Kelly Beecher

W/R#2 TA#1
COMM231 0201
Oct. 17, 2015
A#1, P-O-S: Music

SEO: UMD students share opinions on music streaming

Students agree that music streaming is the way to go
Downloading music is a thing of the past
Just a few years ago, digital downloads began to dominate as the decline of CD
sales hit the music industry. When applications like Napster and Rhapsody grew popular
in the early 2000s, they sparked a vital change: music became more accessible. Now that
we have settled into the Digital Age, consumers are demanding more options.
The industry was quick to respond with music streaming. In the first half of
2014, music streaming revenuessurpassed CD sales for the first time in the United
States, said Niall McCarthy, contributor for Forbes Business. Total streaming
revenuesincreased 28 percent year-over-year to reach $860
million. Music streaming services provide convenient,
accessible and budget-friendly options for college students to
listen to music.
Convenience is vital for students
When asked if they used one or more of the streaming
services available online, several sources said they used at
least two. I use Pandora and Spotify, said Maria Umar, a
junior psychology major. College students love the
accessibility.
Junior psychology major Maria
Umar shows-off her favorite Spotify
station on her way to class.
-Photo by Kelly Beecher

Kelly Beecher W/R#2 TA#1 COMM231 0201 Music P.2

I like how I can listen to music anywhere and I dont have to wait for music to
download, so it saves time, Umar said.
College students value convenience. Generally, students dont have time to sit
down and find music. When asked about what she finds most convenient about Pandora
and Spotify, Umar said both services play songs continuously so there is no need to
manually change songs.
Students express frustrations with streaming
Though music streaming seems common on campus, some students are hesitant to
retire their music libraries. I dont use them that much because the ads can be really
annoying sometimes, said Melissa Lodge, sophomore Spanish major, referring to the
commercial breaks frequently played between songs. Lodge has an extensive music
collection and only uses streaming services to discover music that she later downloads
into her library. For her, listening to her own collection of music is a more tailored
experience.
Music-streaming services and college life
The hands-off nature of the services makes
them perfect for the hustle and bustle of college
life. Im always listening to music when Im

Im always listening to
music when Im walking
to class or at the gym.
-Joseph McKenley, architecture
graduate student

walking to class or at the gym, said Joseph

McKenley, an architecture graduate student. McKenley likes that he can create a playlist
and just leave it alone when he has friends over instead of constantly changing songs
and acting like a DJ.
(more)

Kelly Beecher W/R#2 TA#1 COMM231 0201 Music P.3

These services also cater to college living because

they are generally free of charge at the basic level. Students
want quality service with budget-friendly options. When
asked if he would ever pay for music again McKenley said,
Now that streaming is an option, I cant see myself paying
for music again in the future.
###

Architecture graduate student, Joseph

McKenley sets up his favorite Pandora
station to do homework.
-Photo by Kelly Beecher

Kelly Beecher

W/R#2 TA#1
COMM231 0201
Oct. 17, 2015
A#1, P-O-S Background
A. Sources:
Chris Chima, architecture graduate student
o 240-350-9007, chrischima@ymail.com

Melissa Lodge, sophomore Spanish major

o 240-429-6552
Hanyang Lin, landscape architecture graduate student
o 443-428-2312
Joseph McKenley, architecture graduate student
o 301-771-1587, jomck@umd.edu
Robert E. Presley, sophomore mechanical engineering major
o 540-683-5113
Ashli Taylor, sophomore government and politics major
o 410-908-2182, taylor24@terpmail.umd.edu
Maria Umar, junior psychology major
o 301-828-6898, mumar1@terpmail.umd.edu
B. References:
Traditional Mainstream News: I referenced the Forbes business section
(http://www.forbes.com/business/) and the Billboard website
(http://www.billboard.com/). These sites gave me some background
information on music streaming and its growing popularity.
o I used a quote from an article on the Forbes website in my lead:
o McCarthy, Niall. Music streaming Revenues Overtake CD Sales
in the US. Forbes. Forbes Business, 29 September 2014. Web.
17 October, 2015.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2014/09/29/musicstreaming-revenues-overtake-cd-sales-in-the-u-s/
UMD Library Database: To search on the UMD Librarys site I used
methods shown to the class in Alan Mattlages presentations. To refine my
search results I used the truncation device and searched: music stream*
service*. I also tried putting quotation marks around my search terms. The
second method yielded the most relevant results.
o With these techniques I found an article from a scholarly journal
for background information:
o Hagen, Anja Nylund. The Playlist Experience: Personal
Playlists in Music Streaming Services. Popular Music and
Society 38.5 (2015). Web. 17 October 2015.
Social Media: I used Twitter and searched Pandora and Spotify.
From this I was able to see that these services are popular among my

followers, which led me to believe that they are popular among students at
UMD.
C. Note-taking and Listening Tips:
Because I caught many of my sources as they were walking in and out of
buildings, I needed a note-taking method that was easily transportable and
wouldnt take me a lot of time to fuss with. I chose to record all my
interviews on my phone. This allowed me to concentrate less on writing
down exact quotes or anecdotes and just talk and listen to my interviewee.
Rich tips used for note-taking (pg. 104-105):
o Request repetition: Some of my sources did not speak very
clearly so I had to politely repeat key words and phrases that I
wanted to use.
o Make eye contact: I wanted my sources to feel like we were
simply having a conversation so I made sure to keep eye contact
with them.
Rich tips used for listening (pg. 103):
o Be quiet: I made sure to give my sources plenty of time to say all
they wanted to say before asking another questions. While they
were talking I simply nodded my head to let them know I was
listening.
o Be responsive: While interviewing I often responded to my
sources with how? or why? questions.
o Listen for what isnt said: I used this technique when I
followed-up with my sources. I listened to the interviews and
asked them additional questions over text to get what I missed.
D. F-O-R-K:
F-O-R-K method:
1. Focus: I made sure to have a clear nutgraph and keep that
focus consistent throughout my story. For this I used the
tell-a-friend technique while writing.
2. Order: I ordered my story by listening to the recordings of
my interviews before writing. Then, I wrote my subheads
and organized my direct quotes underneath them. This
made it easier for me to arrange the topics I wanted to
cover and place my graphics.
3. Repetition of key words: I used the words, student and
music streaming repeatedly throughout my story to
highlight the who and what.
4. Kiss off: I blocked all my sources by giving them their own
paragraphs. Once I was done referencing a source, I did not
mention them again.
E. Clark Writing Tools:
#23, Tune your voice: For this assignment, I proofread my story multiple
times by reading it aloud to myself. This allowed me to catch any typos
and awkward wording.

#24: Work from a plan: I wrote the focus of my story first. This allowed
me to plan my interview questions and base my research on a foundation.
#31, Build your work around a key question: My key questions were:
How do music-streaming services contribute to the daily lives of college
students? Do college students prefer these services to listening to music
off of their library?
#33, Repeat, repeat, repeat: I used repetition of key words such as
student and music streaming to link my story together and make it
move faster.