Music has transitioned to a mobile world as technology has advanced. Records were the first commercially available format in 1923 but were not portable. Cassettes provided more mobility than records in 1963 though storage was still limited. CDs allowed for more storage in a smaller space and digital storage on computers in 1976. MP3s provided even more songs in smaller file sizes. The iPod launched in 2001 and the iTunes store in 2003, making digital music downloads the norm. Cloud-based music services now store personal libraries online for access from any device, allowing mobile devices to require less memory.

1. Music: A Transition to a Mobile World

2. Music has always been an important part to society Since the first vinyl records were released, there has been a need for a personal library of music As technology has advanced it has and will continue to be easier to expand a library and how it’s accessed.

3. The first commercially available record available in 1923 To this day, vinyl records are still considered the most pure form of recorded music

4. Records however were large and players were heavy, meaning these weren’t the most portable devices

5. The first cassette players were available in 1963 Much like records, these did not hold many songs

6. The portable cassette player provided for the first time truly mobile music possibilities

7. Music entered the digital world in 1976 with compact discs, allowing more songs to be stored in a smaller space, and even more mobile options

8. CDs allowed music to be digitally stored in a library on computers

9. MP3s allowed for compressed digital files, giving users even more songs to a smaller memory

10. Apple released the iPod in 2001 , becoming the first popular MP3 player, as music exploded in the mobie industry.

11. The iTunes store allowed users to purchase and download songs directly from an online database, almost making CDs obsolete

12. Total iTunes downloads from 2009 to 2010 increased from 6 billion to 10 billion

13. With downloading as the new norm, music access has become available to anyone from any platform, from computer to smartphone

14. But where does music access go next?

15. To the Mobile Cloud!

16. What is a Cloud based music service?

17. A cloud based music service will allow personal music libraries to be stored on an online database. From this database, music can be accessed via an online connection. If there is no connection available, the past few songs played, or popular songs are stored in the internal memory of the smartphone.

18. Google, Amazon, and Apple have all begun work on cloud based services

19. With the ability to access music through an online connection, mobile devices can become smaller, as memory size is no longer an issue

20. Cloud based music gives a truly mobile advance to the music industry allowing anyone to access their songs without having them physically.