Opening Pandora's Box (Media Meditation Four)

One of the biggest influences on culture and society is music. With the recent advancements in media, the technology to share and download music has increased in demand.

"Over the past decade or so, four alternative radio technologies have helped bring more diverse sounds to listeners: the Internet, satellite, podcasts, and HD (digital) radio"(133). Programs such as Limewire, DC++, and ShakesPeer are allowing people to illegally download music, which is all good. However, if you're looking for good, clean fun Pandora is the place for you. Pandora, an internet radio website, is a online music source where users can create playlists, share ideas, and connect with other music lovers.

Not only is Pandora an example of a personal shift, because it is a combination of a social network and a music sharing website, but it is also an aesthetic shift. This is because along with being accessible from a computer, Pandora is also available for download on multiple cell phones such as, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm Pre, and Windows Mobile.

In 2007 a sound-exchange was requested and agreed to by a federal panel that said each song played on a Web radio station would be doubled in order to pay performers and record companies. So even though there are multiple owners, i.e. Pandora Music, Inc. as well as each individual artist and their record companies, each were receiving payment for their services.