The technology I chose to focus on is the radio. The purpose of a radio is generally to wirelessly transmit/convey information from one place to another. It made communication over distances a lot easier, similar to that of the telegraph and the telephone; It’s important to acknowledge that the information being communicated varied depended on the time period and its values. Initially, the discovery of radio-technology and its ability to be used to transmit information through air was helpful when ships that were out at sea needed to be contacted.This technology achieved its purpose during that time by efficiently transmitting messages from land to ships in order to warn them of any potential dangers and keep them updated on any situation at hand, different from how it’s used today. It was not until the 1900s that radios were bought for personal or household use. Radios, which are now extremely common in households as well as cars, carry information about the weather, news, and traffic which all successfully make listeners aware of what is currently going on around them. When it started to be used for broadcasting music (like what we know of), it had strayed away from its original purpose. This advancement aids artists in the spread of their music and plays a role in the artists’ exposure. Even today, artists’ fanbases continue to grow as their songs gain exposure from being played over the radio. It allows them to reach new audiences that they may have had a hard time reaching beforehand (i.e. the less tech-savvy individuals who mostly like to use the radio.) I listen to the radio every morning when my dad drives me to school; I find new music to listen to and hear the latest news/gossip (depending on what station I’m listening to.) I even enjoyed listening to it so much that I asked for one for my birthday when I was younger and I still continue to use it whenever I’m free.
In order to pick a piece, I turned on the radio and chose a song that was playing. The song that I chose is “My Type” by Saweetie, a rising female rapper that has made a couple of popular rap songs as of right now. The radio didn’t influence it’s production but rather its reach; The radio was able to transmit radio-waves which allowed the song to reach whomever is listening to the radio station Hot 97 (97.1) at the time. With this additional exposure of her music, Saweetie (and other artists featured on the radio) is able to make a name for herself and build her career in the industry. All in all, today the radio is able to promote the music industry more efficiently than ever before.
I believe that the radio is a very important musical technology that helped transform the musical platform. The radio offers different channels with varying genres that appeals to all types of audiences. The radio is often what makes many songs as popular as they are especially since radios are inside of cars and people often listen to music when they drive listening to brand new artists/songs.
What I find really interesting about popular music and radio is how over the last twenty years, the internet has become what the radio used to be. “My Type” by Saweetie, for example, got big first on the app TikTok, and radio only started playing it after it was already popular. Radio stations do play some new music, but it seems more and more like getting listeners online is what musicians focus on first before radio.