Media Diary Of Everyday Life And Technology
I need a media diary of everyday life and technology.
This essay requires two things – an engagement with the module material and research (This is really important, i will upload 3 articles which are core readings of my module, please make sure to read them carefully. The music one is especially important! )
Please choose one music phone app from “Spotify” and “Netease Cloud Music” to analyse. You can analyse it from some angles which are related to the core readings I uploaded. For a diary concerned with everyday life it is really important to think about the context for listening to music. For example, you record your one day that you were spending about eight hours simply listening attentively to music, but I imagine that you were doing a host of other things at the same time. It would be the interactions, the changes in attention, that would be important.
I will also upload 2 examples, please read them carefully as well. You can learn how they analyse their chosen app, the format and angles they used.
Information about annotated media diary:
This can take many forms. You are encouraged to think of your own way of presenting the material, and of gathering the material. The diary (which might be ‘actuality’ or ‘ethno-fiction’, and might be based on you or someone else) should be fieldwork of some form. It shouldn’t take the form of an essay but should be data, bringing together material and references to the reading. The simplest way of doing this is to think of it as the day in the life of a media/technology-using creature, but you might also want to think of doing it in other ways (a day in the life of a ‘family’ computer, for instance). The point of the exercise is to collect empirical information and to connect this to the issues that we have been addressing in the module. You should aim to investigate the rhythms of media use embedded in the everyday.
If it helps you, you could think of your essay in a variety of ways:
:Issue-based: identify the issue that you think is most interesting a productive (dailiness, or domesticity, or distraction for instance) and then identify the technology and/or media that you think is going to make this issue most vivid. Your research would need to pursue the issue (i.e. what else has been written about domesticity that might be useful in this context) and to study the specific media-techs you are looking at (this might be historical, via representation, small-scale ethnography, etc.)
Object-based: here you might want to start with the media-tech that you think is particularly interesting (or weird, or awkward, whatever). The crucial think here would be to provide the most productive description of it and how it connects to the everyday. Then out of this descriptive analysis you could choose a specific issue or set of issues that you let the object dialogue with.
Other based: this is open (of course). You might want to pick up on something from the worksheets, or devise your own project. It might have to do with a method more than an object or an issue (small scale ethnography, for instance). It might start with a place (the media technology of a kitchen, for instance), or of a communicative forum (weather forecasts, for instance). You might want to make this a particularly creative piece. While this allows you to be very free you still need to follow the main ingredients – engagement with ideas, and your own research.
If you don't want to write about music phone app and have any other good ideas about other technologies, or you have some questions about this work, please send me a message as soon as possible. Thank you sooooo much!
Introduction
Technology has changed the manner in which entertainment, information, news or any other message is conveyed. The technological innovations have made it possible for any information to flow at a fast speed that too at a low cost (Mehraj et al., 2014). The technological advancements in media have brought along significant changes in entertainment media as not only the manner in which the people consume media has changed, but several new businesses have also been created (Saveri, 2003). One such technological advancement is Spotify, which has transformed the manner in which music is consumed.
Unlike other forms of media and entertainment (like televisions, plays, concerts, and movies), music can be consumed easily- it can be listened to anywhere, even while undertaking everyday activities including exercising, travelling, and shopping. In addition, unlike visual media which requires more attention, listening to music can be easily done in our daily lives (Saveri, 2003). The impact of music in our lives is not confined to entertainment but it can also impact the outcome of the activity which is being undertaken as it plays an important role in influencing the emotions and feelings of an individual (Crafts et al., 1993).
The above arguments are applicable in my case as well as I listen to music on a regular basis- As suggested by DeNora (2000), listening to music has become an integral part of the lives of many, including me, which can be attributed to several technological advancements that have changed the manner in which music is consumed. A recent technological advancement which is impacting everyday life is Spotify.
However, there is a need to examine the role of technological advancement in our daily lives, for which I will analyse the impact of Spotify on my music consumption and overall daily life. As part of this analysis, I will first develop a relevant theoretical framework and then will connect my case with the theoretical framework.
Literature Review
Prior to presenting the role played by Spotify in my life, there is a need to develop a theoretical framework to understand how technology has influenced the consumption of music and also understand the role of music in everyday life.
Technology and Consumption of Music
North and Hargreaves (1996) argued that over the last two centuries, the manner in which the music is listened to, engaged with, and valued, has changed in a drastic manner due to various technological innovations- In the earlier part of last century, the music was available only in the form of live music which was played in concerts, theatres, and other social gatherings. At that point in time, the value of music was much higher than it is today, and the music composer was considered to be high on the social hierarchy. With the mass media development in the latter part of the last century, the music was more readily and widely available, and therefore lost its aesthetic value. The music was looked at as a commodity which could be produced, distributed, and consumed. In addition, the context in which the music was listened to became diverse and varied- The value associated with a musical experience became highly dependent on the context. For example- orchestra and audience in a concert hall and DJ and audience in a night club. In addition, the musical experience has also changed in terms of its value and nature in the past twenty years primarily due to the technological devolvement and as a result, several different genres and styles are available which can be listened to using multiple ways- The traditional way of listening music in restaurants, shops, and other commercial environments is still prevalent, however, the music is now primarily consumed actively through mediums like internet, iPod, mobile phones, and other media. This has resulted in music being listened to on a more frequent basis in comparison to earlier times. Users have now control over their music as it can be listened to in the car, at home, while travelling while exercising or while undertaking any other everyday activity. In addition, it can also be used to fulfil different psychological needs- it can influence the intensity of emotions and also change the mood state. This has resulted in the music being seen as a resource and not just as a commodity anymore. The above is possible primarily because of the various technological advancements that have changed the manner in which the music is consumed (North and Hargraves, 1996).
Whilst North and Hargreaves (1996) argued that the value of listening to music is dependent on location, medium, nature of transmission, frequency of occurrence, and nature of music, Hallam et al. (2009) argued that there are total eight dimensions of music, which were impacted by the technological advancements in music consumption- The first dimension refers to the frequency of occurrence, which is concerned with how frequently a user listens to music. Many users tend to listen to music all throughout the day whilst some may listen to music at specific periods of time. The technological advancements in music consumption have resulted in the music frequency being increased as music can be easily consumed now as per the willingness of the user. The second dimension refers to the ordinariness or special context of music. Some music is listened during a special context like a function or an event and might not be listened to in ordinary situations. The technological advancements in music consumption have resulted in users having easy access to different kinds of music (based on their context) and which the user can store in different playlists. The third dimension refers to the emotions generated by the music (usual or memorable) like people tend to think about their loved ones when they listen to a romantic song or about a particular friend or family member if the music signifies a similar relationship. The technological advancements in music consumption have resulted in people being easily able to access the kind of music they want to listen to. The fourth dimension is the location of occurrence of music- the music may be listened at home, at a club, at a concert, and via headphones/earphones. The technological advancements in music consumption have made location-specific factors redundant to an extent as people can now listen to any music at any location. The fifth dimension is the circumstances of exposure, which refers to the willingness a user has to listen to a particular music- At public places like clubs, restaurants, and concerts, users cannot control what type of music is being played, however at their home, cars, and on their phones, users have a control on the type of music being played. The technological advancements in music consumption have transformed the act of listening to music into a personal experience as people can now have strong control over what kind of music they are listening to. The sixth dimension is the nature of transmission- Nowadays, most of the music is pre-recorded and is listened by the users as per their convenience. However, it does not mean that users do not listen to live music as live music is available at concerts and clubs (where artists perform). The technological advancements in music consumption have widened the choice which people now have as they can listen to pre-recorded music at their will without even waiting for the artist to perform for them to listen to the music. The seventh dimension is the centrality of the music to the experience, which determines the role played by the music in the activity being undertaken by the user- In a concert, the primary purpose is to listen to music, but at a restaurant, the primary purpose is to have food and the purpose of the music is to improve the ambience. The technological advancements in music consumption have diluted the centrality of the music to any experience as people can now easily listen to music in their everyday lives. The eighth dimension is the nature of music, which is crucial as there are several genres in music. The technological advancements in music consumption have made it easy for people to listen to different genres as per their will, thereby increasing the choice which people have. Thus, various technological advancements in music consumption have impacted the user behaviour regarding the above dimensions of value of music, which infers that there is an impact of technology on everyday lives as well.
The above-discussed technological advancements in music have changed the manner in which music is consumed, however, the impact of technological advancement is not confined to music consumption, but overall life as the music plays an integral part in everyday life (discussed later in this section). One such medium which has become a part of my everyday life is Spotify, the importance of which is discussed next.
About Spotify
As discussed earlier, the way in which music is consumed has changed over time, primarily due to the various technological innovations, with the latest trend in music being online streaming. Spotify is a platform for music streaming which allows the users to listen to music which is purchased on a royalty basis from music companies and record labels. The platform provides a freemium service, where basic features (like listening to music) are available for free, however, the users have to watch the advertisements. Once a user opts for a paid subscription, additional features (like improved streaming quality) can be experienced. Spotify has access to forty million music tracks and as of April 2019, there are over 217 million active users of which 100 million are paid subscribers. The platform allows the users to browse for music by using several parameters like artist, album, and genre. In addition, users can also create, edit, and share playlists (Spotify, 2019).
Lewis (2009) suggested that in 2009, Spotify was considered to be the ‘future of music’ as it was rapidly expanding its user base and it was relying on the rapid growth in mobile technology which along with the declining cost of mobile data, was expected to ease the access to Spotify through mobile phones. Luckerson (2015) argued that there are three main reasons which have helped Spotify to build a strong customer base- First, the interface is really user-friendly. Second, it can be accessed through multiple devices. Third, it allows new artists to gain recognition through its ‘discover weekly’ playlist. This playlist is curated by Spotify on the basis of its understanding of its user about listening to music based on genre.
Despite all the rapid success, Spotify has received constant criticism as it has been often described as a modern form of piracy. Piracy in music is not a new phenomenon and at a basic level, it means that the music is listened to without the artist receiving reasonable payment for it. The form of piracy has changed along with various technological innovations- The earliest form of piracy was when people recorded music on cassette tapes, whilst the music was being played on the radio. Then, along with CDs becoming a preferred choice for music, people started burning them to create a copy. To avoid the above situation, the CDs were coded so that they are not played on computers. With technological innovations, the music became available online and it was considered that music stores like iTunes (which provided music at the cheap rate) would be able to reduce the piracy. However, with music becoming available online, piracy became easier than ever before. This could be attributed to the fact that there are many streaming services like Spotify which offer music to its customers for free. The underlying reason is that copyrights and royalty rules have not been updated in line with the advancement of technology in music consumption. Another ground for criticism against Spotify is that the payment it offers to the artists is much lower than that demanded by them (Gardner, 2015). Another ground for criticism is that the company is reducing subscription options which a user has - Earlier Spotify offered three subscriptions options- free, unlimited, and premium. The unlimited subscription model had no advertisements (unlike free subscription) but did not allow for offline content (unlike premium subscription). The company removed the unlimited subscription as it wanted to move its users to the premium subscription service (Gilmour, 2016).
Influence of Music in different situations
Mohana (2018) argued that the effect of music consumption is not limited to keeping oneself engaged- whether sitting idly or undertaking any activity. Mohana (2018) also argued that emotions and decision making can be influenced by listening to music- North and Hargreaves (1998) analysed the impact of music on buying decision taken by...