MP3 vs. CD
The digital era versus the institutions of analog; the format war in relation to the music industry
The intent of this essay is to look at the ongoing battle known as the format war, I will begin by looking at the history of vinyl. I will begin to discuss the new and “improved” digital era of music production with its ongoing demands and browsing and how this ongoing battle between certain formats seems to be here to stay. Given that the subject in question is such a broad subject I am going to be concentrating on a specific case study of peer-to-peer file transferring with precise reference to Napster and the way it paved a new path for the downloadable MP3’s and how industries jumped on the bandwagon and used the once frowned upon technology today as a selling point. I will look specifically ay MP3 and Vinyl in the ever changing tastes and demands in this evolving internet culture and club culture.
History of Vinyl.
The gramophone or more commonly known as vinyl record, vinyl, phonograph record, or simply record is an analog sound storage medium. It consists of a flat disc with an inscribed set of grooves, which denote certain pitches and tones when amplified and read by a record player, giving us the listener, the music we crave and purchase on a daily basis. This process was generally used for commercial music reproduction for the best part of the 20th century, although this old fashioned technology had been replaced and advanced drastically since, many music fanatics and DJ’s still prefer vinyl as their weapon of choice and believe that it provides a rich and balanced sound found in no other format.
“I have never heard a CD or an MP3 with anything even remotely like the richness, vibrancy and atmosphere that can come from a vinyl record.”
Most of the vinyl’s released into the music industry were known as either an LP or an EP, both acronyms for Long Play, referring to almost all recordings and Extended Play, which referred to 45 rpm recordings
The intent of this essay is to look at the ongoing battle known as the format war, I will begin by looking at the history of vinyl. I will begin to discuss the new and “improved” digital era of music production with its ongoing demands and browsing and how this ongoing battle between certain formats seems to be here to stay. Given that the subject in question is such a broad subject I am going to be concentrating on a specific case study of peer-to-peer file transferring with precise reference to Napster and the way it paved a new path for the downloadable MP3’s and how industries jumped on the bandwagon and used the once frowned upon technology today as a selling point. I will look specifically ay MP3 and Vinyl in the ever changing tastes and demands in this evolving internet culture and club culture.
History of Vinyl.
The gramophone or more commonly known as vinyl record, vinyl, phonograph record, or simply record is an analog sound storage medium. It consists of a flat disc with an inscribed set of grooves, which denote certain pitches and tones when amplified and read by a record player, giving us the listener, the music we crave and purchase on a daily basis. This process was generally used for commercial music reproduction for the best part of the 20th century, although this old fashioned technology had been replaced and advanced drastically since, many music fanatics and DJ’s still prefer vinyl as their weapon of choice and believe that it provides a rich and balanced sound found in no other format.
“I have never heard a CD or an MP3 with anything even remotely like the richness, vibrancy and atmosphere that can come from a vinyl record.”
Most of the vinyl’s released into the music industry were known as either an LP or an EP, both acronyms for Long Play, referring to almost all recordings and Extended Play, which referred to 45 rpm recordings
References: http://bleedingedge.com.au/blog/archives/2005/09/lets_have_a_fight_about_vinyl.html http://www.futureproducers.com/forums/ http://www.ukbassradio.co.uk/mp3-vs-vinyl-propaa-t4539.html Image Sources. Figure 1 - http://techdigest.tv/napster-logo-2.jpg Figure 2 - http://www.banquetrecords.com/graphics/hadoukenusb.jpg Figure 3- http://www.tunequest.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/in-rainbows-cover.jpg