T
ool & D
ie page 24
D
igital
D
ilemma
: T
he
M
usic
I
ndustry in the
D
igital
A
ge
By
Megan Nolan
We live in a fascinating world within an
even more captivating society. Practically
everyone's day begins and ends with some
sort of technological influence. From
alarm clocks to cell phones, radios to com-
puters, it is almost utterly impossible to
break away from it. With the standard of
living rising, people find themselves using
digital cable and high speed internet like
it has always been there. Media provides
us with entertainment, information and
comfort.
Before the television entertained millions
of households, there was radio. People
embraced the radio so much that families
sat together at night, charmed by what
they were listening to, much like we watch
television today. Nowadays we reap the
benefits of picture synched with audio, re-
markable image quality and size, impres-
sive graphics and portable media devices
which allow us to watch movies virtually
anywhere.
Print began marketing opportunities. Ra-
dio helped it grow. But television per-
fected it. Exposure to advertising is how
the broadcasters pay for the programming.
Another form, which is widely used, is
product placement. Product placement
and the trend of placing small ads on the
screen while the show is on is a revenue
deal most viewers are unaware of. But
with the birth of personal video recorders
or hard-disk recorders, people fell in love
once again with television because they
can skip through commercials. Essentially
the audience watches the program for free
and doesn't see any advertising. If the
viewers aren't exposed, then there is no
reason for broadcast. One of the only ex-
ceptions to this is the Super Bowl. Half the
people watch it for the game; half watch it
for the commercials.
Author Rick Mathieson points out that one
television channel in particular, Bravo, has
begun to entwine itself in the mobile mar-
keting idea. By offering live chats on mo-
bile sites, text message voting, mobile fan
clubs as well as mobile games it seems to
be a step ahead of its competitors. In fact,
63% of Bravo's viewer voting comes from
these mobile phone users.
The Internet has become a necessary part
of American life both at home and in the
office. Back
in
1996,
William
F.
Slater III said
that the In-
ternet was
"A network
of networks,
joining many
government,
u n i v e r s i t y
and private
c o m p u t e r s
together and
providing an
i n f r a s t r u c-
ture for the
use of e-
mail, bulletin
boards, file
archives, hy-
pertext doc-
uments, da-
tabases and
other com-
p u t a t i o n a l
resources".
Slater
was
the President
of the Chicago Chapter of the Internet So-
ciety also said that the Internet is "The vast
collection of computer networks which
form and act as a single huge network
for transport of data and messages across
distance which can be anywhere from the
same office to anywhere in the world".
Today the Internet is most often looked
at through its communication technology
and not the pipes in which data travels.
But Slater certainly gives a good indication
to what the Internet is.
With the birth of the Internet arose grow-
ing linkages between media, information
technology and telecommunications. The
Internet is a valuable aid for maintaining
connections between people and enter-
tainment. Technology is making life more
convenient and enjoyable. Consumers
can talk to anyone and order practically
anything online, at their convenience and
at the tips of their fingers. Online com-
munication services have vastly replaced
postal mail with electronic mail. Electronic
mail allows access from any computer with
an Internet connection. Electronic mail
proves to be a much faster way to send a
letter, compared to postal mail which can
take days or even weeks. Other commu-
nication services include Instant Messenger
(IM), which allows one-on-one connection
in real time. The connectivity with family
and friends proves to be lower cost since
long distance and roaming charges still ap-
ply to cell phone services. Interactive play
media refers to entertainment such as on-
line gaming. Here it is possible to have
several players from around the world
compete and communicate. Computer
based games become more interactive as
the development of Virtual Reality devices
progresses. The Internet is also a library of
information with a data source of unprece-
dented size. Consumers can shop virtually
anywhere in the world from Australia to
Colorado. All one needs is a good search
engine and a bank account. The power of
online banking unlocks possibilities such as
online bill payments, automobile renew-
als and a more environmentally conscious
population. For the portion of the public
who are deaf or mute, the Internet allows
them to communicate better with another
person without the skill of sign language.
With all the positive outcomes the Inter-
net has brought us, there are also disad-
Media Delivery Methods