Media. The definition has so many variances in today's ever growing world. Collectively, it is used to convey a message. A media and music mashup? Let's take a look into the history of what this means to me, it's evolution and the impacts on the technological advances that are evident in today's electronic dance music industry and it's participants.
Music over the last two decades has been distributed in the form of vinyl, cassette, compact disc (CD) and in digital form under various file types. The ground breaker here is the cassette tape. The cassette tape is an older form of recording media that paved the way for the average listener to compose and distribute music. Anyone can compile their own music and distribute this to record labels to get a recording contract and provide music to their fans and followers.
There has been a recent insurgence of visual display of the cassette tape in today's marketing campaigns for music artists and for individuals who embraced the medium years ago. It is used as an iconic image and it's evolution has created a pathway to what is predominantly heard on today's internet radio stations and user created "mixes" that are distributed and often used as artist self-promotion.
There is a plethora of these mixes which can be found on web platforms such as Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Podomatic, Ustream and various other streaming methods.
Even digital aggregrators such as iTunes, Spotify and Medianet and various others which are used by brick and mortar imprints such as Universal, Sony, and Virgin who have embraced this nostalgic digital medium to use it for marketing purposes. The user-created mix/playlist generates royalty income for rostered artists. Additionally, it is used to re-introduce the younger generation with styles and sounds that are re-visited, re-mixed and re-mastered.
Digital radio has also become prevalent with this old "mix" concept offering continuous mixes and eclectic collections to re-generate Scans of classics and compilations from yesterday and give them new life in today's digital world. Also providing an outlet for the average user created mix to be shared with the world.
So it seems that yes the once hard copy "media" has yet again shown us that music irregardless of hard media is media in itself - bringing us back to the Here and Now.
Music over the last two decades has been distributed in the form of vinyl, cassette, compact disc (CD) and in digital form under various file types. The ground breaker here is the cassette tape. The cassette tape is an older form of recording media that paved the way for the average listener to compose and distribute music. Anyone can compile their own music and distribute this to record labels to get a recording contract and provide music to their fans and followers.
There has been a recent insurgence of visual display of the cassette tape in today's marketing campaigns for music artists and for individuals who embraced the medium years ago. It is used as an iconic image and it's evolution has created a pathway to what is predominantly heard on today's internet radio stations and user created "mixes" that are distributed and often used as artist self-promotion.
There is a plethora of these mixes which can be found on web platforms such as Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Podomatic, Ustream and various other streaming methods.
Even digital aggregrators such as iTunes, Spotify and Medianet and various others which are used by brick and mortar imprints such as Universal, Sony, and Virgin who have embraced this nostalgic digital medium to use it for marketing purposes. The user-created mix/playlist generates royalty income for rostered artists. Additionally, it is used to re-introduce the younger generation with styles and sounds that are re-visited, re-mixed and re-mastered.
Digital radio has also become prevalent with this old "mix" concept offering continuous mixes and eclectic collections to re-generate Scans of classics and compilations from yesterday and give them new life in today's digital world. Also providing an outlet for the average user created mix to be shared with the world.
So it seems that yes the once hard copy "media" has yet again shown us that music irregardless of hard media is media in itself - bringing us back to the Here and Now.
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