The digital revolution also known as the third industrial revolution is essentially the transformation from analogue mechanical/ electronic technology to digital. This progression began in the 1980's but only recently became predominant and primary. The full digital switch over of television occurred in 2012. As the digital era progressed more and more consumers started using digital methods of consuming music and technology, this is represented in these figures from 1990-2010:
Before the technological revolution the music industry as far as distribution goes was in a primitive state. 8-Track tapes (1960's-1980's) and Vinyl Gramophone records were the beginning of the mainstream consumption of music. To listen to these tapes and records one would need the equipment and basic technology required such as a the various players themselves, an audio amplifier if needed, the needle in some cases and many more primitive devices. These were big machines, heavy in some cases, expensive and were only suitable for one purpose: to play aloud their perspective record or track. If one was damaged it would have been difficult to find components needed for their repairs due to their high cost and lack of wealth amongst many of the consumers. Then came cassette tapes and the respective players and respectively the Walkman, this was revolutionary. This was the beginning of mobile consumption, the listening of music while retaining mobility, one could listen to music anywhere they want through this player and a set of head phones, basic technology, but this was the foundation of the technology available today. Later came the CD's which again were in their own right a revolution, they had a lot of data storage, especially in comparison to their predecessor and had the ability to display images both stills and moving.
Another source of music consumption was both live streaming and live performances. Live streaming at the time was vary basic, consumers had only the ability to listen to music through a radio and even so the music chosen to be played was down to the radio operators discretion. Concerts, free or paid performances this was the primary and favourite method of the consumption for many, it was better sounding in some cases than recorded tracks (due to the technology available and was a lot more personal for the band and the fans as opposed to simply buying the singles. This is emphasised by the fact that in 1966 the Beatles stopped touring due to the fans not being able to hear them play, the amplifiers available were not loud enough to drown out the screaming crowds of supportive fans. This still occurs today, and statistics show that concerts sales have increased over the years due to the digital revolution, for instance as the begin to hear about an artist they may want to see them for themselves.
The digital revolution has changed all of this. No longer are copious amounts of CD's and video tapes required to enjoy entertainment. In-fact all this can be done from ones Personal Computer. Through legal methods of music sharing one can achieve High Quality entertainment, they will have to pay for this pleasure though. This is opposed to illegal file sharing which grants the consumer the freedom to listen to all the music they want without wasting a penny.
Legal methods include: buying the single or album via such distributors Amazon mP3, iTunes and such applications and have them download straight to your computer through fiber optics. This is the most common method of consuming music: purchasing of the material and then within minutes having the ability to listen to it. Another popular method is via online streaming through the likes of Spotify, a subscription is required of £10 as opposed to the hundreds of pounds that would have been spent on hard copy sales. YouTube is another frequented site and the ever more popular YouTube converter which allows the user to download videos from YouTube for free (although not illegal its often viewed with distane due to its nature). The development and mainstream success of the internet allowed for this to occur. Another primary source of music consumption legally is through mobile technology such as mp3 players and via mobile phones. In a survey conducted 2005: 1 Billion users frequented the internet and over 2 Billion used a mobile phone, in 2010 the figures doubled as 2 Billion consumers used the internet, the growth of social networking (Facebook and Twitter - music is the most popular item shared) is a primary cause of this boom in usage and link between mobile technology and the internet.
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Many methods such as filming a concert is legal and posting this online such as YouTube via mobile or transferring these files to USB after the show, file sharing and the internet allows for these files to circuit the internet and be viewed by others but in many cases not downloaded. The technology is available for the public to acquire this music so ''why not use it to facilitate their needs''. This in some cases may get out of hand and it is possible for the line between legal and illegal to become blurred. But this wealth of technology allows for easier possession of music (via digitally) whether this be a live concert ticket or an album. Sevices such as sky allow for the purchasing of concert tickets as do many other providers, advertisements often impact the world of music in such a way, the most recent case of this is the "dance pony dance" advertisement with Three, it featured "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac, this caused a boom in sales for this song and caused it to be charted in the UK Top 40, this was also positive press,for their upcoming tours, this viral advertisement was passed via the likes of tumblr and became famous almost overnight, the digital revolution affected this. Music such as pop and charted tracks remains in the public eye for longer and results in more downloads and more purchasing of material, as a result Pop artists tend to sell more albums due to the exposure to the public eye and mainstream success, in a certain sense the Digital revolution has counteracted this and allowed for less famous indie artists to reach success.
Then there is the illegal methods which have become more and more accepted in society, its easier and cheaper to download a whole album at your finger tips in seconds without spending a penny. There is the threat of being caught which is enough of a deterrent to many and the famous case in Paris proves that there will be actions taken against illegal downloads. But some people don't care about this threat, you can use certain websites to hide your IP and illegally download as much as you want through Isohunt and utorrent. This is the biggest repercussion of the digital revolution, people spend so much money getting a PC and various other pieces of equipment that their view is why waste money on music when its already available for them to download for free, and with unnatural ease. The frequency of illegally filming in a cinema has been diminished over the years due to the strict new guidelines and laws, but this is more difficult to do via the internet and people exploit this weakness, a major effect again of the digital revolution.
Besides for Digital consumption there is still many ways the public consume music, Vinyl records have become popular in 2013 showing record sales in decades, CD's such as Albums and live Albums are still common. Record stores while they might not be as prevalent as they were in the 70's-80's still allow consumers to purchase their tracks (records or CD's), HMV has recently announced its coming out of administration which emphasises that this aspect of music consumption isn't dead. Although there is still the ability to (illegally) burn music onto CD's and pass this amongst the mass public for free (a major factor caused by the Digital Revolution) a large audience still purchases hard copies of these from legitimate vendors.
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