For our second installment of Understanding Gen Z, we're tackling one of the biggest components of culture in modern society: music. We're going to look at how its accessibility and sounds have changed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as how its messages have changed. Let's dive right into it!
First, let's start with a brief history of the various technological advances in audio recording and playback that have led us to where we are today. It all began in 1877, when the famous American inventor, Thomas Edison, invented the phonograph. This was the first device that had the capability to play a recording. Now, people were no longer required to attend the symphony to hear music.
Then came the gramophone, an early version of record players. The records used for the gramophone were made of glass, thus, they were very fragile and would tend to break easily. Then came vinyl records. They were cheaper to make, could be mass-produced, and weren't as fragile. They've even stood the test of time; many people still utilize vinyl records today
In 1962, the cassette tape was invented. This changed music immensely. Cassette tapes were small enough to be easily carried and taken from place to place. Later, cars were adapted for cassette tapes, and the Walkman was introduced. The walkman allowed the user to listen to music on the go and completely revolutionized the way people consumed music. People could listen wherever, whenever. Soon, almost everyone had a walkman.
Despite the cassette tape's popularity, when the CD, or compact disk, was introduced in 1979, it took the world by storm. Now, you could skip directly to the song you wanted to listen to. They were more portable, cheaper to manufacturers, and more consumer-friendly. Not only that, but they were multipurpose. You could also transfer video to CDs, allowing users to watch movies and TV with the use of the compact disk. Also, companies could transfer video games onto CDs. Over time, more advanced versions of the CD were developed, like the Blue-Ray disk.
However, yet another revolutionary invention dethroned the CD: the iPod. Released in 2007, the iPod allowed consumers to connect to the iTunes store, download music, then listen right away. The iPod could also connect to headphones and speaker systems. Although the iPod was more expensive than compact disk usage, it was wildly more convenient. Ultimately, it replaced the CD.
Now, many choose to listen to music on their cellular device through streaming services, like Apple Music, Spotify, or SoundCloud. For the services Spotify and SoundCloud, registration is free. However, users can purchase a subscription, which diminishes ads and allows more features. For the streaming service Apple Music, users must have an Apple device and must purchase a subscription to stream music.
For the most part, I credit these recent developments in music streaming to the diverse genres of music that exist today. In past decades, one genre or "sound" has dominated. Now, of course this isn't a rule, but generally, this is the case. However, as music became more accessible more "niches" came into existence to cater to all groups of people. Since there are more ways to listen to music and people are listening to more music in itself, artists are more willing to take risks and produce unique music. Chances are, someone will listen.
Also, artists no longer have to deal with as many restrictions. Since the radio is not as popular as it was 20 years ago, their music doesn't always have to be "radio-friendly." Also, there are plenty of ways to independently produce music. So, artists no longer have to deal with restrictions put on them by recording companies. So, along with the popularization of more diverse genres, music has also evolved to use more vulgar language.
This brings us to the way music and it's messages have changed. Ultimately, musicians make music about the same things; apart from a few exceptions, our experiences are the same as they were 50 years ago. We still love, wish to be loved, make friends, fight, and create the same. However, these ideas are expressed differently. Like mentioned before, musicians have the freedom to use more vulgar language to express their ideas. Whether or not this is the right decision is up to you. However, I think it is important to remember the artist always has clear intention behind their music and their choices are very intentional; it is important to respect their decisions.
As always, feel free to let us know your thoughts and any suggestions for the next installment of Understanding Gen Z. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
Make sure to check out this website for an interesting infographic on how music genres have grown and diminished in popularity over the years!
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