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]]>The first phonograph attributed to Thomas Edison (what about Alexander Graham Bell?!) sound capture was initially so startling, that members of the clergy damned it from their pulpits. The cause of that commotion was the first edition record player, where grooves etched on tin foil placed on a rotating cylinder produced sounds which were then amplified through a speaker shaped like a morning glory. It was the disembodied voices that critics found disconcerting. By the time the first record player that featured dual (“stereo”) speakers, was implemented, sound quality had been vastly improved. Today, thanks to Edison/Bell’s invention, we have recordings of famous personalities of their day, from Caruso, and Theodore Roosevelt, to Einstein. And without phonographs and Sun Records, would anyone have ever heard of Elvis?
Our grandparents and great grandparents turned to radio and TV for their news, information, and entertainment, usually in the form of variety shows. These programs would include a comedian, dancers, an orchestra or band, as well as headliners such as Frank Sinatra. Often coordinated with the leading ‘top of the chart’ vinyl record sales of the time, programming was scheduled, and there were no recording devices such as DVDs to capture performances.
The electric guitar was invented during the Great Depression, however it was not until the 1960s that the likes of Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan took it mainstream. Electrified instruments took music out of intimate clubs and concert halls into arenas and stadiums, taking sound well beyond the range of acoustic instrumentation.
Digital music made by computers never really took off in the United States, but since the 1980s, Europeans and the Japanese have loved it. Synths created new soundscapes for performers and composers alike. Robert Moog and the Beatles utilized this idiom, which quickly superseded the need for a recording studio and allowed anyone with only a few pieces of relatively low cost equipment, the ability to explore this new medium.
Today those quaint iridescent disks make nice Holiday ornaments, but 35 years ago, these were the latest technology. Read by lasers and played on portable devices, CDs were essentially albums you could tote along with you, however clumsy, and superseded tapes for recording music and events.
In the 1990s, along came Steve Jobs with the iPod. And the Apple Store which featured single tune downloads for only 99 cents! Imagine! The rise of the MP3 player has made individual songs available to all, without the expense of buying an album (?) or CD with tunes you didn’t want. Creating your own soundtrack or party mix from a wide range of artists and musical tastes quickly became a consuming interest. Best of all, your entire music library was contained on one, easily-accessed, palm-sized unit. Life couldn’t get better than this, right?!
It is hard to believe that the first YouTube video was uploaded in April, 2005. An angel-funded enterprise that sprang from a garage-based home office, this site that allows new artists to simply upload their recordings for immediate release. Countless artists have gone this route and found new audiences and income for their efforts.
Think about it. Today we all have our personal scores playing in the background as we go about our daily lives. Streaming Music has made this possible. Apps such as Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music and many others allow downloads within seconds at a fraction of a cent per listen. Streaming was a first seen across school campuses, then in urban areas, and now in many workplaces. It is known that music increases job satisfaction and productivity. With streaming the cost of owning/playing music has been greatly reduced, and the pleasure derived from its spontaneity has increased the number of music lovers exponentially.
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]]>A couple decades ago, travelers on long flights would have to be content with whatever the particular airline was offering in the form of first-run entertainment. Everyone in their class would have to view the same feature on a screen at the front of the section. Today, airlines’ entertainment service systems have be superseded by whatever streaming service individual passengers subscribe to. On board entertainment has become as personal as each passenger personal tastes dictate. Using their tablet or cell phone, most frequent fliers make the most of long flights catching up on first-run entertainment, current news, and even take online classes while in the air. The same scenario plays out aboard buses and trains. Today, everyone, everywhere is making their entertainment and information very personalized through video streaming options.
Technology has changed our entertainment and information sources. From its rise in the 1980s until the early 2000s, cable services, usually bundled as voice, internet, and TV, had no competition. For most Americans its prices soon escalated beyond their comfort zones. Alternatives to paying over $100 a month just for TV proved tempting and soon many consumers canceled their cable subscriptions in favor of far less costly streaming video services such as Netflix.
At the same time, Americans have become increasingly more mobile, and we take our entertainment with us. It is not enough to be skateboarding down the sidewalk to class, wearing headphones. Today’s campuses team with students who rush from class to next class while catching up on news and entertainment on their smartphones or mobile devices. For several years now, mobile users far exceed desktop users to access the internet. Savvy designers know to create product videos that may be streamed and lead to higher revenues. Below are the top reasons why video streaming is making such an impact on Americans:
Gen Xers and Millennials have spearheaded the move towards cable alternatives. According to eMarketer, 63% of Millennials watch live video and subscribe to streaming services for their news and entertainment. This demographic shift is influencing older generation baby boomers as well since these folks generally have more leisure time yet may live on a fixed income.
As shown in the example about air travel, over the past twenty years, entertainment choices have become more personalized, and cater to individual tastes. Video streaming apps and streaming services embed cookies that enable the services to make recommendations based on viewing profiles. It both targets a consumer’s needs and creates customized content selections making it easy for viewers to choose what to watch next.
Since the inception of TV, programming schedules have dictated when a show may be viewed. Even with DVRs, one still has to set the timer to coincide with the time a program is aired. The beauty of streaming is that it is there when you want it, on your terms. Want to stop in the middle of a program and resume play later? No problem! Want to watch a program while eating lunch on a park bench? Can do! Taking a break at work? Why not catch up on your favorite program? Riding the rails to your job? Relive last night’s game highlights! Streaming incorporates video viewing into your life, you do not have to arrange your life around scheduled programming.
Many subscription services offer consumers the option to select the features and functionality they need. This way they only pay for the content they will actually watch. This is unlike cable where one opts for package deals at varying price points. Just about every package includes stations one is unlikely to watch or have any interest in. It is very cost effective and a value add to get just what you want and need for only a few dollars a month.
Perhaps the strongest reason that video streaming has become the entertainment and information vehicle for the masses in this decade, and likely into the next is cost. In a still struggling economy where there is far less disposable income than ever before, expense-conscious Americans are choosing live programming and video streaming over cable and fiber optics. These vehicles provide the convenience, scalability, customization, and economy that makes us all feel that we are living large, even if we are doing so on a very restricted budget. That in itself, is the greatest technological breakthrough and means that these vehicles will support consumers’ needs for timely and cost-effective knowledge and entertainment, well into the foreseeable future.
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