How have improvements in technology such as Itunes & YouTube changed the way that people listen to music?

For millennium, music has played a key role in culture and traditions. Music has often been the center of celebrations and gatherings. It was a special time of enjoyment and also played an important role in daily life with traditional instruments. Music could be played anywhere, whether on drums made by scrap materials to a rhythm played on two rocks instead. However, the emerging of new technology has made music more accessible and meaningful to everyone.

iTunes is just one of the innovations that has taken over the music industry. According to CNN, iTunes has over “435 million registered users in 119 countries and recently served up its 25 billionth song.” In the ideas of older technology, iTunes has made it easier for people to handpick each song rather than download an entire album from a band they enjoy. Now, millions and millions of people use iTunes every day to listen to, not only music, but also podcasts in whatever time they have. You no longer have to separate out a specific time for you to enjoy some music with a now portable access to a huge library of songs.

Additionally, iTunes has even dropped in business with the development of companies like Spotify and Pandora that can stream without an Apple ID. Instead, people sign up for the music membership and are able to access almost infinite amounts of songs and artists at the touch of a finger. With this, music plays an even bigger role in everybody’s day to day life without losing the meaning and purpose of it.