In this day and age, very few young people actually pay for their music. In the book Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution, David Kusek and Gerd Leonard play with the idea of total musical ubiquity. According to Kusek and Leonard, music will soon be accessed more easily and cheaply by all who wish to consume it. With means such as Pandora, Spotify, and illegal piracy, there is no reason to pay “full price” for your music. Like thousands of other savvy music listeners, I use Pandora to access my music. Recently, however, this once simple enjoyment has become a nuisance. Ads for nail polish and the ever-so-elite Cortiva Institute plague my airways. Last week my life was changed when my older sister recommended AdBlock, a computer application that blocks all pop-up advertisements from your Internet browser.
One of the many interesting aspects of AdBlock is that it gives regular reports of how many ads it has saved you from enduring. After only 30 minutes on Pandora, I am notified that a whopping 34 ads have been banned from my computer screen. How satisfying. No more angry outbursts, migraines, and smashed computer screens. As much as ads irk me, I understand their importance and place in the Internet. When asking if entertainers aim to please consumers or advertisers, it is important to remember that most people, especially those in the business of internet-based profit, act out of self-interest.
Famed economist Adam Smith said it perfectly when he stated, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” In other words, people do not provide for others out of the goodness in their hearts. Behind every action is a fundamental desire to better oneself. Just as the butcher provides our dinner, Pandora provides our music. Pandora is a business and it exists to turn a profit. Keep in mind that at our core, humans are selfish in their decisions and actions.
Lydia, this is very strong. I love the connection that you draw between Pandora, and Adam Smith's "butcher," "brewer," and "baker." Great reference. I also like that you chose to explore the prevalence of advertising by quantifying what AdBlock prevents. This was a creative way to present your answer.
ReplyDeleteLet me offer two writing suggestions. First, as a general rule, I would avoid the expression "In this day and age." This strikes me as incredibly vague. Wouldn't you be frustrated if you picked up an old document and the best you could determine was that it was written "in this day and age." Ground your writing in some tangible historical context; write "in the second decade of the 21st century." Also, I would avoid hyperbolic writing. This is distracting and diminishes your credibility. Am I to really believe that as the result of AdBlock your "life was changed." This seems extreme, and borderline silly. Similarly, what to you gain by writing, "No more angry outbursts, migraines, and smashed computer screens." This also seems extreme and distracts from the otherwise scholarly, professional tone of your response. This sentence struck me as especially odd because it comes right before your acknowledgement that ads do have "importance." You're a strong writer. You need to engage your audience with your intelligence and professionalism, not with awkward exaggeration.