3.)  As I learn more about the history of music, I clearly see the changes and
enhancements throughout the years.  It started out with only one general form of
music and has evolved into numerous amounts of styles and genres.  The music
industry is constantly finding new ways to keep the audience interested and
promote new artists and forms of music.  They are always looking for new artists
that the audience will fall in love with. As a business, music is something that
people will always enjoy and be willing to spend money on if it is something
that interests them.  I feel the popularity of different styles of music will
continue to emerge and generate sales in music stores, iTunes, and more.  From
looking at the history of music we can see how there are always new styles,
artists, and ideas being introduced to the world.  Music is not a phase that
people will move on from in the future.  There are styles for all ages and
preferences, which makes music an ongoing business.  Many artists today use
music to tell stories of their lives’ or something that interests them.  It is
their way to get heard by the public, and people enjoy listening and relating to
their different stories.  Many artists also use their life experiences to create
music from the heart, which is something the audience enjoys to listen to.  Many
artists also incorporate their beliefs and politics into their music as well. 
They will express how they feel on a certain issue or event going on in politics
and the world today or something that has occurred in the past that has
influenced their life.  I feel music is a great way for people to come together
and relate to songs’ meanings and thoughts throughout the world.

2.)    Throughout the years technology has continued to advance trying to help
make our lives easier and faster.  This included playing and recording music on
CD drives built into computers and also allowed to send and receive music
quickly and easily over the Internet.  One of the first popular programs was
called Napster, created by Shawn Fanning.  This program let people send and
receive songs as music files using the Internet.  This program, along with
others, were allowing this exchange to be done for free, which caused copyright
violations and companies urged programs like Napster to be shut down.  Artists
felt this was a copyright issue because instead of going out and buying their
album, people could download to songs for free and put them on a CD themselves. 
However, some artists began to look at the Internet as a way to reach their fans
on popular social networks, such as MySpace.  The record industry then slowly
began to allow people to download music from the Internet for a charge.  One
very popular download service today is iTunes Music Store.  Almost all labels
can be found and downloaded from iTunes for a certain price per song.  However,
there is now an argument between Apple and labels on how much to charge per
download.  However, many labels agreed to only because copyright on songs was
protected and could only be copied onto a limited number of computers and CD’s. 
However, it is still easy to find programs to download music for free,
therefore, the copyright issues will never completely be solved with all the
loopholes on the Internet today.

1.)    Rock music’s earliest songs originated from blues, for example, Big Mama
Thornton’s “Hound Dog”, that Elvis covered in later years.  With the racial
issues in the past, black stations and race records weren’t popular from the
beginning.  Only until white audiences started to listen to R&B singers and
black stations is when it finally began to market this kind of music.  R&B and
soul music became very popular and was the majority of what audiences listened
to.  This gave a rise to Motown and the Temptations, which was a large part of
the 1960s.  However, because of the racial issues, the only time black music was
heard was when a white artist covered it, which is when an artist performed
others’ songs.  When this became popular, radio stations and recording labels
started to create new genres and formats that included rhythm and blues, and
rock and roll.  So regardless of the racial differences, “black” stations became
known for their unique and rhythm-filled style of music, even though white
artists were covering the songs.  The radio became a marketing and promotional
device to introduce new music and help sell records.  By the early1960s,
audiences were listening to same mix of rock and roll, pop, and R&B.  However,
by the mid 1960s some artists and groups began to find the format of the songs
constraining, only allowing a limit of 45 rpm.  The Beatles, with help from
their producer, created arrangements with segments and instruments.  Others
began to do the same, creating longer songs, and even including electric
guitars, like Bob Dylan did for his rock album Highway 61 Revised (1965).  After
this exploration, radio stations separated this kind of music into different
rock formats, such as rock oldies, heavy metal, disco, and more.  Between the
1970’s and the 1990’s more and more sub genres were being introduced, such as
glam rock, reggae, techno, hip hop, punk, and many more that are very popular
today.

Do you think new regulation would be justified to break up large radio groups and make radio a more local medium again? Please justify you examples from radio history?

I believe that new regulation can break up large radio stations and force them to change their ways in which that are used to.  For example the FCC controls what is to be talked about and in what manner.  There is a very popular example of the radio talk show Howard stern and how he left the radio because of how he was being negatively affected.  A new regulation consists of up to a $325,000 fine per incident of each show.  Howard stern went to satellite radio instead because he disagreed upon how he should run his show.  A big question comes about in everyone’s mind and it talk about the diversity out there.  Is there enough?  I believe so, but some don’t.  There are a number of different ways to access different radio station or radio talk shows.  You can either use the internet, satellite, or even the old fashioned radio.  Another big issue is freedom of speech and it goes back to the FCC and their regulation of the radio.   Speech that is inappropriate or the use of language that others may find offensive is restricted now whereas it never used to be.  I believe that this is making the radio more common.  As I mentioned before people are asking is there enough diversity out there some say yes others say no.  I could now understand those who say no because of these new regulations.  They are making everything the same in one way or another.  Radio owners are not entirely free to do what they want with their own station.  There are now a set of rules and regulation everyone has to abide by.

How does the history of radio help us understand internet radio, podcasting, and other audio media are going to develop as commercial forms? As political forms? As artistic forms?

The history of radio helps us understand how all audio media are transforming and becoming more commercial whereas in the past it was the opposite. For example talk radio has evolved significantly from broadcasting multiple things: news, sports, weather.  This was never the case in the past because you would have a radio station specifically for one of those; you would not have a radio station with everything together.  When talking about music and what people like to hear now days the research is the most important factor because if people do not like what is on the radio they will not be listening to what you are playing.  Radio stations had to become more commercial in order to be competitive.  As far as artistic goes in today’s society we radio station that talk about politics all day and these radio stations are growing because of people’s interest in the political matters.  People do like to know what is going on and if we cant provide that in a way that make sit convenient for people to listen we will lose that segment of audience.  When we think about the history of everything we see how far we have come in technology to now be able to access a radio from your desktop or even a cell phone.  In the artistic sense everyone has their own opinion of what is artistic and what is not. So many will say that music is artistic and has been ever since it was created, but then again people can say talk radio has an artistic sense too.  As far as the history of audio media I feel like it is going to keep expanding and growing into a powerhouse whether it’s talk radio, internet radio, or podcasting. 

Why do the authors say that the web is dead? Summarize how the authors characterize the following three media companies-Facebook, Google, and Apple, and what are the key issues facing new media today?

The authors explain that the web is dead because apps are taking over the technological world. For example, instead of going to Google and looking up a specific company or entertainment site there are now simple apps that take you directly to where you want to be. “Blame human nature. As much as we intellectually appreciate openness, at the end of the day we favor the easiest path”. Like the author said, we are interested in doing things easier and faster. New things are always coming out so now-a-day’s no one is getting used to one thing, they are just trying to adapt and keep up with what’s going to come out next. The authors mention three of the biggest companies out right now: Facebook, Apple, and Google. These three companies are considered the high powers of the internet because Google controls traffic and sales. Apple controls everything because whether it is the iPad or the iPhone, everything is accessible from their products. Facebook stated off slowly, but was surely bound for success. At first you just needed an e-mail address from a university and now it grew into an empire where you can use any email address to sign up. Another way the author talks about Facebook expanding was that now people put up all types of news and information on the site. This makes everything easier so you don’t have to exit Facebook to access something even if it is not directly related. Certain issues that surround new media today are that most powers that come about are concerned about making money and as the author mentioned, “Hard to make a buck”. These new powers are about money instead of how they are being heard. In a business view they are saying the web hasn’t worked at times, therefore, they have to find a better way to get what they want and when they want it.

How does media have an affect on our careers?

 Media affects corporations and has a significant impact on people’s careers. Many years ago people were reached by mass communication where now-a-days it is not so much a mass communication world. People are more occupied in digital ways of learning instead of the newspaper and television. New advances like watching a biography when you want and how you want. Many people don’t want to wait until the program is aired. It is more about the demand of when you want it, not when it is convenient for a network to air it. There are different ways to look up sport statistics, entertainment, and even shop all over the internet. On the career side, since mass media is constantly changing it is hard to get a job in this specific market. A good thing is that if you have a brilliant media idea it can be worth a lot of money. For example, Facebook shortly blew up into a billion dollar corporation because it was a brilliant idea and his plan was something that everyone wanted and was looking for. The new media business world is like anything else because it can work for you or against you. There are many opportunities in this field that you just have to put time into what you are doing and you have to know what you want. In this economic crisis it makes jobs even more competitive and challenging for those seeking opportunities in this market. New media is an everlasting market that will change from time to time and everyday there will be new advances that we will have to settle in with.

How does media affect the society?

Media is changing the world, whether we like it or not, we have to be prepared to adapt with this new age of technology. For example, many years ago if you wanted to go on the internet or do anything else we would have to be home on a desktop computer. In today’s society everything is done on your cell phone, including the internet and a majority of things that many years ago could not be done with a handheld device. Media is changing society rapidly because every college student has, at one time or another used an iPod, Facebook, or a new technological invention. Big media have become less and less dominant because of the internet and homemade videos that people post rather than copyrighted ones from big companies. Technology is not only changing individuals’ lives, but also major corporations. For example, a few years back and still today during this hard economic time, new media has helped make for a better business world because instead of going to get a newspaper, it is available online, which many people take advantage of. Also, companies like Apple, iTunes, Google, and TiVo have emerged because of this new age of media coming about that made it easier and more convenient to use. Media technologies and advances in technology are changing society as we know it because it is creating a new life for us. This includes social issues, new jobs, and new entertainment.