Music on the Go: The Evolution of Portable Music Players

Music and culture and bound together. We are born with the ability to hear and
produce sounds. But the pivotal moment came when we turned into the society of recipients.
tarting in the second half of the !"th century# people have been able to own portable audio
devices# which evolved considerably since then. With the wor$ of gifted inventors# bul$y
record players transformed into handy# poc$et%si&ed gadgets. These devices revolutioni&ed the
world and their cultural impact continues to be invaluable. 'rom the phonograph to the iPod#
from analogue to digital# we have come a long way.
The (ourney begins with Thomas )lva Edison who first conceived the principle of
recording and reproducing sound as a byproduct of playing bac$ recorded telegraph messages.
*is invention of the first phonograph was announced on +ovember !,# ,-... The recordings
played on such a device consisted of waveforms that were engraved onto a rotating cylinder
or disc. )s it rotated# a needle traced the waveforms and vibrated to reproduce the recorded
sound waves.
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The Graphophone was the name and trademar$ of an improved version of the
phonograph. /t was invented at the 0olta 1aboratory established by )le2ander Graham Bell in
Washington# 3.4.# 5nited tates. oon# on +ovember - ,--.# Emile Berliner patented a
successful system of sound recording. *e was the first inventor who started recording on flat
dis$s or records# usually made of glass# later &inc# and eventually plastic. /n the long run# both
the phonograph and the graphophone allowed people to hear things that they would have
never heard otherwise. This included speeches# advertisements but also various forms of
entertainment# primarily music. People now had a more thorough understanding of the world
in which they lived than ever before. What is interesting# the invention of the cylinder
phonograph at the end of the nineteenth century opened up a new world for cultural research.
Edison6s tal$ing machine became one of the basic tools of anthropology. Ethnographers
grasped its huge potential and fanned out through regional )merica to record rituals# stories#
word lists# and songs in isolated cultures.
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/n ,-78 /talian inventor Guglielmo Marconi built the e9uipment and transmitted
electrical signals through the air from one end of his house to the other# and then from the
house to the garden. These e2periments were# in effect# the beggining of practical wireless
radio. *owever# it was not untill ,78: that his ideas were implemented into a portable device.
The real transformation came when a transistor radio was introduced. /t was a small portable
1 Young, J. Lewis. Edison and his phonograph,. Bournemouth: Talking Machine Review, 197. 1!"1#.
$ Bra%&, 'rika. () Magic *+eaking ,-.ect.( /n A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed
Ethnography. Jackson: 0niversit& 1ress o2 Mississi++i, 1999. $7"#1.
1
receiver which became the most popular electronic communication device in history# with
billions manufactured during the ,7;"s and ,7."s. The use of transistors instead of vacuum
tubes as the amplifier elements meant that the device was much smaller# re9uired far less
power to operate than a tube radio# and was more shoc$%resistant. The typical portable tube
radio of the fifties was about the si&e and weight of a lunchbo2# and contained several heavy#
non%rechargeable batteries. 1isteners sometimes held an entire transistor radio directly against
the side of the head# with the spea$er against the ear# to minimi&e the distortions caused by the
high resonant fre9uency of its small spea$er enclosure. Most radios included earphone (ac$s
and came with single earphones that provided only low%9uality sound reproduction. Transistor
radios had an e2traordinary cultural impact on Western consumers# enabling the rise of roc$ n<
roll music among a booming population of teenagers. ince for the first time they had
disposable income# they could afford their own radios. The increased communication also led
to a surge of new trends. 1iberal ideas and fashions emerged to flourish during the ,7;"s.
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,7;"s also saw a turning point in the evolution of tape players. Eight%trac$ tape was
popular in the 5nited tates from the mid%,7;"s through to the early ,7-"s. /ts popularity
grew from the booming automobile industry. /n eptember ,7;8# 'ord Motor 4ompany
introduced factory%installed eight%trac$ tape players as an option on three of its ,7;; models %
Mustang# Thunderbird# and 1incoln.
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The format gained steady popularity because of its
convenience and portability. /n addition# home players were introduced in ,7;; and they
allowed consumers to share tapes between their homes and portable systems. With the
availability of cartridge systems for the home# consumers started thin$ing of eight%trac$s as a
viable alternative to vinyl records# not only as a convenience for the car.
*owever# the introduction of pre%recorded music tapes in the late ,7;"s opened a
whole distinctly new mar$et. People still chose to listen to vinyl records over cassettes at
home# but the compact si&e of tapes made them more conducive to car stereos and mobility
than vinyl or eight%trac$s. >n ?uly ,# ,7.7# ony 4orp. introduced the ony Wal$man TP%
1!. ony says that they managed to sell over :"" million Wal$mans worldwide until March
!","# and e2actly !""#"!"#""" of those were cassette%based models. ony Wal$man<s success
was so huge that a term @The Wal$man Effect@ was coined. /n ,7-: huhei *oso$awa
published an article in which he defined it as a disconnection between the Wal$man user and
his or her environment. *e e2amined the Wal$man as more of a cultural ob(ect with its
3 Bor%owit4, 5ank. Turning points in rock and roll: the key events that affected popular usic in the
latter half of the !"th century. 6ew York: 7ita%el 1ress, $!. #"7.
! 8ale&, 8an. ()u%io )rcheolog&.9eight track recor%ers:.( Tape#$isc %usiness, 6ovem-er 1, 1999. 1;"
$$.
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relationships with the user rather than as a technological artifact. The Wal$man caused the
user to be at the intersection of two different spaces# such as in between media and physical
space.
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Paul 3u Gay further elaborated on *oso$awa<s ideas pointing to the social and
cultural impact of the Wal$man:
The e2perience of listening to your Wal$man is intensely insular. /t signals a
desire to cut yourself off from the rest of the world at the touch of the button.
Aou close your eyes and you could be anywhere B...C The problem is though#
the society is e2tremely wary of people who want to disengage themselves
from the rest of the world. Those who do not wish to (oin in.
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Through the Wal$man e2ample the author shows how and why cultural practices came to play
such a crucial role in modern societies. This shift in personal electronics and audio created a
great cultural change. Within the ne2t decade the Wal$man would influence almost every
facet of everyday life# from driving and commuting# to leisure activities# and sports.
Miniaturi&ation that began with the release of the Wal$man encouraged e2ecutives at
ony to invent a compact disc player to achieve same aims. The first of such devices was
introduced in the mar$et in ,7-! and was called 43P%,",. The head of Engineering
3evelopment 3epartment# Datsua$i Tsurushima came up with an idea to create a portable 43
player in ,7-=. The 3%8" nic$named 3iscman was ony6s first portable 43 player. /t had a
list of disadvantages# though. 43 players were highly vulnerable to s$ipping in the early days.
5sing this first generation 3iscman while on the move re9uired very careful wal$ing# (ogging
and other similar activities.
By the late# ,7-"s as audio cassettes were being displaced by 43s# ony began to
develop the Minidisc % a ne2t%generation portable audio device. 1aunched in ,77!# it met with
great success in ?apan but had lac$luster reception in the 5nited tates# where fewer than
8"#""" units were sold in its first year. /n an attempt to overcome this# ony reduced prices
and launched several ma(or# but unsuccessful# mar$eting campaigns. The Minidisc came on
the mar$et at a time when several competing formats were also being introduced# such as
digital compact cassettes. 1ater in the ,77"s# recordable and rewritable 43s both with new
file formats came onto the mar$et# further diminishing the Minidisc6s mar$et share.
The MP= file format revolutioni&ed music distribution in the late ,77"s# when file%
swapping services and the first portable MP= players made their debut. The MP= compression
# 5osokawa, *huhei. (The <alkman '22ect.( Popular &usic ! 919;!:: 1=#.
= >a&, 1aul. $oing cultural studies: the story of the Sony Walkan. Lon%on: *age, in association with
The ,+en 0niversit&, 1997.
3
system reduced the number of bytes in a song# while retaining sound that is near 43%9uality.
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The first commercially released personal music player capable of handling MP= files was the
MPMan ',"# manufactured by Dorea6s aehan /nformation ystems and launched in March
,77-. The '," contained =!MB of 'lash storage# enough for a handful of songs encoded at
,!-DbEs. /t connected to an old%style parallel port on the host P4 from which songs could be
copied to the player. There was a tiny 143 on the front to give an indication as to what you
were listening to. aehan /nformation made use of the new format# implemented
revolutionary features to its product and met the customer<s needs. Fon )dner in his boo$
called The Wide Lens: What Successful Innovators See That Others Miss discusses the
features of MPMan and lin$s the popularity of MP= players to the broader /nternet access
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aehan saw the mar$et# delivered the product# embraced the right file format#
and did it all before the competition B...C The MPMan and its $in may have
gotten there early# but they faced crucial co%innovation challenges that stymied
mass adoption. /t didn<t matter that MPMan was first B...C Without the e2tensive
access to MP=s and broadband# the value proposition could not come together.
B)dner# :!C
>ne has to remember that MP= format is e2ceptionally functional. >n the computer#
users can either upload their favorite 43s that can then be downloaded onto the MP= player
or they can purchase songs online and then download them to the unit. But aside from the
convenience in downloading# the MP= music player is universally revered for its portability. /t
can be plugged into your vehicle and played through your car6s audio system# plugged into
headphones and played while you e2ercise# or into portable spea$ers and played throughout
your home. 5ndoubtedly# MP= became world6s most common format for recorded audio and
changed the place of digital technologies in the larger universe of twentieth%century
communication history.
5ndoubtedly# the beginning of new digital era is dated on >ctober !=# !"", when
)pple 4omputers publicly announced their portable music digital player % the iPod# created
under pro(ect codename 3ulcimer. The iPod line came from )pple6s digital hub category#
when the company began creating software for the growing mar$et of personal digital
7 *terne, Jonathan. &P': the eaning of a forat. 8urham: 8uke 0niversit& 1ress, $1$. ;"9.
; )%ner, Ron. The wide lens: what successful innovators see that others iss. Rev. +-k. e%. 6ew
York: 1ort2olio 1enguin, $13. !$.
!
devices. The company found e2isting digital music players to big and inconvenient so )pple
decided to develop its own product. ince then# )merica has never been the same. +or have
its people# according to author teven 1evy
7
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+o one e2pected that there would be maga&ine covers and front%page
newspaper stories proclaiming this an GiPod nation.< +o one predicted that
listening to the iPod would dethrone 9uaffing beer as the most popular activity
for undergraduate college students. )nd certainly no one thought that the name
of this tiny computer B...C would become an appellation to describe an entire
generation. B1evy# !C
The iPod6s simple interface was optimi&ed for music playing and the scroll%wheel
button let users easily move through large playlists. There are no unnecessary accents# (ust
one single element to navigate intuitively through the product6s entire music library. The real
advantage of the iPod was its integration with iTunes. 5nli$e other MP= players# which
re9uired users to drag music files into folders# iTunes allowed you to sync your music
automatically to an iPod. )pple<s integration of hardware and software made the user
e2perience much easier than what other devices of the time offered. But the iPod changed the
world of music in another way too: it brought the idea of shuffling to the listeners. With the
iPod and iTunes you can listen to music at random. /nstead of ma$ing choices# you can let the
device choose what to play. /f it is not enough# the newest )pple devices support video
playbac$ and image viewing# /nternet access# wireless# and parental control settings.
To each invention there is a cultural and social follow%up. This was the case with
Edison<s phonograph# ,78: radio transmitter# ony Wal$man and 3iscman# MP= players# or
the iPod. We cannot imagine our daily routine without technology. Even worse# we are
addicted to it. *owever# music has always been a part of human civili&ation. )lthough there
are serious drawbac$s of using portable audio players in the public sphere# they opened up the
world of sounds to those who would never have a chance to e2perience it.
9 Lev&, *teven. The perfect thing: how the iPod shuffles coerce, culture, and coolness. 6ew York:
*imon ? *chuster, $=. $.
#
Bibliography
)%ner, Ron. The wide lens: what successful innovators see that others iss. Rev. +-k. e%. 6ew York:
1ort2olio 1enguin, $13.
Bor%owit4, 5ank. Turning points in rock and roll: the key events that affected popular usic in the
latter half of the !"th century. 6ew York: 7ita%el 1ress, $!.
Bra%&, 'rika. () Magic *+eaking ,-.ect.( /n A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed
Ethnography. Jackson: 0niversit& 1ress o2 Mississi++i, 1999.
8ale&, 8an. ()u%io )rcheolog&.9eight track recor%ers:.( Tape#$isc %usiness, 6ovem-er 1, 1999.
>a&, 1aul. $oing cultural studies: the story of the Sony Walkan. Lon%on: *age, in association with
The ,+en 0niversit&, 1997.
5osokawa, *huhei. (The <alkman '22ect.( Popular &usic ! 919;!:.
Lev&, *teven. The perfect thing: how the iPod shuffles coerce, culture, and coolness. 6ew York:
*imon ? *chuster, $=.
*terne, Jonathan. &P': the eaning of a forat. 8urham: 8uke 0niversit& 1ress, $1$.
Young, J. Lewis. Edison and his phonograph,. Bournemouth: Talking Machine Review, 197.
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