An S-curve analysis of the portable audio players industry yields interesting insights about the technological evolution of the industry as well as the implications for the firms competing in the market of such devices. In order to effectively analyze the industry it is useful to first provide a brief overview of the evolution of the technology of portable audio players.
In 1964 the first portable audio device was introduced in the market, the 8 track cartridge stereo. The four most important features of this device from the perspective of the customer and thus relevant for S-curve analysis were size of the device, storage capacity, audio quality and ease of use (I will limit to the discussion of selecting the song a customer wants the device to play for simplicity). In 1982 the first CD-player was introduced in the market. The relevant S-curve performance metrics for the device are also those of the 8 track cartridge stereo. Finally, in 1998 digital audio players were introduced and they added an entirely new set of performance variables such as video display quality and speed of downloading music onto the device from the internet.
To provide a clear structure for the analysis I will discuss the evolution of the S-curves of each performance metric over effort. First, I will comment on the size or portability metric. The shape of the S-curves (please see attached figures for all metrics) reveal that initially portable audio players were very large in size as 8 track cartridges were very large. As higher investments in R&D were incurred smaller audio cassettes were developed until the technology reached its natural limits as the magnetic tape of these cassettes could no longer be reduced in size. CD players represented a dis...
... middle of paper ...
...urve for such variable with natural limits which would be perfect display visible to the human eye.
From a marketing standpoint is seems like audio digital devices are currently superior to all other technologies currently in the market in all performance metrics. In terms of financial profitability it seems like only storage capacity could be currently improved and sold for a premium, all other performance metrics seem to be at their maximum profitability levels (that is no customer would pay additional money for an improvement in such metrics). In terms of disruptive technologies there may be new music devices in the future that rely on a new form of technology that is not digital technology however none seems to be emerging at this time.
Bibliography
Foster, R.. Innovation, The Attacker’s Advantage. NY: Summit Books, 1986, pp.88-111.
www.wikipedia.org
Sonance is a well-established company providing high quality customized speakers for in-home entertainment. After launching their Sonance 1 model, they progressed into multi-room amplification and eventually designed the first built-in system that would support the iPod. Operating as a lean organization with only 60 employees, they relied heavily on a network of dealer and installer word-of-mouth advertising. By 1999 Sonance had reached $46 million in sales. Similar to other companies affected by innovations in technology, Sonance was forced to change strategic direction in the early 2000’s. The newly acquired leadership needed to redefine marketing efforts in response to increasing low cost competitors. Major
Phillis Wheatley, a poet of early modern poetry discloses a sonnet to Scipio Moorhead labeled To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works. The start of Wheatley life was being purchased by a white family and shipped off to Boston. She was an extremely intelligent child that was beginning to learn how to read, write and how to strongly connect to the Bible. When knowing the background of this poet, we realize first-hand how her childhood impacted her poetry. This piece of poetry was in the point of view of first person. Many poets use a type of sound devices or figurative language to enhance their message within. Wheatley introduces a sound device known as end rhyme as a way of intensifying the experience to the reader. The poet stated, “When first thy pencil did those beauties give, and breathing figures learnt from thee to live” (409) uses end rhyme to give connection between those two lines. My outsight on these two lines would be summarized as the poet trying to interpret the beautiful people the artist has drawn in her own words. Also, Wheatley communicates figurative language into this poem by using the several metaphors to put emphasis on her writing. The metaphor heavily absorbed by me would be, “Whose twice six gates on radiant hinges ring: Celestial Salem blooms in endless spring” (410) creating an image of Heaven.
The music industry has changed in more ways than we could imagine. At first we started with artists just selling singles, then it transformed over to people buying albums, and forn then on iTunes started to sell songs for just cents. In the year 2005, Pandora was launched on the Internet and later they created a mobile app. Most of the artist’s music can be found on YouTube. Free downloads has affected this industry as well. The music industry has found many ways to let the fans listen to the music they love. Internet streaming radios like Pandora are having to pay artist for copyright reasons. The music industry had two significant changes in the 21st century: the physical albums have dropped but streaming music has increased, even though artist get little to nothing in return.
Kimmel (1997) states “ Quite simply, the technology behind the MP3 audio format allows for high
This one-two punch has left the industry experimenting with different ideas trying to find their next revenue stream. No one is sure where the music industry will be in the next five years, but things are already changing. Musicians have more and more avenues to reach fan bases, and huge record companies no longer dominate the scene. This is good for musicians and even better for fans...
Polyphonic, like the rest of Grupo, is led by a talented and educated team of managers, who have experience working in the music industry. Adding to their strengths, the company is supported by an experienced advisory board made up of music industry insiders with first-hand knowledge of how music companies operate and about the challenges they might face. Lastly, Polyphonic has created in HSS a valuable and scientifically proven product with unlimited potential that can serve across different market segments (discussed at length below). However, the company is not without its own challenges.
When it comes to recording in a modern day environment DAW’s (digital audio workstation) are an essential piece of equipment if professional standard results are desired. Although DAW’s are considered a modern technological advancement the first attempt at a DAW was in 1977 and it came from Dr. Tom Stockham’s Soundstream (See references for full description) digital system. It had very powerful editing capabilities and for its time a very advanced crossfader but was still primitive compared to today’s standard. At this moment there are 100’s of DAW’s on the market but arguably there some obvious leaders. Avid’s Pro Tools has been the go to DAW for any professional studio for the past 20 years and although there have been rumors of Avid going out of business and the features in Pro Tools becoming dated, Pro Tools is still a viable option for studios worldwide. Logic Pro has risen to the fore-front of the industry in recent years due to its easy to use interface that is possible of producing professional results. Ableton Live strays away from a hardware instrument music environment to cater for electronic music users. Audio to MIDI is a main focus along with the critically acclaimed Max for Live used for live performances by many current EDM artists. Each individual DAW has its own pros and cons and comparing these can highlight which DAW is the best for what task.
Two new managers have been appointed at Sony in the last 15 years due to a number of developing problems, including the innovation ‘cogs’ within Sony slowing down, being forced into an aggressive pricing strategy, increased competition, losing the battle of VHS and Betamax, profit and sales remaining flat and the ongoing poor performance of Sony films (Mintzberg et al, 2003). Both managers initiated major strategic changes with varying degrees of success; firstly Nobuyuki Idei was appointed and initiated a major shift from analogue to digital technology, as there was a belief that Sony was falling behind the market in this respect. Idei also targeted the top position in the audio and visual industry, a universal standard in home computer devices and a new distribution infrastructure. He believed his job was the ‘regeneration of the entrepreneurial spirit’ (Mintzberg et al, 2003), believing it had been lost.
The future of industry depends on whether the people involved in it can use the new technology in a smart way. It’s up to the music industry to make the right next move.
One important change that has occurred is the distribution of music digitally. Music now in our society is purchased through the Internet. The simplicity of having an entire library of music on one device has been adopted versus having stacks of CD’s or tapes. The emergence of the Mp3 file has changed how we listen to music. Mp3 are digital songs that are portable, provide high quality sound, and are less expensive. Essentially by eliminating middlemen, digital music took control of music away from the major record companies and put the power in the listener’s hands. Major companies such as Apple’s iTunes created the distribution of digital music. CNNMoney mentions, “iTunes is currently responsible for 63% of all digital music sales” (CNNMoney). They set the standard of 99 cents for a single song, which was quickly adopted by major music companies. Selling songs by singles provided more control ...
With each passing year, technology has become highly involved in our lives, and continues to at a rapidly increasing rate. Technology, in many ways, was designed to help people in various fields of work. However, it has also achieved the reciprocal. Where does music lie? Has technology hurt or helped the field of music, specifically hip-hop? What do these advancements mean for the genre?
1. Strategy in the second half of the 1980s: Having innovative, high-quality products and being a reliable, responsive supplier.
There are six key new market disruptions concerning the digital distribution of music: the creation of a new and broad customer base, the possibility of an annuity versus a per-unit revenue model, the gatekeeper advantage for a record company having proprietary access to a new digital distribution infrastructure, understanding of a technology that could be applied to other digital content, need for balance between physical and digital distribution strategies, the strategy the incumbent should adopt with respect to the evolving war over digital distribution standards. Was there a disruption or an evolution?
The music industry impacts the lives of people from around the world. With the implementation of technology, the influence of the music industry has spread to affect anyone with access to technology. Streaming services have contributed to the increased popularity of music. While there are positive effects to being able to stream music and have multiple ways of listening to it, the music industry suffers from the lack of revenue and illegal activity associated with technology. Technology has had both positive and negative effects on the music industry by affecting how people access music and how music is produced
...P, 2005, p 23) Around 2005 cell phones and PDAs were referred to as Swiss army knives of gadgets due to the fact they had many functions in one device. All the big phone companies at the time were premiering phones with more mp3 storage than mp3 player, essentially foreshadowing the future. (Dempsey, P, 2005, pg. 23)An average smart phone in the year 2014 can hold around 8-16 gigabytes of data, and if storage is allotted correctly, the phone can hold thousands of mp3s. Any mp3 player trying to have a foothold in the consumer market cannot compete with a device that is an essential part of an average person’s daily life, and a music player. “Smartphones with increasingly high-quality audio and video capabilities have become popular and therefore hamper demand for products in the Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing industry.” (Krabeepetcharat, T. 2013. p. 8)