which Ipod are you?

With many different models of Ipod available it is easy to see that Apple is trying to make a product for each different segment. Each different Ipod comes in a range of colours and has different uses for different people. Firstly the Ipod shuffle which is the smallest and considered by most (myself included) to be the most the most practical and the most convinent weighing in at a whopping 15.6 g and is the smaller than many memory sticks available today. Though the smallest and the cheapest of the range the shuffle only has the feature to play music with no screen to show videos or even song titles Next in line is the Ipod classic which resembles very closely to the Ipods which were originally released back in 2001 with the feaures of video playback as well as games to play. The newer models are the touch and the nano with the touch also being a internet enabled music player so one could almost buy music directly on their Ipod.

Itunes making music a lot easier for all (well some).

Many people myself included find that while looking for certain albums it is not only frustrating as not only many shops don’t have them but ordering them takes months and eventually when the cd does arrive it costs well over the norm. Itunes has allowed for people to gain access to a huge database of music and to download music for a lot cheaper and much easier to find and you also don’t have the hassle of having to order the album and having to wait months to arrive it mainly depends on the speed on your connections. The actual program itself is a nuisance to use that puts music onto your Ipod but the Itunes store is relatively user-friendly. The one problem is that Itunes caters for people who own an Ipod so this does pose the debate of whether or not Itunes is just adding to the digital divide that people seem to fear will arise.

The actual program of Itunes is also noted as being a useful music player that sorts out music as like a library would which however will not match either Winamp or Windows Media Player in terms of ease of use or popularity. The actual program is able to extract music from an audio cd as well as burn data and audio discs.

New Media and Stealing Handbags

We all at one point have seen the anti-piracy advertisements on dvds. In these adds, copying of dvds is likened to such things as stealing handbags and cars. While these advertisements are focused specifically on pirating movies, the same school of thought applies to music. With new media innovations such as the internet and cd writers, it has become easy to pirate music by copying cds as well as disseminating copyrighted material over the internet.

Napster (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/napster.htm) is the most widely known facet of this topic. Basically, the original Napster was created as a means for people to transfer their own band's intellectual property and disseminate their own music. However, people used this service in order to share copyrighted material and pirate music. Many recording artists such as Lars Ulrich (of Metallica claim) did not appreciate this and sought to sue the creator of Napster. Because of this huge media backlash, Napster was forced to shut down.

This was one victory in the quest to protect intellectual property but sadly, barely dented the world of piracy. Just do a google search of an album you want with the term "torrent" on the end of the album/artist name and you will see what I mean.

Quote of the day (from South Park Season 10 Episode 5): "Meet Lars Ulrich. Lars wants to have a gold-plated shark tank bar installed next to his pool, but because of scum like you pirating his music, he must now wait a few months!"

More People = More Rubbish

While music is by no means a new media phenomenon, we can very clearly note how the new media is transforming the music world as we know it. Never before have their been so many people listening to music before as their are now. The Ipod craze proves this.

With the ease of purchasing songs evident in the world today (through Itunes etc.) and so many people purchasing music, we note a very intense and still growing market. Because of this we note so many artists emerging at a rapid rate. I realize this every time I turn on the radio or watch television and hear songs and artists I have never heard of before. This follows an age old business strategy; if there are people out there who want your product, create many similar products and sell, sell, sell!

I really do not feel that this is good for the music industry. Where, in the past, only talented an innovative bands became famous (The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin), more recently, anyone who follows a popular sound and approach tends to prevail. Judging by all the clones of the current popular culture icons appearing, it seems to me that the music industry has its focus on the wrong places. Instead of innovation we note cloning.

I feel that any music produced should be an extension of (a)n individual or group of individuals (bands) soul(s). Music should be about feeling and a representation of a persons opinions and ideals. Music should not be about copying a tried and tested laid out formula.

Recording Becomes Professional

Everybody who has ever started learning a musical instrument has dreamed of being in a world renowned touring band. A huge part of this is the recording process. Where in the past, recording near professional quality songs from the comfort of ones own home was near impossible (in the old days of analogue 8-16 track recording devices), recently this has been changing.

Obviously in order to obtain a high quality professional recording, a band would need to utilize a multi-million dollar studio but home recordings are getting closer and closer to this quality (as close as possible when considering the amount of equipment utilized of course).

Upon visiting the "Marshall Music" (a popular South African music store franchise) website (www.marshallmusic.co.za) one can visit the recording equipment section. New Media software such as "Propellerhead Reason" allows one to create drum loops, synthesizers and samples of different sounds (keyboards etc.) in the context of the average person's home. In addition to this, "Steinberg Cubase SX allows one to record audio (guitar and drum playing for example) using hardware such as the "Maya 1010" and put songs together with great ease.

I find it amazing that as little as even 10 years ago the idea of putting together a high quality (compared to the current equipment mentioned) and very cost effective home recording studio seemed like a daunting task but now could be done with as little as R10 000 in start up capital (with this including every piece of equipment necessary). This is very clearly another example of the new media explosion where everything is available to the common man at a fraction of the cost as in the days of old where new software and hardware, that has never before been available, is hitting the market.

New Market Sector for Music

Everywhere we look we can note examples of how new media innovations are "pimping up" almost every facet of our lives. Music, for me, has been an important part of my identity and through it, I seek to put meaning in my life. It is therefore extremely clear that new media innovations in music would be an interesting topic for me to consider.

One such innovation which music is faced with would be the online purchase of music. I realise that there is some overlap with the Ipod section included in this blog but I thought I'd speak from my own perspective.

Nobody can dispute the fact that traveling to a music store to buy an album (and risking the album one is searching for is not in stock) can seem like a chore to some. Who would not consider downloading an artist's new album from the comfort of one's own home to be extremely convenient? Furthermore, the extremely competitive prices ($9.99 standard (http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2006/05/itunes_album_pr.php)) aids in enticing more people to purchase albums via this approach.

Of course, many people (including myself) still prefer to purchase albums in a more physical form (with a cd case and album jackets included) with the general sentiment that they are receiving more for their money than just a series of songs in digital format on a hard drive. Judging by the success of Itunes (a major market leader in online album sales) however, it seems as though many people do not mind paying $9.99 for an album in digital format when $14 seems to be a general price for ordering albums from Amazon.com. It leads me to wonder if the Itunes craze is in fact the future, a future in which I (and people with a similar opinion to me) are merely slow in keeping up with. Time will tell.

Would you like an Ipod with your accessories?

With all the accessories available for Ipods these days it kind of makes you wonder which is becoming more important. New developments such as the docking station with speakers almost can nowadays can replace the hassle of going out and buying a mini hi-fi. Also a transmitter that can allow for people to listen to music on their Ipods via their radio be it in the car or at home and now there is a component that allows people the listen to the radio on their Ipods so not only only podcasts becoming very popular with services such as 'Talking metal' which is a podcast service that allows users to download an interview which their favourite bands but now the radio is also being brought back into the equation which is something that many thought Ipods would put out of business.

Another very interesting development is the new Nike+Ipod Sport Kit which can give you feedback on your workouts and allows you to track your performance on you computer. Another is a component that allows you to watch videos form your ipod on yout tv. So with the new developments it does pose the question do people still buy Ipods with the mentality of having personla music or whether they buy the product with all the different components and benefits from buying it.

All products mentioned are availible for purchase at http://store.apple.com/us

Are Ipods promoting a more secluded lifestyle?

With the Ipod becoming the large phenomena that is becoming in the world a big question that could be posed is if Ipods are promoting people to become more secluded in what they do? The Ipod is a personal music player and with its very fast growing popularity begs the question when people are using them as well as to what extent. Many young people use their Ipods on a daily basis be it while walking around the mall or school or whilst in the car. This could point to that they are using their Ipods to shut out the outside world and avoid conversation rather than to enjoy personal music. This does prove what writer Douglas Mann mentioned when he said we live in a society that thrives on isolation.

What would we do without cell phones?

Although i have said that cell phones are problematic in some ways, in other ways the cell phone is also a device with many good features about it.It acts as a means of communication in which we can keep in contact with friends and family.It is very easy to get hold of someone, particularly if it is an emergency, as most of the time every person has a cell phone on them.It keeps us in contact with other people, near of far and allows us to save numbers of many people in our phones without having to write it down on paper, which is very easy to lose.The fact that we are able to capture memories on our phones at any given time is also a big advantage. We do not lose out if we do not have a camera as we can just capture those important moments onto our cell phones.My cell phone for me acts as an alarm clock that wakes me up some mornings and without it i would probably never wake up. It is a way in which in keep in contact with my friends and family.I must admit that if i lost my phone i will feel a little lost without it as it is a way in which i am able to communicate and keep in touch with people around me. The cell phone has a lot of uses and is not just for keeping in contact with other people, which is why it is such a popular device today and why it has become such a huge part of every persons life.

Cell phones problematic?

Although cell phones are a huge craze that everyone has taken to, there are a number of problems that cell phones have.With the New Media, the cell phone has caused there to be a decline in terms of reading books and the interactivity amoung people has decreased a lot. People, particularly the younger generation would rather read and write through text messaging, on the internet on their cell phones,videogaming,e-mailing and surfing the net, rather than reading books and doing research at libraries. cell phones in the New Media also exposes them to the english language because of all the messages and words that are abbreviated, thus effecting the speech of people and their grammar at schools. The literacy in our own native language is effected,as there is a decline in reading as people just do not read anymore. Cell phones change the way in which we live as well as our communication and interaction with other people.People see the cell phone as something that is a part of their lives and not just a tool in media.The fact that people answer their cell phones in meetings and important appointments shows that they allow the cell phone to control their everyday lives. They do not show any respect towards their fellow human beings and shows that the cell phone does come first.The fact that people sit on their phones while sitting with a bunch of friends is very rude and impersonal and implies that the cell phone does come first in their lives. Also the fact that you will see a large amount of students and scholars sitting in their lectures and playing on their phones, rather than paying attention to what the lecturer has to say.The cell phone has become a large distraction to many people and poeple have become a lot more impersonal between one another.People have lost their ability to communicate face to face and find it easier to say things and cancel appointments over the phone rather then saying these face to face.

Mobile Music

Cell phones have a large variety of functions and there are a lot of things that can be done with the cell phone but one of the largest functions is that it has an MP3 player where the user can listen to and download a large amount of music straight to their cell phones.Blue tooth is a device that allows people to share and sent data (music, videos and images etc) to each other for absolutely no cost . One could say that the MP3 player on cell phones is taking away the popularity of Ipods to a certain extent as a lot of music is going straight into peoples phones.It is easier for people to download music off the internet straight from their cell phones and put it onto their computer where they can copy it onto portable disks or back onto their phones.People can just download the music that they want from the internet and then put it straight into their cell phone with very little difficulty and at a much cheaper cost.It is much more cheaper than buying an entire cd and this way one can chose what music they wish to have and what not to have.

This also allows one to save a lot of money as they do not have to spend money on Ipods or on Cds. The music on cell phones is eliminating ipods and the amount of cds that are sold are a lot more less than it used to be.

Mxit

Mxit is a group of chat rooms that are found on the mxit website.MXit is a FREE instant messaging program for cell phones. This means that you can chat to other MXit users on their cell phones anywhere else in the world, for FREE.It enables you to send and receive text messages to and from cell phones with the Internet using GPRS, rather than by using the usual SMS technology. MXit enables you to exchange messages with other users on Mxit or other online chat communities - anywhere, anytime!The worlds younger generation has been named the "thumb tribe" because of the abilities to send smses so quickly.The internet on cell phones has opened up a whole new world for the youngsters of our generation.Cell phones for the older generations are used as a form of security and a means of communicating with people and keeping in contact with people, specifically parents with their children. For children cell phones are a form of freedom and a place where they can get away and escape as it is a world that is beyond parental control.Many people say Mxit is like a shopping mall as it is a place where the children can all meet up and discuss certain things. Mxit also allows them to speak to a lot of people at one given time, and allows them to have different conversations with different people.Mxit has 855 000 users and about 50 to 70 million messages are sent in only one day.MXit is not only available as a means of communication but has many different other ways to express yourself on your mobile phone.You are able to meet new people, play games, customise your phone.This can all be done through Tradepost, a contact that is already on your phone once you have registered on Mxit.

Despite Mxit being a sudden craze ,there are however a number of dangers on Mxit and it may not be very safe to some people, particularly the younger generation.There are a lot of chat rooms particularly flirt chat rooms that are available where it allows us to speak to people with hidden agendas as the identity is not known or could be made up.It could end up that these people with hidden agendas may be stalkers and the children will give out private information about themselves, that could cause a lot of danger in their lives.

Cell phones-New media

The cell phone has gone from being a rare and expensive device to a very popular device among people of all generations and all over the world. The amount of cell phones out number the amount of landlines that people have in their houses today and so do they also out number the amount of personal computers in households.Cellphones also have a large variety of services that may not have been available less than 20 years ago.These services include the internet, mp3 players where you can listen to music from your phone, blue tooth where you can exchange pictures etc from your phone for free, and video recording. Smsing (Short message service) is the main role of the cell phone and it has become a very integral part for a lot of people's every day lives. It is very cheap to send a message, at a cost of 34 cents.The fact that we have a camera on our phones and can take pictures with our cell phones is a huge advantage and many see the cell phone as as a digital device that connects the traditional world. People do not go out and purchase cameras anymore as much as they used to as their phones have these features built in already.

Ipods sentence cd's to death?

Ipods, along with Itunes, have almost revolutionized music and the way we listen to it. Thanks to the Ipod, music has become a lot more personal and independent. The Ipod is basically a personal mp3 player that, with the technology of the newer Nano and Touch models, is not only able to play music but also video. This means that Ipods are a suitable medium for watching music videos, movies and TV series as well as music.

The device works with the program, Itunes, where the owner will synchronize the files on the computer with the files on the device thus decreasing piracy. Itunes is also a huge music database in which, when linked to the internet, the owner can purchase and legally download almost any album to their Ipod. Another revolutionary feature of Itunes is that a person can opt to download one particular song off an album without the hassle of going out and buying the whole cd for just one song. It is because of this that some people have argued that compact discs are now becoming obsolete.

Itunes has brought bands onto an even level of exposure as now people will equal chance to see an album from a well known band as from a underground band in one catalogue, rather than risking lack of availability in cd stores.

Music and the New Media..Good or bad?

Rewind to the 90's....There never used to be systems in place in order to allow practicing musicians to easily make their music accessible in the public domain. The only available outlets were radio and television and, unless you chased record label executives around trying to be noticed, these were incredibly tough to access.

Now, we see around us a wealth of new websites and programs onto which musicians can upload their music. Social networking utilities such as Myspace (www.myspace.com) and Facebook (www.facebook.com) allow anyone with a recorded "demo" to upload their music in a public domain where there is a potential listener base of millions of people worldwide.

After doing a google search for "South Africa music upload" I found a South African example of these called "Music Industry Online" (http://www.mio.co.za/forums/index.php?showtopic=12348). The fact that I could find a random example within 5 seconds of undertaking the search, is indicative of how popular and numerous these websites are.

I cannot help but worry however. It is very clearly good that musicians have these systems of disseminating their music but what controls are in place? Anyone can upload anything but, at the end of the day, without the assistance of a producer (who would bring out a music group's full potential), who is to say that everything uploaded is "good" (for a given meaning of the word) enough? This, while being a concern of mine, is only the beginning.

My above concern is coumpounded where the internet has become saturated with thousands of these independent bands all seeking to "make it big." So now the issue at hand is that while being difficult to find any one band to support due to sheer numbers, the good bands are also hidden by the wealth of average or substandard ones. How are record executives expected to find the good bands under these circumstances?

The great paradox comes in where, to large extents, artists need to follow the approach of the past and perform live, hand out fliers and put posters up everywhere. Although, of course, in these situations, artists can promote the web addresses which feature the music and tell fans to spread the word.

Are these new systems good or bad? I feel they're good but not as a sole means of marketing artists. Old fashioned band marketing is good but limited, new media representations of artist marketing are efficient but with certain limitations. In my opinion, the "new-school" requires the "old-school" to survive and run efficiently. It is all dependent on the status quo.