Science Fiction’s Impact on the World Wide Web

Science fiction never predicted the internet; but it may have had a hand in its creation. In this paper, I intend to show how science fiction authors have been prefiguring aspects of the internet since long before its inception. This paper begins with a short summary of the story, “A Logic Named Joe”. Published in 1946, the story is astonishing in the way its inhabitants unknowingly seem to live the very technologically dependent lives that we lead today. I will then use this summary and several other examples to prove the assertion that much of what the internet has become today exists in part because of science fiction.

“A Logic Named Joe” was written by William F. Jenkins under the pen name Murray Leinster. It is important to understand that in Jenkin’s time, “computers were colossal machines that could only be afforded by corporations and governments.”¹ The story follows an unnamed protagonist (occasionally called “Ducky”) who helps maintain “Logics” - machines that conveniently satisfy all the information and entertainment needs of the modern household. Logics are linked together and also linked to “Tanks” containing information. The following excerpt describes the capabilities of logics:

Say you punch Station SNAFU on your logic. Relays in the tank take over an’ whatever vision-program SNAFU is telecastin’ comes on your logic’s screen. Or you punch ‘Sally Hancock’s Phone’ an’ the screen blinks and sputters an’ you’re hooked up with the logic in her house an’ if somebody answers you got a vision-phone connection. But besides that, if you punch for the weather forecast or who won today’s race at Hialeah or who was the mistress of the White House during’ Garfield’s administration or what is PDQ and R sellin’ for today, that comes on the screen too. The relays in the tank do it. The tank is a big buildin’ full of all the facts in creation an’ all the recorded telecast that ever was made – an’ it’s hooked in with all the other tanks all over the country²

            Several technologies of today are instantly recognizable in this story. The logics described, complete with keyboard and screen and links to communication and entertainment services are nothing else but the modern internet-connected personal computers of today. Without meaning to, the author has in a few lines synopsized the exact functions that websites like Google, online encyclopedias like Wikipedia, visual channels such as YouTube, and communication tools such as Skype perform. Information about the stock market and access to historical data are readily available. Sports reports and television shows are downloadable and can be viewed by all. Only a change in terminology seems to differentiate our world from that of the story.       

Into this technologically advanced world comes a particular Logic (whom the protagonist calls Joe) of the assembly line that by completely random and unlikely chance seems to show some awareness of its purpose. As a machine, Joe’s only desire is to do his job well, and he endeavors to do so by linking up and synthesizing heretofore unlinked information. He is soon broadcasting his services to the world: “If you want to do something and don’t know how to do it – ask your logic!” As a machine, Joe lacks morals and social etiquette and is soon seen wreaking havoc due to his candid and matter of fact solutions to not only questions asked in jest, but even to those about murder, counterfeiting and mischief in general. For example:

This fella punches, “How can I get rid of my wife?” Just for the fun of it. The screen is blank for half a second. Then comes a flash. “Service question: Is she blonde or brunette?” He hollers to us an’ we come look. He punches, “Blonde.” There’s another brief pause. Then the screen says, “Hexymetacryloaminoacetine is a constituent of green shoe polish. Take home a frozen meal including dried pea soup. Hexymetacryloaminoacetine  is a selective poison which is fatal to blond females but not to brunettes or males of any coloring. This fact has not been brought out by human experimentation, but is a product of logics service. You cannot be convicted of murder. It is improbable that you will be suspected.³

Logic maintenance people race to find what is causing this unintended service.  In the end, the protagonist manages to deduce Joe’s location. He finds Joe and turns him off. He hides the now turned off logic in his basement. “A Logic Named Joe” has been called one of the most prescient stories ever published.

In the story we see what the author calls a ‘visual-phone connection’⁴, when the protagonist through Joe’s meddling is forced to confront his black widow type ex–girlfriend on his logic screen. This is just one of the many instances in which science fiction provides examples of a globally connected community. From sci-fi classics like “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” (as well as several others) we are all familiar with the holograms of characters being transported across the light years to talk to their contemporaries as if they were standing right beside them. Even telepathy is a common theme in science fiction dealing with a whole other form of human being who can communicate and control with his mind. Though, not outwardly obvious, science fiction thus helped fuel the desire in human beings to communicate with those another in another part of the world, as and when required. Thus though science fiction had no obvious effects on the tools available for global communication today (such as email, video conferencing etc.), their birth arguably were not serendipitous moments but pre-planned and expected. They were born out of necessity: a necessity that science fiction helped fuel.

Fig 1: Hologram of Princess Leia (Star Wars,1977, http://allanjosephbatac.com/blog/2008/05/star-wars-hologram-communication-now-a-reality.html)

There comes a point in the story, where Joe, having access to people’s salaries, bank accounts starts spewing out the minutest details of their lives to the general public. This highlights another recurring theme in science fiction: the idea that in the future individual privacy will cease to exist. Think about Facebook for instance. We never truly own the content we put up on Facebook. Professional work, information, phone numbers and photographs can be stolen in an instant. Though we reserve the right to delete a page, we can never be completely sure that it is gone forever. “Facebook, in the end, is just an internet tool, meant for socializing. It should be approached with caution; caution that is vindicated every time we here of someone creating a fake account.”⁵ In today’s world Joe spewing out information about the protagonist’s wife could be equivalent to a simply attentive Facebook user with a sinister motive in mind. Science fiction stories also talk in length about the all-seeing-eye, an entity that knows everything about you and can use that knowledge to bring about your downfall. “The Net could be said to comprise of a plethora of all-see-eyes. Our actions are tracked and collated for various purposes – some governmental, some commercial and some criminal.”⁶

How would one define Joe in a modern context? The answer: a virus. Even early science fiction authors who extrapolated complex systems of technology knew that every system would have bugs. They also deduced that bugs could be created deliberately to make intelligent machines go mad when the need arose, a story line that science fiction has fact played to death (HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Skynet in the Terminator franchise etc.).  Thus Joe, who is essentially a virus, is unscrupulously used to glean information about others along with countless other illegal activities. Though written in in a humorous fashion, one cannot help but feel a little dread when the author describes how, during the short time Joe was active, elitist groups, robbers and even murderers came to commit several ‘perfect’ crimes with his help. Even months after Joe was disconnected, many of the perpetrators remained at large. Joe’s advice was so perfect that a fourteen year old was able to create the “simplest, neatest and most efficient counterfeitin’(sic) device yet known to science.”⁷ Thus the very personalities and attitudes which undermine new technology can be attributed in some way to fears that science fiction has created. 

Even the basic concepts of file sharing were introduced by science fiction, albeit in a much more fantastical fashion. Science fiction is rife with the idea of “direct transfer of information or experience to the human mind.”⁸ a variation to what has now become the almost daily act of downloading off the Net. Science fiction authors however always surrounded such information transfer with varying degrees of danger, and the protagonists seldom proceeds with the process unless required to out of necessity. Often characters who partake in these transfers find themselves suffering from serious side effects. With illicit material, viruses and spyware only a click away, most downloaders would do well to learn from such cautionary tales.

The most interesting point brought up by “A Logic Named Joe” is probably how the author highlights the extent of the dependency of his storys’ society on the system of logics, tanks and relays. When the frantic protagonist asks a technician at the tank to shut the system down, the technician responds :

‘Shut down the tank? […] Does it occur to you, fella, that the tank has being doin’ all the computin’ for every business office for years? […] Listen, fella! Logics changed civilization. Logics are civilization!’⁹

The implications of these statements are positively chilling. As a global community exactly how dependent are we on the internet? The answer: too much. A collapse of the internet would result in worldwide chaos. Giant companies and corporations like Google, Microsoft and Amazon would shut down in a matter of days. Industries would collapse. Thousands of people would be unemployed. Llong distance communication, including basic cell phone services would become obsolete (the cell phone infrastructure is heavily dependent on the internet). There would be losses of trillions of dollars and the global economy would decline. Luckily though, it is virtually impossible to shut down the internet completely. It is a collection of millions of computational systems all over the world, and is an entity that is always changing. Thus unless there was a near total devastation may be by an asteroid colliding into the earth or boiling lava engulfing it’s entire surface, the internet’s future seems secure. If on the other hand, if such a scenario were to occur, we would probably have bigger things to worry about. It is interesting to note that in this science fiction is simply giving tangible form to an issue that has been around for centuries. Humanity has pretty much always been dependent on technology, as it has improved.

            Towards the end of the story we have the protagonist pondering whether he should reboot Joe and use him for his own ulterior motives allowing himself to amass possible infinite wealth and everlasting life or whether he should take an ax to it to destroy its dangerous potential. “It’s a pretty good world, now Joe’s turned off. Maybe I’ll turn him on long enough to learn how to stay in it.”¹⁰ The final sentence of the story repeats a fear that science fiction has echoed throughout the course of its history. A fear that we all possess, to varying degrees. As we age, and as technology grows, will there come a time where we will simply be left behind? We are familiar with the worlds of older generations who regard the computer, something we hold so dear, as just a ‘new fangled’ creation, one which they do not even strive to understand. As the years pass, will all of us eventually share the same fate of simply standing by the while technology marches on?

            I hope through this paper I have been able to show you how the World Wide Web as we know it today is mirrored in the science fiction of earlier times. Though not outwardly obvious, , many of the aspects of the internet were preconceived by  imaginative writers. Subtly these ideas have travelled from generation to generation affecting who we are and what we have come to expect from the technology surrounding us. Had science fiction never existed , the internet would probably have been a very very different place.

           

Notes

1.       Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro, “Murray Leinster and a Logic Named Joe” , http://books.google.com/books?id=nL5Rx4Iknn4C&pg=PA54&dq=a+logic+named+joe&hl=en&ei=lcS8TsmaFcm2tweko9HSBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=a%20logic%20named%20joe&f=false (accessed November  10, 2011)

2.       Murray Leinster, “A Logic Named Joe” Astounding Science-Fiction,37 June 1946, 45

3.       Ibid.

4.       Ibid.

5.       Bob Al-Greene, “With Facebook comes a loss of identity” Daily Nebraskan, January 12,2009, http://www.dailynebraskan.com/a-e/al-greene-and-pluhacek-with-facebook-comes-a-loss-of-identity-1.1296549#.TrzV-UP7jop (accessed November 9, 2011).

6.       Kirk Hampton and Carol Mackay “The Internet and the Anagogical Myths of Science Fiction, ” in Science Fiction and the Prediction of the Future, ed. Gary WestFahl, Wong Kin Yuen and Amy Kit-Sze Chan(North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011), 41.

7.       Leinster, “A Logic Named Joe”

8.       Kirk Hampton and Carol Mackay “The Internet and the Anagogical Myths of Science Fiction”

9.       Leinster, “A Logic Named Joe”

10.   Ibid.

The Evolution of the Written Word and its Implications: Focus on Instant Messaging

Hey guys, here's a research paper I wrote about Electronics Communications and, more specifically, instant messaging. This is way too long and formal for a blog post, but I figured it'd be nice to share. Here goes:

In the 1956 novel The Naked Sun, author Isaac Asimov envisioned a futuristic world where people would very rarely communicate face-to-face; instead, they would communicate with each other from long distances through holographic images. While society today has not quite reached the level of holograms, it is slowly inching toward this seemingly eminent future. Communication has grown from its primitive stages of merely face-to-face conversations to the ability to instantaneously connect with a person across the globe. After the advent of industry and electronics, the rapid growth of telecommunications—information transfer over various technologies—thus ensued, and the traditional methods of communication were replaced by their high-tech alternatives. Between telegraphs, emails, text messages, and instant messages, this relatively short period of time has given birth to a wide assortment of new technologies, each advancing the world of communication. Of these, instant messaging has exhibited particularly rapid growth, and through its multifarious uses, could potentially be a key player in the communication of tomorrow.

Communication began in its more primitive form as simply face-to-face speaking and has evolved into the wide-stretching telecommunications of today. Early communities were forced to work together—and thus communicate—in order to survive. As time went on, a written language was created to keep records and facilitate long distance communication. Letter writing became the norm, and efficient long distance communication had been achieved. This increase in distance, however, came at the expense of response time. Letters written and sent out would require weeks and sometimes even months for a response. As technologies became more sophisticated, each subsequent installment in the evolution of communication sought to achieve one of two criteria: increase the communicable distance or decrease the waiting time necessary for feedback.[1] As this evolution unfolded, letters became telegraphs, telegraphs became faxes, faxes became emails, and now, emails are currently becoming text messages and instant messages, where communicative distance is nearly infinite and feedback time is nearly instantaneous.

The shift from spoken to written language created a rift between the two variations of a single language. Writing provided many new luxuries to communication, a major perk being increased durability of the message. From a historical context, letters were far more efficient than human messengers in long distance communication in that a written message would not in any way be distorted. Likewise, even in present-day, emails and text messages preserve messages much better than telephone calls. On the other hand, writing is not quite the same as speaking. The written word naturally comes as more formal and structured, whereas the spoken word is naturally more spontaneous and nonchalant. Josef Essberger of EnglishClub.com dissects this dichotomy into simple terms: the spoken word is the true language, and the written word is simply a representation of the true language.[2] For example, learning to speak is nearly automatic, while learning to read and write is a difficult skill that must be taught—that in itself supports the idea that writing is simply a representation of speaking.[3]

As the world stands today, society has adopted telecommunications as a vital part of its typical communication, employing primarily email, text messaging, and instant messaging. For years, business owners have heavily integrated email into their companies. Anita Campbell of smallbiztrends.com explains that in 2007, over 80% of small business owners saw email as a key to their success.[4] However, recall Naomi Baron’s theory on telecommunications.[5] When applied to email, the theory shows that email is still not an ideal means of communication because while communicable distance is nearly infinite, feedback time is still not instantaneous.

Thus, this has given way to instant messaging. Instant messaging fits Baron’s theory to its finest—nearly infinite communicable distance and, as the name implies, instant feedback. Companies still rely heavily on email, however, and the nearly ubiquitous BlackBerry-sporting businessmen are a testament to this. As instant messaging matures in the world of telecommunications, it will likely integrate deeply into the business world. Leslie Walker of The Washington Post has found that nearly a third of business owners are adopting instant messaging and are making a concerted effort to gain business value out of it.[6] While the long term business uses of instant messaging are still uncertain, it has already crept into the practices of certain large companies. For example, many companies now offer an online instant messaging alternative to traditional call-in customer service. Instant messaging in this case retains the immediate feedback and long-distance communication as with call-in customer service, but it also entails more punctual messages in that typical barriers to communication—accents, misunderstood words, etc.—are eliminated.

Of course, the better known uses of instant messaging are the day-to-day communications between teenagers in particular. Spawning from the early days of AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger, instant messaging between teenagers has produced the infamous LOLs and BRBs that are now all too common in written speech.[7] Pew Internet & American Life Project’s Amanda Lenhart polled teens on the topic of instant messaging and found that they are partial to the technology because of the informality of it.[8] This fusion between the written quality of email and the casual quality of speaking brought instant messaging to the mainstream. Dr. Yifeng Hu and her peers from the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication have brought to light the relationship between instant messaging and personal relationships.[9] They found that, contrary to popular belief, instant messaging actually promotes intimacy between people. This is because frequent conversations online create a greater desire to meet the person face-to-face.[10] This thinking has since been implemented into the multitude of dating sites on the Web, bringing together the social side of instant messaging together with the business side previously explained.

Over the years, instant messaging has proven itself to be a major player in the development of telecommunications within the past decade, but its future remains in question. As explained earlier, instant messaging can be viewed from two perspectives—a business side and a casual, social side. From a business perspective, as Leslie Walker stated, business are seeking to better integrate instant messaging into their companies to seek profits.[11] From a social perspective, instant messaging has made long distance communication fast and efficient, and its devout users have brought their own acronym-based flare to the English language. However, the future is a bit uncertain. Since business owners are keen on the use of instant messaging, a sudden disappearance of it is highly unlikely. The capricious use of various day-to-day telecommunications brings a bit of uncertainty to the future of instant messaging. As technologies continue to evolve and improve, social networks are beginning to offer instant messaging features, blurring the boundaries of social networking and instant messaging, and thus making accurate statistics difficult to obtain. Another important issue concerning instant messaging is the advent of text messaging. As mobile phones have become smarter and more capable, text messaging has taken the best qualities of instant messaging—large communicable distance and short feedback time—and bundled them together along with mobility. In Amanda Lenhart’s study, she found that 54% of teens texted, while only 24% used instant messaging software (bear in mind this number is likely slightly skewed due to aforementioned blurred boundaries with social networking), perhaps indicating a shift in communication preference.

Technology as a whole has greatly impacted communication among people; however, the greatest growth of communication has come fairly recently with the advent of electronics. Written telecommunications—email, instant messaging, and text messaging—have taken the front stage; however, the dichotomy between speaking and writing still keeps phone calls a close competitor. Nevertheless, whether spoken or written, the future looks to entail less and less face-to-face interactions. Even by just 1998, Michael Kinsley, editor of the Microsoft interactive magazine, was surprised when he joined the team to find that hearing the phone ring was a rare occurrence.[12] Today, with growing numbers of teens owning cellphones and text messaging and instant messaging on the rise, face-to-face interactions seem to be on a lifeline. As time progresses, technology will undoubtedly continue to impact communications and bring about new means of communicating with one another. Perhaps Isaac Asimov truly was a fortune teller in his 1956 novel, and one day in the near future, face-to-face interactions will indeed become a thing of the past.

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1. Naomi S. Baron, “Instant Messaging and the Future of Language,” Communications of the ACM, 48, no. 7 (2005): 29-31, accessed November 5, 2011, http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wie/teaching/masters/newtech/readings/im_and_future_of_language.pdf

2. Josef Essberger, “Speaking versus Writing,” EnglishClub.com, last modified 2001, http://www.englishclub.com/esl-articles/200108.htm

3. See note 2 above.

4. Anita Campbell, “Email Right to Privacy—Why Small Businesses Care,” Small Business Trends, last modified June 19, 2007, http://smallbiztrends.com/2007/06/email-has-right-to-privacy-why-small-businesses-care.html

5. See note 1 above.

6. Leslie Walker, “Instant Messaging Is Growing Up, Going to Work,” The Washington Post (2011): URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54261-2004Sep1.html

7. Naomi S. Baron, “Letters by phone or speech by other means: the linguistics of email” Language & Communication 18 (1998): 133-170, accessed October 17, 2011, http://american.edu/cas/lfs/faculty-docs/upload/Letters-by-Phone-1.pdf

8. Amanda Lenhart, “Teens, Cell Phones and Texting.” Pew Internet & American Life Project (2010), accessed October 18, 2011, http://bcsdcybercrimes.com/Documents/Teens,%20Cell%20Phones%20and%20Texting.pdf

9. Yifeng Hu and Jacqueline Fowler Wood and Vivian Smith and Navola Westbrook, “Friendships through IM: Examining the Relationship between Instant Messaging and Intimacy,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10, no. 1 (2004): 00, doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2004.tb00231.x

10. See note 9 above.

11. See note 6 above.

12. See note 1 above.

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

The Surfacing of Online File-Sharing and its Impact on the Music Industry

The introduction of file-sharing networks across the internet has increased the amount of music that is not only viewed, but purchased as well. Thirty years ago, the music industry was comprised of bands that relied on company labels to market their music through cassette and compact disc sales. The same principles are true to modern recording artists, however, there are some newer implementations of the music realm that have changed the way music is listened to and purchased. Online file-sharing networks now allow people to access music files without purchase of any physical compact discs from record stores. Music can now be downloaded – whether it be purchased or illegally downloaded for free – to blank discs or the ever-popular MP3. The shift has gone from physical albums in record stores to digital downloads from sites across the internet.

Like all countries across Europe and Asia, music has rooted itself into American society. European music landed on American soil from across the sea with the use of woodwinds and stringed instruments. With more immigrants landing in America from all corners of the world, regional styles began to develop. The only way to listen to music prior to the 20th century was by live performances – concerts, music festivals, or in private. The first radio to broadcast aired in 1920, creating a new medium in the way music could be listened. The radio industry exploded, with millions of radios being added to houses and automobiles. The radio provided music to the public in a free format and was the first form that allowed almost constant access to music at any time of day. Other mediums sprang up years later to broaden the way music could be viewed.

The development of better technologies in the music industry gave Americans the opportunity to purchase music from specific artists and bands rather than be restricted by playlists of the radio. The record first appeared in 1948 by Columbia Records and was the new standard for the music industry. Less than 20 years later in 1964, the compact cassette found its way into the hands of American music fans. The LP record and cassette tape accounted for the sale of hundreds of millions of units from their introduction to the end of the 1990s – a number of almost 3 albums per capita of the American public[1]. The compact disc was somewhat forced into the music world, taking the place of the LP record which were removed from music store shelves[2]. Compact disc sales increased from their rise in popularity in the mid 1980s to 1998, where sales began to slow[3]. The music industry virtually had control over the form of medium that Americans purchased, indicated by the sale of billions of compact discs to date. These physical mediums were – like live concerts in the 19th century – the only ways music could be listened to, purchased, and shared. The latest way that music can be purchased is virtually, having the capability of being downloaded online. The introduction into the digital realm gave birth to a new way music could be purchased through the file-sharing network.

File-sharing networks are the latest addition to the medium that music can be viewed. These peer-to-peer file-sharing programs have gained a tremendous following as the largest provider of music to the American public. Napster was released in 1999 and more networks followed including Gnutella, eDonkey2000, Kazaa, and Freenet. The amount of users on these networks increased exponentially.

Once files started appearing on the internet, they were quickly viewed as the new breakthrough medium in which music could be viewed. The timeline of music mediums has seen a new development almost every 20 years – radio in the 1920s, LP records in the late 1940s, cassettes in the 1960s, compact discs in the 1980s, and mp3s with online music in the early 2000s. Each medium has seen increases in sales after each new product gained popularity (a period ranging from 5-10 years after its original introduction.) LP record single sales saw the highest sale in 1973 with 225 million units sold. The LP fell dropped from the leading amount of single unit sales to cassettes in 1990, with cassettes dropping to CDs in 1998[4]. Compact disc complete albums rose to almost $10 billion in the late 1990s[5]. When file-sharing networks began emerging in 2000, online sale of music became the preferred standard. File-sharing networks have given opportunities to music viewers that the others before it could not offer.

When music entered the digital format, the public was exposed to a format unlike any of the previous formats. The mp3 player offered a handheld, portable music box that was capable of downloading compacted files. Mp3 players are just like cassette players and CD players in that they operate off of a certain format of music (cassette, compact disc, or data compression files.) Apple’s iPod has sold between 6 and 11 million units per fiscal quarter since 2005, a popular mp3 player with sleek design, simple use, and portability[6]. Bulky CD players were replaced with players that could fit in a pocket. Not only was the device itself more convenient to use, but the mp3 player could store huge quantities of music with no discs necessary. Unlike CD players, the mp3 player could store hundreds or even thousands of songs on a device much smaller than one that played a 10-12 track compact disc. Compact discs were quintessentially not necessary for the music viewer after the mp3 player gained popularity. Although music was rapidly going digital, compact discs were not forgotten about.

The move of music to the digital realm promoted the purchase of music media. The Chicago band Wilco experienced a speed bump when Warner Music Group dropped the band after lack of interest in their upcoming album[7]. The band’s album later was leaked onto file-sharing networks for free download. When the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released, digital sales were double that of Summerteeth, the band’s previous album[8]. Wilco’s example is not always typical, but definitely not what was expected. The access to free music should have a negative impact on an artist, however, the opposite is usually true for lesser known artists.

Independent record labels have begun to replace major music labels. Independent labels (dubbed Indie) function on a more directly-to-the-consumer approach[9]. Unlike major music companies that pick and choose the albums that they put to their name, indie bands create music the way they want to. While many young artists begin with independent labels to get their music career rolling, a shift has begun to take place as artists either stay with independent labels or move from a major label to an independent label. Indie labels give way to more creative music, not being restricted by the desires of a major music label.

Independent labels give its artists more profit than a larger label, as made apparent by the now returned-indie band Barenaked Ladies. The middleman is nearly cut out from the equation, generating a larger sum of money for artists. The artist can sell directly to the fans, not bound by contract. Profit from Barenaked Ladies albums went up to almost $6, as opposed to $2 when with Warner Music Group[10]. To gain more fans and ultimately sell more CDs, concert tickets, and merchandise, artists of the indie realm have to be intimate with their fans. Blog postings, photo-shoots, and interactive music videos are examples of how Barenaked Ladies maintains a solid fan base in America[11]. Another important aspect for the survival of the indie artist is to give free music sample options to fans. Myspace, ringtones, Youtube music videos, and free downloads get viewers interested in upcoming releases[12]. Allowing music to be released on the internet without charge allows for more creative and cultural experiences for genres of music.

Promotional tools were key to the success of music of artists. Despite radio being free, people were willing to buy albums with familiar songs, making the radio the earliest, unintentional promotional tool for music purchases[13]. Blank compact cassettes were often times used to record live concerts, a common practice at Grateful Dead concerts in the late 1960s. This practice was kept alive by many of the band's groupies, called “Deadheads,” for the band's 30 year career[14]. The Grateful Dead encouraged recording of concerts and trading of cassettes among fans – album sales did not suffer as a result and the band’s music was able to be spread between large numbers of listeners[15]. Present day, file-sharing networks are now the biggest (and baddest) of the “promotional” tools for the purchase of media on the internet giving Americans virtually free music to download. Although this method is deemed responsible for the decline of compact disc sales in the United States, smaller label independent labels are reaping the benefits – artists do not have to deal with major labels and the advertising associated with it[16]. Download sales of indie artists make up for the lack of advertisement, as the band makes much more per album. Though allowing for the free-roam of music files on the internet aids in the selling of indie albums, larger music corporations are less fortunate.

Online file-sharing networks gave Americans something they had not experienced since the radio – free access to music. Downloading of music on the internet can be found for free, without the need for blank CDs or cassette tapes necessary from previous years. Reports show that in 2003, 60 million Americans obtained music through file-sharing networks[17] and in 2006, more than half of the music acquired was not paid for[18]. College students aged 18-24 used to be the music industry's biggest customers, but has been devastated as of late by college students showing the greatest increase in use of free music[19]. The record companies are responsible for forcing the compact disc down the throats of the American public. This in-turn led to the “ripping” of music onto computers so it could be dispersed on the internet – an action highly regretted by the major record companies[20]. The internet is a substantial piece of technology that allows files to be spread all over the world. Once music reached the internet, it spread like wildfire.

Though sampling helps in the promotion of independent labels, major labels blame file-sharing networks for the decrease of album sales. Napster fell under fire in 2000 by A&M Records for copyright infringement, resulting in the shutting-down of the network[21]. Other networks like Limewire, eDonkey2000, and Supernova.org have had to shut down after facing lawsuits, or to avoid lawsuits[22]. Despite allegations by the Recording Industry Association of America, Jupiter Research found that 34% of veteran file-sharers spend more on music now than before free music sampling – as opposed to the 14% that said they spend less[23]. Over 1 billion files are available for download on peer-to-peer networks. These networks offer versions in which files can be purchased – these versions allow better access to downloads, quicker downloads, and more hosts to download from.

Compact disc sales are seeing a decrease in sales but file-sharing networks are not completely responsible for the decline. Mp3 players make it possible to purchase music without the need of a physical CD. Older audiences still value physical albums, but the younger generation has been hooked-and-baited by digital media[24]. The compact disc industry may be a dying breed in the midst of other mediums growing in popularity. Video games, DVDs, and cell phones contribute to the taking away of CD sales[25]. The more people spend on these three items, the less they have for compact discs, something that can easily be found online for lesser costs. The new technologies available today for the modern viewer do not require compact discs. Record companies can argue that mp3 devices compact music, leaving out “unnecessary” audio sounds while CDs provide a better-than-free means of music viewing[26]. The truth of the matter is, now that Americans have the option of getting music digitally, the compact disc and other physical mediums of music may start to be put on the shelves to make way for the mp3 player and the file-sharing network.

File-sharing networks have spawned a digital-age revolution that no longer requires the consumption of physical mediums of music. In the last century, the choices of music media have changed significantly. With music going digital, the death of the major music label is a lingering possibility in the near future, with more and more artists shifting to independent labels, not only for more money but a broader audience as well. The entrance of file-sharing networks online are the new standard – they are already on the internet and the results have to be accepted for they are irreversible. Digital music and the mp3 player will soon be the replacement of stereos and compact discs.

I have put the citations listed in the comments. I hope you enjoyed the reading.

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