Question

Soc 105

Write a 3/4 to 1 page journal entry (300 to 500 words) in which you: Predict one or two (1-2) ways people will obtain music if CD production were to be stopped completely. Complete the page requirement. Write with clarity, following mechanics and formatting requirements. The specific course learning outcome(s) associated with this assignment are: Apply critical thinking skills to the analysis of issues involving mass media and society. Analyze various issues affecting the media business. Evaluate the effects of the digital information expansion / explosion on society Write clearly and concisely about media and society using proper writing mechanics.

Answer 1

Getting music on CDs turned out to be an innovative and highly profitable way of buying/selling music, one that put the tape-recorders and cassettes out of business. It was considered cool to carry your taprerecorder with you until the CDs came along and changed all that with their compactness, ability to store large number of songs, and low price, not to forget thegood looking design covers.

But as they say - history repeats itself. CDs now face the same fate that they doled out to the cassettes sometime back and are in the danger of getting completely wiped out, thanks to the advances in technology and cheaper, better options that ready to replace them. Although they are still popular to some extent, but it shouldn't be a big surprise if they were to go extinct. Which brings us to the all important question - how will people obtain music if CDs were to die out?

This leads us to a few options, which need to be better than a CD so that they become the preferred option for obtaining music. This means they have to be smaller, lighter making them even more portable, should be able to carry more songs, and should cost less.

One such option is the USB stick or the pendrive. This thumb sized stick has way more storage than a CD, and although it is costlier than a CD, the data stored on it can be deleted,and replaced easily making it a multiuse item which justifies the cost (which anyway is not too much as compared to a CD). Moreover, a USB drive can store not only your music, but also other types of files such as documents, videos, softwares etc., making it the preferred storage option.

The other option that can replace CDs is simply internet. It's very easy to buy and sell music over the internet where one can make the payment online using a credit card and then simply download the selected files. Once downloaded, one can transfer them over various devices using technology such as wi-fi, bluetooth, e-mail etc., which means one doesn't even need a physical device to carry the music with them.

This is how easy technology has made our lives, music being just one example. It is the proliferation of internet that has given a huge boost to the economy world over. This has on the one hand given an impetus to media business to reach out to audiences worldwide without being limited by their physical presence but on the other hand has also made their job of selling music difficult as there are multiple avenues to download music for free using various websites and tools over the internet (something that the media houses and the governemtn is trying to fight against but not being very succesful at).