Apple announced on Tuesday that it will stop producing the iPod, the trend-setting MP3 player that transformed how people get music, on the back of its capabilities that are now available across Apple’s entire product.
According to the organisation, this development has come after several groundbreaking discoveries in the technology sector.
Steve Jobs, late Apple co-founder, introduced the devices in 2005, with his legendary showmanship flair, and the small, easy to operate player helped the company revolutionize how music was sold.
Music is a part of everyday life for people all over the world. As technology advances, being able to listen to music has become easier than ever. Today, the iPod has struggled to remain relevant due to increasing dominance of streaming technology.
The iPod had come on the heels of the Phonograph, Vinyl, RCA magnetic Tape, Sony walkman commercial, and the cassette tape. Below are a highlight of the evolution of music technologies.
The Phonograph 1877
This was the start of it all, the phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison. This was the first method of recording and playing sound. For the first time people could listen to music from the comfort of their homes, and also be shared and sold. As the phonograph’s popularity grew a few enterprising Americans came together to form what is now known today as Columbia Records.
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The Gramophone 1887
Emile Berliner invented the Gramophone, the first device to play a disk of recorded music, in 1887. The gramophone made music accessible.it was originally made of glass, then zinc and eventually plastic.
The Vinyl 1948
In 1948, Columbia Records introduced Vinyl, an analog music storage device capable of long play, allowing for multiple songs on one record. Vinyl remained the dominant recording format for most of the 20th century. As rock and roll, blues and country kicked off sales boomed and albums sold out.
RCA magnetic Tape 1958
RCA introduced its Sound Tape cartridge, a magnetic tape audio format, in 1958. Sound Tapes were designed to be more convenient than open reel as they avoided the need to thread tape into the machine. RCA was able to record music on a smaller device for greater portability and inspired a series of innovations. Vinyl’s adoption by car makers ensured a quick rise in the tape’s popularity.
Sony walkman commercial 1978
The Sony walkman allowed listeners to take the music with them anywhere. After a disappointing first month of sales, the Walkman went on to become one of Sony’s most successful brands of all time.
The cassette tape 1994
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette, also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. The cassette tape was very popular with teenagers due to its novelty and the fact that it could be used to record personalized music collections.
iPod 2001
The first Ipod was released in 2001 by Apple. Over 7years, 14 different versions of the ipod have been introduced. It all began with the classic. First 3 classic ranged between 5 and 40GB and can hold photos, music and videos. It also offers WIFI and Multi tough interface.
Streaming
Today, we now have streaming platforms which have taken over all other means of listening to music. Live and video on demand(VOD) Streaming is now ingrained into everyday life.
Live streaming has transformed into one of the most popular forms of broadcasting. Top companies like Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, and others have been benefiting from live streaming for years now. Not to mention the huge impact of Covid 19 on our society, which has led to a lot of people working and studying from home.
