Music accessibility changes with the times
Nicholas Hurwitz '11
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Arts & Culture
Imagine being a Wheaton student that was highly interested in music 20 years ago, in 1988. Just like today, if you wanted to go to a concert, chances were you would have to go to Boston or Providence.
If you wanted to listen to your own music, however, it was much harder. You would have to travel to big cities to buy records. You would also have to be dependent on a few radio stations and MTV, as well as being hopeful that your friends had good album collections.
Today, the internet and iTunes give students a vast musical experience that could not be imagined 20 years ago.
In the last decade, the internet has completely changed the way in which people buy and listen to music. When people of our generation were ten, for instance, most of us bought music for its full price by compact discs. However, recently more and more music has been bought, downloaded illegally, or watched on YouTube from the internet.
Along with the internet and iTunes, illegal file sharing (that is, downloading music for free) and hard drive sharing has made music more accessible on college campuses. Students are no longer required to commit to a single CD and can pick and choose favorite songs. Cameron Stewart '11 gets most of his music off of iTunes. "If I find an album that I really like, I'll buy the actual CD."
Elliot Mazzola '09 gets his music through several different sources. iTunes allows students to listen to shared libraries legally. "I listen to other people's music on iTunes and then ask them if I can bring my hard drive over and just take it from them."
CDs are not being bought nearly as much as they used to be by college students. When asked the last time they bought actual CDs from stores, most Wheaton students couldn't remember.
"The last time I bought a CD was over the summer and it was off amazon.com. I remember when I was about 11 or 12, I bought CDs a lot more," Mazzola said.
Because of this, the way music is sold has changed as well. File-sharing and iTunes, have inspired less of a demand for stores to sell CDs, and the most important ones have gone out of business. In 1988, Tower was the biggest store in the country; ten yeas ago, HMV and Virgin became big forces as well.
The top music retailers are surprising. For most students, Target is a place to buy food, cheap lamps, shaving cream, and hundreds of other items including CDs. Many students are unaware that Target is one of the four biggest record stores in the country. Today's biggest sellers of music are now iTunes, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart.
Today, though music can still be experienced through live concerts recordings and the radio, as with 20 years ago, the internet has emerged as the main source
If you wanted to listen to your own music, however, it was much harder. You would have to travel to big cities to buy records. You would also have to be dependent on a few radio stations and MTV, as well as being hopeful that your friends had good album collections.
Today, the internet and iTunes give students a vast musical experience that could not be imagined 20 years ago.
In the last decade, the internet has completely changed the way in which people buy and listen to music. When people of our generation were ten, for instance, most of us bought music for its full price by compact discs. However, recently more and more music has been bought, downloaded illegally, or watched on YouTube from the internet.
Along with the internet and iTunes, illegal file sharing (that is, downloading music for free) and hard drive sharing has made music more accessible on college campuses. Students are no longer required to commit to a single CD and can pick and choose favorite songs. Cameron Stewart '11 gets most of his music off of iTunes. "If I find an album that I really like, I'll buy the actual CD."
Elliot Mazzola '09 gets his music through several different sources. iTunes allows students to listen to shared libraries legally. "I listen to other people's music on iTunes and then ask them if I can bring my hard drive over and just take it from them."
CDs are not being bought nearly as much as they used to be by college students. When asked the last time they bought actual CDs from stores, most Wheaton students couldn't remember.
"The last time I bought a CD was over the summer and it was off amazon.com. I remember when I was about 11 or 12, I bought CDs a lot more," Mazzola said.
Because of this, the way music is sold has changed as well. File-sharing and iTunes, have inspired less of a demand for stores to sell CDs, and the most important ones have gone out of business. In 1988, Tower was the biggest store in the country; ten yeas ago, HMV and Virgin became big forces as well.
The top music retailers are surprising. For most students, Target is a place to buy food, cheap lamps, shaving cream, and hundreds of other items including CDs. Many students are unaware that Target is one of the four biggest record stores in the country. Today's biggest sellers of music are now iTunes, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart.
Today, though music can still be experienced through live concerts recordings and the radio, as with 20 years ago, the internet has emerged as the main source
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