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Final: Historical Examples of Competing Technologies in Mass Media

Stefan Wandtke

Comm-1500

Professor Bingham
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The purpose of this finals essay is to compare several forms of mass communication and

the internet. These forms of media include radio, television, film, and video game entertainment.

In addition to comparing how internet has changed media well also look at how its

complemented these forms of mass media.

First, on the list is radio. Radio is a platform that seems to be taken for granted in the

twenty-first century. Every car, restaurant, and building in general has some sort of a radio

connection. Radio is everywhere. Traditional radio relies on AM and FM radio waves to transmit

information. This is a great wireless technology, but it does have drawbacks, including losing

signal because of distance from the transmission. The internet helps to solve that issue.

The internet has enhanced the capabilities of radio. The internet makes it possible to

receive the content anywhere in the world with an internet connection. This has boosted the

capabilities of radio. Now programs can reach a potential global audience. The internet has

changed how consumers can get the content that they want on various electronic devices. This

includes laptops, mobile phones, video game consoles and tablets.

This leads into internet streaming. Music streaming giants such as Pandora, IHeartRadio,

and Spotify boast around two hundred and eighty million active users, reaching as many as sixty

different markets and countries! (Spotify, Statista, Forbes) These are impressive figures, and they

show how many people are interested in radio. These numbers also show how much of a game

changer the internet is for the future of radio.

Radio from the surface seems to have changed or been on the decline. The truth really is,

that radio has seen a positive change and enhancement from its traditional platform on AM and
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FM waves. Now that consumers can receive content from seemingly everywhere with the

internet, and on a myriad of devices, radio is seeing a positive change.

While radio seems to have had an enhancement from the use of the internet it leaves to

question, how have the music producers been affected from the change to online streaming?

Michael Luca from the Harvard Business Review has some great insight to the question. He says

The age of streaming music has arrived in full force, displacing both physical sales (e.g., CDs)

and downloaded songs (e.g., iTunes). As streaming has taken hold, U.S. album sales, both

physical and digital, have plummeted from a peak of 785 million in 2000 to just 241 million in

2015. The change comes from people switching from purchasing full albums, either online or

offline, to listening to individual songs through a streaming platform such as Spotify, Tidal, or

Pandora The numbers show a huge decrease in album sales. As was stated above regarding

radio, listeners are moving toward more personalized listening. Consumers dont want to spend

money for an entire album when they can get just the top-rated song from an artist.

There is a silver lining to the decreases album sales numbers. Artists and producers now

have information that shows how the industry is changing. Michael from HBR continued by

saying The Chainsmokers show an alternative path to the album. First known for their 2014 hit

#Selfie, the band has foregone full-length albums and instead released 10 separate singles and

official remixes, which have sold 2.6 million downloads and been streamed over 600 million

times on Spotify alone. This just shows that there is change in the industry, but that producers

and artists can capitalize with the change.

The internet seems to have influence over all forms of mass media. Film, movie theaters

and cable are no exception. It is commonplace to hear Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu among others

in everyday conversations about movies, news, and television programs. The internet is a double-
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edged sword. On the one side, it provides opportunity and change to the film and television

industry. While change can be good, the other side of the sword can be destructive or disruptive

to previous forms of film and television. That being said, a quote from CNBC gives a little more

insight: Our competition is not Netflix. It's not the internet. It is sporting events, it is bowling, it

is nightclubs," Tim Richards, CEO of leading U.K. movie theater chain Vue Cinemas. I thought

this to be interesting. Another quote from CNBC states: "(However, Ampere Analysis) conducted

a piece of analysis looking at whether key Netflix releases impacted likelihood of going to the

cinema on adjacent weekends and found we could show no significant effect." This statement

shows that, though the internet has changed viewing habits for consumers, there is still a lively

market. A market whose main competition is outside of viewing media.

The last form of mass communication I wanted to compare with the internet is video

games. Video games have not been around nearly as long as some other forms of media,

including television and radio. We had to wait for televisions and computers to be invented first.

Since video games is such a young platform it seems to be accepting the change of the internet

the best out of all the media platforms.

There are several ways the internet has changed the video game industry. The first is how

connected gaming has become. Online gaming has made it possible to connect with anyone

online. Popular gaming services such as Xbox Live and PlayStation Network make this possible.

Individuals can talk, text, and play with friends or family anywhere in the world thanks to the

internet.

In addition to connecting individuals globally, the internet has created new branches in

the industry. These include online video game streaming through services such as Twitch TV, and

Esports. Twitch TV is estimated to be worth three billion US dollars. According to RedBull

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Esports, the top money winning Esports player, Lee Sang Hyeok won $897,818.98 from the

sport (Redbull, Esports). Both of these new forms of media within video games have spawned

because of the internet.

The internet has also changed how games are purchased. Its not uncommon to talk with

individuals who have hundreds of games and dont own a single game disc or cartridge. They

were able to buy and download the game straight from the producer through the internet.

The last change the internet has made for video games is mobile gaming. In the twenty-

first century, its rare to find someone who doesnt have a smartphone. The smartphones

capabilities paired with the internet have created a boom to the video game industry. According

to VentureBeat mobile gaming had the largest share of the $91 billion gaming market, coming in

at $41 billion (VentureBeat).

The internet has had a definite impact on mass media. In most of the instances there have

been only positive outcomes and change for the media industries. This is based solely on

numbers and success. The internet has been a catalyst for growing technology with all forms of

media at the forefront.

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Sources:

"About." Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017. <https://press.spotify.com/us/about/>.

"Pandora - active users 2016 | Statistic." Statista. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

<https://www.statista.com/statistics/190989/active-users-of-music-streaming-service-

pandora-since-2009/>.
Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media & culture: mass

communication in a digital age. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2016. Print.

McIntyre, Hugh. "IHeartRadio Hits 100 Million Users." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23

Mar. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

<https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2017/03/23/iheartradio-hits-100-million-

users/#1724b2bfa874>.
McFadden, Michael LucaCraig. "How Streaming Is Changing Music (Again)." Harvard

Business Review. N.p., 12 Dec. 2016. Web. 30 April 2017. <https://hbr.org/2016/12/how-

streaming-is-changing-music-again>.
Gibbs, Alexandra. "Netflix and kill: Is streaming hurting movie theaters?" CNBC. CNBC,

15 Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/15/netflix-and-kill-is-

streaming-hurting-movie-theaters.html>.
Red Bull Gives You Wings - RedBull.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 April 2017.

<https://www.redbull.com/us-en/league-of-legends-10-highest-earners>.
"Worldwide game industry hits $91 billion in revenues in 2016, with mobile the clear

leader." VentureBeat. N.p., 21 Dec. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

<https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/21/worldwide-game-industry-hits-91-billion-in-

revenues-in-2016-with-mobile-the-clear-leader/>.