A Short History of the Music Evolution

A Short History of the Music Evolution

Music had begun even way before civilizations existed. During the Medieval period, only those with royal pedigree and who belonged to the upper class had the privilege of listening to music through their own musicians, whom they could summon at their beck and call. Meanwhile, the peasants also yearned to have access to this; therefore after countless revolutions all over the world, anyone was fortunate enough to hear songs through street musicians, lounge brass bands, and even through vinyl spun on gramophones.

In the early 80’s, during the rage of MTV, “teased” hairdos, shoulder pads, and neon getups, people used to listen to Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and those iconic artists through cassette tapes played on humongous stereos known as “Boom Boxes.” And in the early 90’s or what was known as the “Grunge era” (all thanks to grunge band Nirvana’s front man, Kurt Cobain), teens became more rebellious which led them to even have the tendency to complain about everything, such as lugging stuff that’s heavy. This then led scientists to cook up something much lighter and more compact for adolescents to “carry their music”; thus, the birth of the “Walkman.”

The Walkman (created by the Japanese tech juggernaut, Sony); became so popular that it became one of the most iconic gadgets in that era. People from all walks of life, from teens listening to grunge bands to adults tuning in to romantic ballads, toted their Walkmans to school, to work, and even to the grocery store. This gadget was so handy and affordable that the sales of cassettes of bands and solo singers shot through the roof.

But years after the new millennium, electronics companies came up with something fresh and new; thus, the birth of the “CD player.” CDs, which were known to have the ability to store more songs, became the perfect alternative to the once-popular cassette tapes and since Walkmans did not have the ability to play these, the CD player then became the “ultimate and hipper” replacement. Techies and wannabe-techies alike stormed the shelves when this new gadget was launched.

Yet people began to demand more innovation in portable music players. Listeners complained that these CDs were too fragile and some even cost much more than the old bar-shaped cassette. As a result of this mild uprising, IT forms raced to cook up another “technological wonder” that could satisfy the insatiable craving of music-lovers; hence, the birth of the “MP3 players.” These MP3 players were then offered in a wide range of sizes, colors, and storage capabilities. Some could even be as small as a USB stick, and some could store up to a thousand songs. And since these players did not require people to tote along their music collection of CDs, it was the most practical replacement for the older music players- both the Walkman and the CD player.

As MP3 players started to enter the market, Apple CEO Steve Jobs (the genius behind the now popular MacBook, iPads, and iPhones) felt that there should be a more worthy portable music player that could be as iconic as the old ones; something with a name that everyone would know and would never forget. With this in mind, his company then concocted what we all now as the iconic “iPod.” This miniscule and portable device came like a “tsunami” over the whole music scene, whether local or international. And since both musicians and music-lovers are very much satisfied, it seems that the iPod is here to stay for a very long time.