April 15, 2020 The Industrial Revolution of Listening to Music

From then until now.

From amped-up car radio systems to bopping your head to your favorite tunes as you skip down the street, music and the way the world listens to it has certainly changed over the years. However, when you’re sitting in the park listening through your wireless speakers, you probably never give a thought to the evolution of listening to the music you can so easily do today. In this blog, you’ll find a quick evolution of listening to music and the technology that made it possible.

1910-The Headphones

1910 was when the headphones were invented, and prior to then, there was no tuning out the world while your favorite music blared in your ears. However, the headphones we had in 1910 were nothing like the ones we have today. Those headphones were invented for the U.S. Navy. Not only were these headphones clunky and uncomfortable to wear, they often gave out a dangerous electric shock to whoever happened to be wearing them at the time. Since then, headphones have come a long way and are way more comfortable, so you can listen to your music without driving your neighbors insane.

1979-The Walkman

It may be hard to believe, but before the Walkman was invented in 1979, portable music was clunky and awkward. In most cases, music played wherever the record player sat and nowhere else. Sony was responsible for inventing the Walkman and advertised it as a way to listen to music on the go and said that it would improve your life. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but the Walkman was a great success for its time.

1982-CD’s

Small, shiny and full of music, CDs made their appearance in the early 1980s. The first compact disc had more storage power than computers of the time and was able to hold almost 80 minutes of uncompressed audio. It wasn’t very long before CD’s got rid of vinyl records and shortly after that the CD killed off cassette tapes as well.

1999-Bluetooth

Today listening to your music wherever you might be is half the enjoyment. Music had become portable with the Walkman, but the invention of things such as Bluetooth radio took portable music to a whole new level. Bluetooth would take wireless to a whole new level, which pleased music lovers everywhere to no end and made listening to music even more exciting than it was before.

1998-MP3 Players

The first MP3 players surfaced in 1998, but they weren’t what’s out there today. Instead, they were clunky, thick, and could only hold a few songs before space ran out. However, it wasn’t long before technology caught up and gave the public the best MP3 players of today.

2001-Streaming Sites

For a while, it seemed like downloading music was going to be a big no-no that could land you in jail. However, the invention of streaming sites in 2001 made streaming music a reality, as long as you do it the legal way. Today, you can get unlimited access to music for a monthly fee from some sites, use pay per song apps, and get everything you need on You-Tube, making easy listening even better than it used to be. The sky’s the limit as to the songs you can listen to in today’s modern music world.

The Present

Today, you can find a mix of all the things above for your listening pleasure. From the radio to streaming sites on your computer and TV, music is there for the taking.

This is just a little information about the evolution of music through the years. The point is that the music industry has come a long way from the times of being stuck in one room if you wanted to listen to the music you love.

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