As media has changed and developed, new platforms have been introduced and one thing that has changed drastically is how we find and acquire music. Way back when, there were records, or albums. They played on a turn-table and the little needle transcribed the music from the surface of the record. You had to be really careful with them, because they scratched really easily. Then came cassette tapes, CDs, and then MP3 players and iPods. Music for these players could be uploaded from CDs you owned or bought from places like iTunes. Now, media has evolved so much that my dad is converting his records to MP3’s and selling them—and that’s saying something because he used to own hundreds.

I’ve always been partial to CDs, of which my dad also has hundreds, so I think I’ve been duly influenced, and even though iTunes has taken over, I prefer buying CD’s to buying individual songs. I’ve found lately that I’m of the mindset to find an artist I like and listen to all of their music as well as music like theirs. This is where newer music sites like Pandora and Spotify come in. I have accounts to these sites as well as YouTube. One huge thing I love about YouTube and Spotify is that you can pick songs you like and create playlists. While the ads suck, it’s not much different from the actual radio, and I like listening to a set of music that I’ve chosen, although oftentimes I just get carried away and don’t split up the music very well. I’ve got a huge playlist of basically everything on each platform. Because I listen to all different kinds of music, this is sometimes annoying.

It is when these mixed up playlists are getting on my nerves that I turn to Pandora or Spotify artists. On Pandora, I can pick an artist and they will play music that is similar to that of that artist as well as music by that artist. Spotify artists will play all of the music by that particular artist. Both are cool because you can either stay with someone you know you like, or you could break out and explore new artists. Pandora also has the like and dislike feature. You can thumbs up or thumbs down songs according to your preferences, and Pandora takes this data into account when it searches for new songs to play you.

The one tough thing about using these internet radios and playlists as opposed to buying your own music is that it’s less accessible if you don’t have a smartphone or Wi-Fi. Also, the only way to get it without ads is to pay a monthly fee. Another huge issue is that these free radio and playlist programs are taking away profit from those who sell their music on iTunes. Once you sign up for Spotify premium, you have no ads, can play any song any time you want, and can access your playlists offline—it’s similar to an iPod or MP3 player, and cheaper because you only pay an access fee instead of paying for each individual song. So who do you want to support?