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The Radio
Although the invention of the radio was in 1895 it is largely said that the 20's was the real birth of radio music, largely due to the increasing jazz scene in music. This meant that for the first time people could listen to music in the comfort of their own home and to not venture out and see the musicians live. A negative to this was the consumer had no choice in what they had to listen to. -
RCA Tape Cartridge
This was the first time a music listener could really listen to music on the move. It was 'a magnetic tape audio format that was designed to offer stereo quarter-inch reel-to-reel tape recording quality' -
The Walkman
This was the first way of being able to consume music on the go, which is now how the majority of audience members consume music. It was lightweight and allowed people to skip through songs and play and pause whenever they liked. It was advertised as a way for (for example) commuters to gain back their lost time by turning it into a pleasurable listening experience. However, one negative of this revolutionary way of consuming music, is that it was thought to encourage unsociable behaviour. -
The Compact Disk
Although this way of music consumption is a lot more fragile than the cassette tape, it allows people to make music with much better sound quality and is much easier to record and produce. -
MTV
This new TV channel (which stands for music television). This was a way to help promote music artists, and was a way to introduce the viewer to a song, rather than a way of primary consumption. It was also the introduction of music videos into the main-stream media. -
The Internet
When the www was first introduced it wasn't in initially used for music consumption, but for information purposes. It wasn't until later when the concept became more developed that websites were created to improve the way audiences consume music (e.g. YouTube). -
MP3 Player
This allowed consumers to download any music and listen to it on the move. The first MP3 player was 91x70x165.5mm and had 32MB of Flash Storage. -
YouTube
'Broadcast Yourself' (2005–2012)
YouTube is the world's most popular video watching and sharing site, it allows you to view, upload, comment, and share conent. It also gives smaller creators a platform to start creating content and getting feedback, which makes it key in the creation and consumption of music. The normal website is also free to use, with adds being played on some content. -
SoundCloud
This is an online audio distribution site is similar to YouTube, in the sence that it allows the user to upload, share, listen to, and promote their music. A lot of smaller musicians use it to get their music heard, with links to where the music can be purchased. -
Spotify
Spotify is the most popular music streaming app., allowing you to stream on mobile devices, PC's and consoles. Users can use the free service, that has restrictions on how the music can be consumed (limited shuffles). Or a user can subscribe and get hassle free viewing. In June 2015 there were more than 75 million active users and 20 million has paid for the subscription. COntent can be easily found by track, artist, genre and record label, as well as pre-made playlists, and watch music videos. -
YouTube Red
The concept of this is still the same as Youtube, but rather than being free, it is a paid streaming subscription site that removes ads (making the viewing experience more enjoyable and faster) and allows access to Youtube Red films and TV series. However it is only available in the United States, Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand