Olin College of Engineering
DigitalCommons@Olin
2007 AHS Capstone Projects
AHS Capstone Projects
4-1-2007
Technology in Music History: The Internet and the
Printing Press
Kristen Dorsey
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.olin.edu/ahs_capstone_2007
Part of the Musicology Commons
Recommended Citation
Dorsey, Kristen, "Technology in Music History: The Internet and the Printing Press" (2007). 2007 AHS Capstone Projects. Paper 20.
http://digitalcommons.olin.edu/ahs_capstone_2007/20
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Technology in Music History:
The Internet and the Printing
Press
Kristen Dorsey
AHS Capstone Presentation
May 2, 2007
Parallel Technologies
 Printing


Woodblocks, engraving, letterpress
Printed sheet music
 Internet


Press from 1450-1600
from 1992 to present
Music sites, file sharing networks, electronic
music stores
MP3s and similar file formats
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Music and Technology
2
Music in Early Renaissance
 Music
copied by
hand
 Church and upper
class held control
over musicians
 Traveling musicians
http://clairelea.canalblog.com/neumes.jpg
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Music and Technology
3
The printing press
Image: http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/bigtenimages/gutenbergpress.jpg
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Music and Technology
Image:
http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/bigtenimages/guten
bergpress.jpg
4
Effects of the Printing Press
 No
more patrons
 Entertainment system
 New composers
 Popular composers
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Music and Technology
5
Music on the Internet, 1992
 Large
file formats
 MP3 compression algorithm
 FTP servers
 Newsgroups and email
 Interference by RIAA
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Music and Technology
6
Some Baby Steps
 Internet
Underground
Music Archive
 Liquid Audio, 1993
 MP3.com, 1996
 eMusic, 1997
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…and the Dam Breaks
 Napster,
1999
 True P2P software
clients, 2001
 iTunes, 2003
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8
Effects of the Internet (et. Al.)
 Recording
companies have less control
 Listeners and fans connect through
websites
 New bands can actually make it
 New world of music for listeners
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Music and Technology
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Conclusion:
Disruption of Established Power
 Middle
class could buy music or
commission works
 Musicians could break free of court and
church
 Bands and artists could play music without
a recording contract and radio support
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10
Conclusion:
Increased Popularity
 Composers
could send their works
throughout Europe and North America
 Bands could use the Internet to find niche
markets
 New composers could write and publish
their songs
 New bands could find listeners and gather
a fan base
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11
Conclusion:
New Connections to Music
 In
Renaissance, music was spread
through Europe and North America
 Listeners learned to play instruments
 Today, people listen to new music
because its widely and freely available
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Music and Technology
12