Spotify Case Study

Spotify is a streaming site that originated in Sweden.

Summary of Debate

We have had a discussion in class about the effects of illegal downloads.

I was in the team that was against illegal downloading.

The point we discussed where;

- The effects it had on individual artists.

- The change of the music industry

- Costs of music

- Laws

Five Big Ideas

Radio:

1) Peering - Damages radio as illegal downloads are easily accessible, which means audiences can listen to whatever they want. This cuts out the 'middleman' - in this case the presenter.

2) Free Creativity - Audiences remix shows and get involved.

3) Democratised - Pirate radio stations, set up on the web, can be problematic. However links to fan pages and the ability to listen online can be a plus for some audiences.

4) Think Globally - Shows from around the world can be accessed at any time of the day. This means that audiences can listen to their favorite shows via apps and podcasts.

5) Perfect Storm - Radio used to rely solely on people actually having radios. Nowadays, less and less people own these as there are many more different media products to use to listen to music. Radio has embraced the internet and made it possible for listeners to access a radios shows.

Useful Links

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media

http://www.wired.co.uk/?gclid=CKGamManracCFQRP4Qodhm0TQQ

http://www.longtail.com/about.html

The Social Network

The Social Network is a film that explores the making and rising of social network site Facebook, and the problems caused along the way. One of the problems explored in this film is the 'open'-ness that Zuckerberg claims Facebook to have. We live in a world full of prejudice and different status and class. So it is hard to make globalisation happen. It is true that the only restriction of the use of Facebook is that a person must be at least 13 years of age. However there are a lot of different factors affecting the use of Facebook worldwide. An example is that third world countries do not have the facilities that the western world do.

A good point of this social networking site is that it easily enables interaction and contact between families and friends that live far apart or that have not spoken for a while. it enables users to find out information about their 'friends' that otherwise they would have been oblivious to. It could be argued that this is a breach of a persons privacy. Also, people may not wish to find out such information, like who's dating, who wore what and when or secrets about other people. Along with his, cyber bullying can also cause a huge problem across Facebook. It is possible for a bully to target a victim when they are in their own home, making this a real problem.

The Long Tail Theory

Chris Anderson's long tail theory sums up the use of business on the internet. It also shows how revenue for products can be increased.

Modern culture and economy move away from the small hits they receive from the initial sales of a product. This is beneficial for the film and music industries as it can elongate the shelf life of a product.

The Virtual Revolution

The Virtual Revolution outlines the key points and ideologies of the internet age.

These were:

- Equal access

- Sharing information

- Equal voice

- Equal potential

These points combine to make what Tim Burners-Lee called the great levelling. This was what he had in mind when he created the internet. He believed that his invention would help to create globalisation.

This documentary shows that we will never be free from conglomerates when using the internet.