As technology continues to facilitate and revolutionize the way we live our everyday lives, it’s hard not to acknowledge the impact it’s had on the way we listen to music. It wasn’t long ago that the most accessible form of portable music came in the form of a CD, and radio stations were the only way to hear your favorite artists newest single. Fast forward to today’s current model, where music is readily accessible through programs like Spotify and TIDAL and artists release their latest singles online for your immediate enjoyment, and it’s hard not to appreciate just how much technology has influenced the way we consume music. With so many developments and advances happening over such a period of time, it’s hard not to wonder: What does the future of technology hold for music?
In a piece published in The Wall Street Journal, Stephen Witt, author of the novel ‘How Music Got Free’ describes what he envisions for the future of music consumption. Gauging the growing popularity of services like Apple Radio and Pandora to deliver ‘radio curated to your taste’ and the ever-changing characteristics that have come to define what we considered a ‘song’, Witt paints a picture of a future where a microchip implemented directly within our brain’s assesses our biological and psychological state and adjusts the music accordingly. The article goes on to further describe the way music will seamlessly integrates itself into our everyday lives, complimenting our moods and adjusting itself through a complex series of customized algorithms. The entire article reads straight out of a sci-fi movie, but incorporates recent developments in technology in combination with Witt’s vision for what the future of music holds.
Ultimately Witt’s piece is a creative description of one writer’s vision for how music will be consumed in the future. With so much emphasis on developing technology  to facilitate our everyday lives, it’s hard not to see the music industry follow suit, allowing it to become even more readily accessible to the masses. Transitioning from the old model of record sales to today’s focus on streaming and subscriptions has allowed the music industry to survive and thrive in today’s age. It will be interesting to see how they react to whatever comes next.
Source:Â The Wall Street Journal
