Apple iPod and the Change in Culture Industry

This is an assignment I wrote 2 years ago, now that I read it, I realize it is not written well but since its mine I post it:

With the rise of the Apple iPod, a device as big as a pack of cigarettes, which stores all the music one owns, a new shift in the culture of the music listening occurred which was mainly due to the technological advances of the iPod. Analyzing the whole notion of the iPod and other Apple concepts which are related to it, in the perspective of four different media analysts, Walter Benjamin, Horkhiemer and Adorno and Brecht, enables me to explore this concept, considering different aspects of it.

Considering the usage of the iPod, it has totally changed the way one experiences music, and as it is dependant on the reproduced music, the whole notion of the “aura” is misplaced. As soon as an album is released, people around the world have access to it and can easily listen to it through their white headphones. Taking into account the advances in the technical means of reproduction, and the arrival of the digital technology, where the copy is almost indistinguishable from the original, still the reproduced copy lacks the whole concept of the uniqueness of a live performance (original), and its presence in time and space, even though with devices like iPod we can experience any music, anywhere that we can think of.

The other reason why Apple iPod functions against the idea of “aura” is that it has a quality which erases the “distance”, and brings the music to the mass “closer” in a way which is much more effective than any other music player device introduced earlier. It was not long before that audience had to go to a concert hall to hear an orchestrated symphony, where now they can listen to the same music while walking from work to home. And this raises the whole controversy about the way we shall experience music and how the environment effects our perception of a song.

Although a concert is viewed by a large number of people, but considering this in a larger scale it is hidden from the mass, and this is why a live performance has it cult value and is still attended by a large number, although the same music is “exhibited” through distribution.

Apple iPod and the new technical progresses in the consumption of music have also had an impact on the production as well. First, the size of the audience is increased massively and it has become universal due to the new ways of distribution (i.e., iTunes). Secondly, as the aud

ience of a technically reproduced music is separated from the “original” they take the position of a critic. Thirdly, as I mentioned above the whole way of experiencing music is changed. The musician must also consider the fact that his music is going to be played everywhere, and it will be carried with people all the time.

We can also take into deliberation the concept of the “aura” in the perspective of the way iPod is advertised. The fact that each iPod contains the music, which belongs to a certain taste of a particular consumer, makes the product unique and creates an aura. Also the new features like engraving any message one wants on the back of his/her iPod add another kind of exclusivity to the device.

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The new methods of online distribution of music has made it possible for the musicians to get the feedback they need so fast, that it has made the iPod an apparatus of communication rather than an apparatus of distribution.

Also the new technological advanced features like the Pod cast, which is particularly developed for iPod is exactly the kind of the radio that Brecht was dreaming of, where everyone is a distributor as well as receiver, teachers as well as pupils.

Considering the two ideas mentioned above, this new way of communication has also effected the production of the media as well. The quality of the productions is going to increase, as the producer is always fed with the feedback that is coming from an audience, whom due to the qualities of reproduction are taking the position of critics. In addition to that, because the quantity of the production is increased, as everybody transmits his/her own show as well, a kind of competition will be fashioned, that will have a direct impact on the excellence of different programs whether professional or amateur.

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In the perspective of Horkhiemer and Adorno’s Culture Industry, the whole concept of the Apple iPod is debatable in the way Apple promotes and advertises its products, and tries to establish a new “style” or in other words culture.

In terms of the iPods advertisement Apple has used all of its power and intelligence in order to create a market for iPod. Their major goal in this area, I believe, is to “manufacture” a need for the product, or at least create an illusion of a need, using different methods. First, they have used any kinds of advertisement possible, from wrappings to TV commercials, employing the same simple attractive theme, and Secondly, by aiming the general public. Quoting Horkhiemer and Adorno: “the freedom is symbolized in various media of the culture industry by arbitrary selection of the average individuals.” This sentence clarifies very well the main theme of the Apple iPods, which is a dark character against a bright background. By leaving the character in the ads anonymous, Apple avoids addressing any specific class or cultural ethnicities, and they leave the decision to the spectator.

Apple also produces different kinds of iPod. According to Horkhiemer and Adorno this is not only to aim different classes and different individuals but also to create an “illusory strike.”

Another method Apple uses to generate such a “need” is by introducing a new “Style” where iPod is a vital part of it. First, not only celebrities present iPod in the TV commercials (which is not something new), but they also use the iPod in their shows and soap operas. They create a whole atmosphere where

the spectator will feel that he/she is the only one who doesn’t own an iPod. They feel like an “outsider” in a style which is practice by the “general”.

Living in a world of entertainment and Hollywood movies, most of the audiences try to simulate the experience of a movie in their daily life, and iPod gives a lot of them this opportunity in a way by providing them a choice of soundtracks that can be played anytime. The music becomes part of the life. Referring Horkhiemer and Adorno: the best orchestra of the world is brought into your living rooms free of charge, and this involves making the average heroic.

Having mentioned all the reasons for the practicality of iPod and it success in the advertisement, it easily justifies why iPod has become popular that any other electrical device in very short period of time. Everybody now have his/her own white headphones and enjoy this technological development, by listening to his/hers favorite music while waiting for bus.