was instrumental in the development of many digital audio file distribution methods we use today. Throughout the video, we could see detailed explanations of how communication evolved over time, as well as how information can be transmitted and processed. During the Crash Course video, I learned and was very intrigued about how radios came to us after cinema. I believe that in a couple of years from now, more and more of these apps will be developed and will be enhanced for these digital platforms. As technology and communication evolve, there are things that have been pioneered in digital distribution that we have today, like the Napster app, which I consider to be the founder of many of those distributions that we have today, as well as things like cell phones and apps that will continue to shape how we communicate in the future. The way I see it, apps are going to be the way, and we are going to have apps at our fingertips to enable us to perform certain things like a call without having to go through any hassle. There are many other apps that have been created to help us with communication, media sharing, etc, and as time ages and technology advances these platforms will eventually grow more and more.

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    1. Its amazing how disruptive and game changing Napster was.. in less than 2 years the whole music industry was upside down and also exposed!

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    2. Hi Sarah, well written. I like how you said Napster’s story was a very “inspirational outlook” on many artists and I also agree that it helped in the promotion of music. Yes, you are right the video showed details of how communication has evolved over time, and how information is transmitted and processed. I too think as time goes on, apps will be developed and will be enhanced for digital platforms.

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12. Napster was honestly a great concept and I wish it would have been able to last longer. Napster was a streaming service where music was shared between individuals and was all free. It made the path for many modern streaming services just free. They eventually had to shut down due to legal reasons but it was a brilliant idea. Now we have Apple Music where you can share music to others in the messaging app but both must have the subscription. It’s unfortunate but the only way these music streaming apps can work nowadays is without having to deal with copyright. In the Crash Course video, I learned about how radios came “after” cinema. I always thought it was after as videos seem more complex than just a voice coming from a box. However it does make sense as radios require longer signals that people can listen to from all different locations. It’s interesting though as radios were a more complex technology in that given time period but movies and cinema are more relevant in today’s world. I think audio based content will only get more stricter in the future. As of now most streaming platforms have a “free trial” that can last a couple weeks or months but I feel with time those periods will become shorter. The streaming services for the most part are “affordable” for most but of course with costs and inflation on the rise the subscriptions will increase too. Just recently my Apple Music subscription increased in price with my already discounted student price. It made no sense as only the student discount went up and not the regular subscriptions, but that’s another topic. These rise in prices will only cause people to find ways to access these things for free through pirating. Even though these ways are illegal, I understand that not everyone is willing to pay for it.

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    1. Indeed! Good points!

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13. I believe that Napster and Napster’s story was an exceptionally motivational point of view toward new companies and how much individuals needed to help everybody. Napster was a sound web-based feature that assisted many individuals with sharing sound records of anything they desire. The narrative of Napster resembled a beginning up that assisted prepared for some things you with seeing today like YouTube, Spotify, and so on. Napster has assumed a part as it was the trailblazer for some computerized sound records disseminations we have today. In the 20th century, films turned out to be increasingly long and more serialized. Yet again now online entertainment is promoting short-structure recordings. Sound substance development was similarly basically as unavoidable as visual substance advancement. Artists have become more consistently strived to invigorate a couple of our five detects.

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    1. A trailblazer indeed!

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    2. Great points here. Sound has become short in length instead of a long sound recording.

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    3. Hello, The Napster story was an incredibly inspirational viewpoint that significantly impacted the market in more ways than we could have imagined at the time.

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14. When Napster was new and popular, I was one of the 70 million who jump at the opportunity to download free music from my favorite artist. I was at the age where all I did was go to school and listen to music and being able own all the music, I wanted without having to spend lots of money was a bonus at that time. When the music company started coming down on Napster for copyright, I did feel bad for the artist so once apple music came along, I loved the chance to only buy the songs that I liked, and I no longer had to waste computer memory on a whole album that was downloaded.
    Napster came when the big record stores were just as popular, I remember taking a trip to Manhattan and going to tower records to buy CDs and records. It was an inconvenience but part of what made it history. There was a time when CDs were sold like a subscription, and I loved this idea, it paid like a penny and get like 5 CDs at a time this was the best.
    When it came to the radio and electricity, all we were allowed to see or understand about these so-called pioneers were guessing and really didn’t have the patent down before they stumbled upon the solution, what that story neglected to mention was when Bell couldn’t get the formula right, he hired a black man by the name of Lewis Latimore and with his help that is when then he was able to craft the first patent for the telephone.

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    1. Absolutely! True and True!

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15. I think that Napster and the Napster’s story was a very inspirational outlook on startups and how much people wanted to help everyone and not gatekeep certain things from them. Napster was an audio streaming service that helped many people share audio files on whatever they want. The story of Napster was like a start up that helped paved the way for many things you see today such as YouTube, spotify, and etc. Napster played a role in the sense that it was the pioneer for many digital audio files distributions we have today. The radio cinéma and television crash course was a very interesting video and it detailed the start of the telegrams to the modern day necessities that we have today. The video showed detailed explanations for evolution of communication and how things are able to processed and received. I believe that in hundreds and hundreds of years from now communications will evolve even further and we will be able to get amazing exciting technology that will baffle the modern world today. Overall the technology and communication is always evolving and things like Napster which I would consider the pioneer for a lot of the digital distributions we have today and other things like in the modern day today like cellphones and apps will continue to evolve and shape the way we talk. I personally believe that apps will be the way and that we will have apps avaible and ready to do certain things like call without anything stopping us. We already soemthing similair to this like WhatsApp and it would be like a modified version.

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    1. Hey Ray,
       I do hope these technologies change for the better. Although we won’t all won’t be here to experience them all but I do hope to see technology where music and videos can be played within our heads and no need for a device. It does sound crazy as will be letting this technology into our heads and allowing robots to run the world LOL. But it will be amazing to see these technology form. Thanks for sharing.

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    2. Hi Ray, I agree, Napster was really beneficial as it helped many people to share and download music. And it also paved the way for many of the media-sharing platforms that exist today. It has really influenced modern technologies in the distribution of digital audio files. I too enjoyed the radio, cinema & television crash course video. I learned a lot from it and Thomas Edison was a great man due to the fact that he invented a lot of technology that is still useful today. I also think that audio-based content and communications will keep evolving with time!

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16. I think Napster and the story of Napster stands as an example of what kind of power the internet provides and how it can rock the culture to the very core. Napster opened up a very tight-knit closed off-market to artists and consumers alike. Customers would usually have to go to music stores to buy an entire album in order to listen to their favorite songs on demand but Napster was one of the very first to make it possible to obtain music for free without buying an album. This changed the way people listened to and made music, now making it possible for audiences and artists to engage directly without an extremely powerful middleman. I didn’t really learn much from the crash course video, however, it did make me realize how in terms of video we’ve gone full circle. At the dawn of film technology, only short-form content with video was being made. During the 20th century, films became longer and longer and more serialized. Now social media is popularizing short-form videos once again. Audio content evolution was just as inevitable as visual content evolution. Artists, for the most part, have always strived to stimulate one or two of our five (or if you want to be extremely technical seven) senses. So it’s only natural that technology related to sound would evolve and become more immersive.

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    1. Well said! And more and more immersive it will become!

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    2. I agree with your first statment as to how the story of nasper serves as a story of how much power the internet has and how the pioneer and startup of the many things that we hav today with us. Napster changed a lot in the game and it paved the way for a lot of things that we have today. That is my thoughts about Napster

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    3. Hi Ethan, I liked your response. Your statement, “. Audio content evolution was just as inevitable as visual content evolution.” is intriguing. I find it intriguing that visual content was more common than audio content. Napster’s story helped to create a base platform from the more modernized digital platforms we have today. There was no doubt that Napster was a very popular service. Just to add to your response, this provided millions of internet users with easy and immediate access to an enormous amount of free music files mostly music that they could share with other Napster members. Napster’s network had approximately 80 million registered users at the height of its popularity when it was at its peak of popularity.

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    4. I agree the internet has great power but only because of the people able to fight against what they believe is right. With its inception napster rocked the music industry and in turn led to many stores closing.

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