From Phonographs to Spotify: A Brief History of the Music Industry

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6 жыл бұрын

From the invention of the phonograph in 1877 to the boom in streaming services today, the music industry has had to constantly adapt to emerging technology. In this video, we explore whether music can continue to reinvent itself to survive. Photo: Liliana Llamas/WSJ
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Пікірлер: 191

@tmorelli1982 3 жыл бұрын

It's strange how easily we end up taking things for granted. I'm in my late 30s, and I can't believe it really just dawned on me now how absolutely mind-blowing it is that I can listen to any song/album I want by just pulling it up on an app... or even via voice with Google home. This would seem unfathomable to me in my youth, when I had to drive 20 minutes to the mall to pay $19.99 a pop for a single album, or record songs off the radio on cassette.

@Zero-pe3iq 11 күн бұрын

yea and I'd say your doing it wrong, but then again you might take issues with piracy. Or you know copying. Like music that isn't locally on your drive are not accessible offline. Like power outage or remote no internet location. You can get access to the files if you want them. And easily manage local collection of music. I suppose if your want you can buy all the digital albums if you want to pay money for it. after all the music is on YT. can be downloaded its not hard to figure out. or even bandcamp. and yes it is cool to pull up any song like on YT. But if you really love some things you might want them locally on your hard drives.

@jukes4499 2 жыл бұрын

It's crazy how intangible music production has become. From a giant horn and wax cylinder, to a huge vinyl disc, to two reels of tape, to the cassette, to a smaller thinner disc, to a single MP3 player, to streaming - where you don't even own any of the songs you listen to.

@DJRobinSkouteris 6 ай бұрын

You never OWN the music you listen to. You just pay for copies of it so you can listen to it... You dont have any ownership of the music..

@sopaman1234 5 ай бұрын

@@DJRobinSkouteris And that is why i kept my vynul records..

@Sergio-nb4hj 3 ай бұрын

I download Mp3s, to me streaming is just a medium to test how music sounds

@CutieRingoJoy 4 жыл бұрын

I love watching about history of something, like history of fridge, tv, contact lens, mp3, mobile phones,toilet bowl , camrea and many more

@arick99 3 жыл бұрын

Same!

@youphirum8030 3 жыл бұрын

Me too!!!

@jomarneverquits 3 жыл бұрын

Me too!

@earlgreyss 2 жыл бұрын

Same!

@lisalegato0109 Жыл бұрын

Same

@JM-xd4xn 2 жыл бұрын

I study music at college and need to do an assignment on how the industry has developed over the years. This video helped a lot, Thankyou.

@chazwolf_ 3 жыл бұрын

this video is really good, showing the major shifts of the industry as a whole. however, i think you brushed off the impact of the ipod and itunes. they were the precursors to modern streaming services, while not being plagued with illegality like napster. plus, it was the newest way to listen portably, removing the need for having a different piece of media for every album or single and just having it on one device. mp3 players changed the game for a short, but very beloved blip in time

@oliverlin6220 2 жыл бұрын

Just to add Philips played a big role in the music industry. They invented the compact cassettes (early 60s) and compact discs (early 80s) and then SACDs & DVDs, though some were co-invented. Philips Records was also one of the biggest labels in classical music and many of the recordings are still considered to be the finest. It's fate was absorbed into Universal Music but the consortium decided to discontinue the brand. It's huge historical recoding repertoire were reissued under other labels. It's really a sad story that Philips declined in the music industry and they eventually sold the business. So does for EMI.

@gtabro1337 3 жыл бұрын

Glad to be one of the non-streamers. All my music may be digital, but I own it, have copied it on multiple hard drives and no corporation can take it away from me by pulling the plug on their service.

@charmelink Жыл бұрын

I know... streaming takes away that empowering feeling of owning your favorite songs and actually having a collection you can be proud of

@anonymouse527 11 ай бұрын

Streaming is basically radio. Except you can control what it's playing. But you can still record it, with a bit more effort than using a tape player+radio combo.

@ananthskumar2654 11 ай бұрын

Well, you can download music on streaming apps too. Also you could enjoy lossless music unlike anywhere else.

@GR-ir2bu 8 ай бұрын

I used to think this way however I have to say that this streaming is now the superior way to experience music. I tried Apple Music again this month and have decided to continue the subscription. No Ads. Audio quality is better than CD now with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. Larger library than your own physical or digital collection. Saves space in house or on hdd. Sync across multiple devices. Lyrics to every song shown in sync with the vocals. Music videos. Radio station. Clean user interface and design. They’re not going to take your music away or remove albums, it’s not like Netflix where a film starts on for a few months and then is removed, the music industry model wouldn’t work that way. There’s one album that had a few ghosted tracks for some odd reason and not sure why, Chris Cornell’s 4cd album for example, so I’d just buy that separately off I desperately wanted it. For the price I used to pay for a cd each month I now get 60 million albums, a convent, more enjoyable experience in higher quality audio with lyrics… it’s a no brainer. Shame I wasted so much time procuring, building and organising a digital library, what a waste of time.

@525Lines 6 жыл бұрын

33 1/3 rpm vinyl disks came out earlier, during WW2, as victory disks, meant to distribute popular music to US troops as a way to help morale.

@gmoney5947 3 жыл бұрын

I mean honestly there’s only one more step and that is instant thought and a song plays in your head. Crazy

@randomami8176 3 жыл бұрын

Im in my fifties. This video is a good quick recollection of music industry stages, but it left out many pieces. Fro example before the 33 rpm disc (aka long playing or LP) there was the 16rpm and 78 rpm discs. Then there was the 45rpm which have 2 songs in each side. I still got many of my original LPs and 45s. Then during that time and before the cassette was mainstream there was also the 8 track, a bulkier tape with 8 songs. Then the cassette 60, 90 and 120 mins became the standard with the intro of the boom box followed by the Walkman. I remember seeing my first CD player in the late 80s, ruled the 90s until Napster and Morpheus came out online. And NOW the rest is history :)

@ThizOne 10 ай бұрын

45’s are the preferred format for releasing music on vinyl nowadays. That is if you want the highest fidelity and the best sound (frequency range).

@sopaman1234 5 ай бұрын

@@ThizOne EXACTLY!!!

@guty3650 3 жыл бұрын

Muy interesante. En que año surgió el sucesor del CD? Creo que no lo dice específicamente

@TheQuestionK 6 жыл бұрын

perfect video for my music final in 2 days

@agod4788 3 жыл бұрын

how'd it go

@elgarsstupans7209 3 жыл бұрын

I still like owning music. Streaming is fine but nothing will replace the feeling of owning a physical copy of CD or a song on hard drive

@heathweather5995 6 жыл бұрын

All of my favorite music listening is on KZfaq.

@jk-474 2 жыл бұрын

CDs were the best of it all. Great sound quality on OG presses, easy to convert digitally to wav and m4a for iPhones and mobile devices. Standout winner to me

@sopaman1234 5 ай бұрын

But the problem with CDs is that after a few years they start to deteriorate

@GODMADEISAAC. 3 жыл бұрын

Such a great video

@c.crespo8196 4 жыл бұрын

What comes right before vinyl cause i got some vinyl looking records from my great grandfather but the material feels almost like stone or slate like a chalk board

@hendrikm9569 4 жыл бұрын

Those are most likely shellac records. They can be played on regular turntables, if those are able to rotate 78 times a minute and have a special needle. I never played one, but there are Videos about those on channels like Vinyl Eyezz. I normally wouldn't want to recommend this channel, because it is so "anti cheap record players", but that guy has some great videos if you are interested in Records.

@claudiasemini1067 9 ай бұрын

📣📣📣There was music before the vinyl record and there will be after digital. The formats will change, but the relationship between musician and listener will not! Music is a universal language and as a listener, I will continue to listen to music that gives me a space that I can go into with my emotions!

@r3dp1ll 6 жыл бұрын

You say something could replace streaming. Any ideas ? Also I believe artists make more money touring than with royalties

@RetroActiveGM 4 жыл бұрын

I don't think streaming can be replaced. I think that's the pinnacle of evolution for music consumption. I think we're just gonna go backwards from here. We've already seen it with the vinyl revival. I think streaming will be combined with physical media somehow, probably through independent servers in homes which provide music to every device you own. I feel like this is a way forward.

@sonnyboy1618 4 жыл бұрын

Only thing that will replace the ability to play any artists music on demand, would be if we were cyborgs linked to a computer that would generate the sounds in a brand new song our brain created from what we most wanted to hear at any time. THATD be huge

@austinjamesgriffen 3 жыл бұрын

I think the application of music will be the next big shift for the industry. Interacting with music through virtual reality will be a very different experience for music listeners.

@Idodo680 3 жыл бұрын

That’s what I was thinking. How can you go further than streaming whatever you want, whenever you went, some even can get to studio recorded quality. But then again I’m sure in every era people think the newest technology is the peak. Guess we’ll have to wait and see

@Jiji-the-cat5425 3 жыл бұрын

I think some sort of usb/MP3 format may come along. I'd like to see albums pre-loaded onto SD Cards be a thing, maybe make the cards bigger, but the general idea is kinda cool. I think it'd be cool to see a CD revival.

@holydigital 3 жыл бұрын

Terrific. Used this for my Year 7 class today, UK.

@aversondelosreyes9968 3 жыл бұрын

I always buy a cd before to listen to music every year from 2011-2014 then at 2014 i use usb and at my phone apple music then i start using spotify year 2018 until now

@HaharuRecords 3 жыл бұрын

Vinyl is the most funky era🤖🐫

@mono8476 3 жыл бұрын

Rly cool. I was curious if there was anything before the record player :)

@CutieRingoJoy 4 жыл бұрын

I grew up with dvds and I will never forget that DVD tv screen bounces

@jaceyvansandt9868 4 жыл бұрын

Good but you skipped a lot and it kinda sucks because I need a full timeline for school but this helped more then the rest of them so thanks so much

@teacherlucas9982 3 жыл бұрын

I guess there won't be anything after streaming, what could there be next?

@SlavicUnionGaming 3 жыл бұрын

Anyone realize that some songs sound better on vinyl than they do on Spotify??

@tmorelli1982 3 жыл бұрын

I think vinyl sounds better than digital in general across the board

@kahyui2486 Жыл бұрын

Because they have different masters. A mastering engineer will make changes for each format.

@federalisticnewyorkians4470 9 ай бұрын

@@tmorelli1982well, no for digital songs they have a lot of distortion and loss of information from the digital to analog conversion. It only sounds better for analog produced music.

@yoryow 3 жыл бұрын

alguien tiene la 1 pls

@FlabbyPigLegs 2 жыл бұрын

It’s hard for me to even imagine what would be the technological breakthrough….possibly virtual? Ugh I like listening to music but i don’t know about being transported virtually to the 1960s.

@mars-jr5uu 2 ай бұрын

Heyoo😊

@ronn3053 2 жыл бұрын

thank you

@jarrydjohnperez6918 4 жыл бұрын

me everytime I dance 3:45

@ghordibarifilms 2 жыл бұрын

@3:03 LUTHER VANDROSS SINGING SONY WALKMAN JINGLE. HE EVEN STARTED OUT ON SESAME STREET AS A SINGER

@shahawndonaldson9674 3 жыл бұрын

Lol,I still have my CD collection plus cassettes and some vinyl,but mostly CD's 💯😎

@marcoproenca5501 Жыл бұрын

what a video, man...

@Artesfol Жыл бұрын

Fun fact: the first portable cassette player was made by a germanic-brazillian man called Andreas Pavel, he even got in judicial fights with sony regarding rights

@GR-ir2bu 8 ай бұрын

I used to think a digital iTunes collection was the best way however I have to say that streaming is now the superior way to experience music. I tried Apple Music again this month and have decided to continue the subscription. No Ads. Audio quality is better than CD now with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. Larger library than your own physical or digital collection. Saves space in house or on hdd. Sync across multiple devices. Lyrics to every song shown in sync with the vocals. Music videos. Radio station. Clean user interface and design. They’re not going to take your music away or remove albums, it’s not like Netflix where a film stays on for a few months and then is removed, the music industry model wouldn’t work that way. There’s one album that had a few ghosted tracks for some odd reason and not sure why, Chris Cornell’s 4cd album for example, so I’d just buy that separately off I desperately wanted it. For the price I used to pay for a cd each month I now get 60 million albums, a convent, more enjoyable experience in higher quality audio with lyrics… it’s a no brainer. Shame I wasted so much time procuring, building and organising a digital library, what a waste of time.

@Atipat12 6 жыл бұрын

Cool

@The_Natalist 8 ай бұрын

I really feel like the MP3 revolution was mishandled, now everything is streaming, and we own nothing and will be told to like it

@The_traintanic 8 ай бұрын

Glad to know About this music the engineering marvel ❤

@adrian___rosas 2 жыл бұрын

Question: what y’all think that it’s going to be the new technology that will revolucionize the music industry ??

@brianhines1452 3 жыл бұрын

I still like CDs and I have a pretty big collection, but I also like KZfaq, Pandora, and Spotify. If y'all notice, Vinyl Records are making a comeback.

@The_Natalist 8 ай бұрын

Cassetes are the akward middle child that will be left behind

@recordprefect4284 11 ай бұрын

They missed out on 60 years of recording technology... shellac aka 78rpm records were popular from 1900 to the late 50s.

@Guitarist888 3 жыл бұрын

If I brought it, I OWN it!

@zivyitzhak4980 3 жыл бұрын

The ending was sad. #bringbackCDs

@magnumopiss244 2 жыл бұрын

ok boomer

@nahheyheyhoorayjames7290 6 жыл бұрын

G.morning to ALL

@X0TrueAlpha0X 4 жыл бұрын

The only thing I trust from WSJ

@bgimusic 5 жыл бұрын

great video!

@tieshabrown1583 3 жыл бұрын

It’s the face for me😂 but yeah I agree it was a good video,I’m not trying to make fun of you so please don’t be offended

@bgimusic 3 жыл бұрын

@@tieshabrown1583 lol yesss haha I don't know what I was reacting to when I took that picture :p

@mars-jr5uu 2 ай бұрын

@@bgimusichii😊

@QFGEE 3 жыл бұрын

3:08 for de lolz

@sumanthbhat1041 10 ай бұрын

whatever may come but nothing lasts best as Records LPs etc

@matthewperry5154 2 жыл бұрын

Good video but should have addressed radio, its one of the most enduring forms of music consumption

@SlavicUnionGaming 3 жыл бұрын

Why is there no blu ray CD format??? It would give the music industry a chance to shove more songs onto a CD and jack the price up?

@JK-eq7tl 2 жыл бұрын

industries generally want to jack the prices up without providing more content

@popmashups6568 Жыл бұрын

I think the force of streaming lies in other things than only generating revenue. It's the new radio, without all the annoying parts.

@ygomango9263 Жыл бұрын

i have a media sac abt this tysm alot of info in a super concise manner

@QwartzBeat 5 ай бұрын

The music industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past century, evolving from bulky phonographs playing vinyl records to digital streaming services like Spotify. The rise of recorded music in the late 1800s revolutionized the way people listened to and consumed music. The introduction of compact discs (CDs) in the 1980s further advanced this evolution by offering higher sound quality than vinyl records while being more durable than cassettes. However, it was with the advent of digital music in the late 1990s that the industry experienced a major disruption. Napster, the first peer-to-peer file-sharing service, allowed users to share music files online without any restrictions or fees. This led to a surge in piracy, causing significant losses for the music industry. In response, major labels and music streaming services like Spotify emerged, offering legal and convenient alternatives to piracy. Today, streaming services like Spotify have become the dominant force in the music industry, with over 158 million active users as of 2021. The rise of streaming has also led to a shift in the way music is consumed, with playlists and algorithms replacing traditional album releases as the primary mode of music discovery. As technology continues to evolve, it is clear that the music industry will continue to adapt and innovate, with new trends and platforms emerging to shape the future of music consumption.

@CimarronHopper 2 ай бұрын

Its funny how you got one important fact wrong many many people still buy vinyl records thank you vary much vinyl has a warmth a real live feeling to it no cd or mp3 can compare to no matter how updated they are

@Always1Elvis 4 ай бұрын

Spotify is all great and such. But when you wake up and want to listen to your favorite album only to find out it isn't there anyone jmis just really, really frustrating to say the least. When you own a record, it's yours to keep and knowing that it's there when you want to listen to it and it always will.

@DieDeutscheWochenschau 3 жыл бұрын

You completely skipped magnetic big Tapes as well as MiniDisc. Booh!

@benjaminlibertarianscorpio Жыл бұрын

Apple actually relieved the record companies. They would not even exist in 2023 without Apple.

@gonzalogarcia717 3 жыл бұрын

Yo solo le pedi un lapiz

@TonyJuanPailos Жыл бұрын

6:05 smart observation, seeing how we are now entering the age of AI for the next 10 or 20 years

@roachkid2818 2 жыл бұрын

Music is so powerful It can break through the boundaries of the law

@madeasimmons9746 9 ай бұрын

Interesting

@alexanderwesner9980 2 жыл бұрын

do you think Drayke is a musician ?

@delsongalasinao706 2 жыл бұрын

But for me I'm a big fan of vinyl and CDs.

@dizmix 8 ай бұрын

The market size is over $30B. Double when CDs peaked...

@adnanehajjiya7659 5 жыл бұрын

Maybe Vinyl Or Cd will come back

@adnanehajjiya7659 5 жыл бұрын

@Timothy Nickles 2 the VHS fan yeeah that's a fact

@CheeseMan78 4 жыл бұрын

Vinyl has already come back

@hemprope4326 4 жыл бұрын

@@CheeseMan78 It needs to stay!

@hoogreg 3 жыл бұрын

@@CheeseMan78 It comes back every three years, just like clockwork.

@aribmunjalgo503 2 жыл бұрын

whoa

@aribmunjalgo503 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah whoa

@julietcunningham852 3 жыл бұрын

Your example is poor. I attended a meeting of a group of sound engineers (I forget their official name). They recorded a brass quartet, playing a march, on an Edison machine, and then played it back. The sound quality was great. Of course, the sound quality would get a little worse every additional time you played it.

@BillyVon69 10 ай бұрын

Only 200k+ views?! Really!!!?

@kosojmshj5564 2 жыл бұрын

is that something big ?

@CutieRingoJoy 4 жыл бұрын

I don’t know Spotify until 2017

@loweenagonasegaran9794 3 жыл бұрын

Me too 😂 I first started using spotify in 2018 😂😂

@abhinavchoudhury7000 Жыл бұрын

Me in 2020

@venenoso2637 3 жыл бұрын

Mano esto si me interesa

@guty3650 3 жыл бұрын

X2 mano. Sólo que no entiendo casi mucho el english XD

@balisong46 2 жыл бұрын

What's a drake?

@randomchanel7198 4 жыл бұрын

Heyy LimeWire

@dexterjames9074 6 жыл бұрын

WSJ has expended it's resources to make people be aware and think. Make that money from advertisement at the same time.

@junaidsiddiquemusic 2 жыл бұрын

I still use CDs 💿

@ronanzann4851 2 ай бұрын

It's also disgusting how easily history is turned into a balloon animal ! When magnetic tape was "introduced", you better fuck'n believe it was a "GAME CHANGER" ! And I don't believe it was RCA either. I think it was BASF, a german industrial powerhouse in the late 1930's. If your interested in the history of music, you need to know about the advent of tape. It definitely changed the world !

@pewgarpolls 7 ай бұрын

doesn't include 8-track

@nazrinlatiff2148 6 жыл бұрын

what?!

@077di6 4 жыл бұрын

Not only the formats are smaller but the profit of the artists too and those media controlers intentions are to move the artist completely from the scene. now they are the products, but soon they will be gone.that is why they make american idol and x factor for example, artsits come and go and fast forgaten. it's part of their plan to vanish them, and publish AI music instead. that is how they will make profit without having to pay the artist. they already began promoting AI "musician" even with concerts in Japan, but it's only experimental, they have advanced AI musicians already, they just need to preper themselfes so they could convince the consumers to buy it.

@kosojmshj5564 2 жыл бұрын

they show me bad and my family very bad on tv show from young age

@herrheynaerklarts1607 4 ай бұрын

And I´m just sitting there listening to vinyl and cassette. Sorry not sorry XD

@tieshabrown1583 3 жыл бұрын

I’m watching this for school,I’m shocked at what I’m seeing rn,That girl voice is on point,it has THE Drake in it,and it’s very interesting.I’m glad my teacher made me watch it.

@wonucantseewithouthisglasses 2 жыл бұрын

here bcs of assignment

@avtips4779 2 жыл бұрын

Cassettes clearly the best

@_de_reve 7 ай бұрын

I thought you would mention the Gramophon, the actual first player of music. It was a German invention and such the 'Deutsche Gramophon' is the first music company. Maybe because it doesn't give Americans the attention you didn't mention it in this video.