E-Paper
Play on?
Music has come a long way and so have the listeners. Like the seven notes (Sa Re Ga Ma?), we remain hooked to music but the medium (read equipment) has changed. From traditional radios to the gramophones, audio-cassettes and FM receivers, audio and video CDs, then MP3s, data songs (on the computer) and now the I-Pod and mobile phones taking over, we play on... to our hearts? content.
Shakespeare wouldn’t disagree: If equipment be ‘food’ for the techie Gen-Z, listening to music goes on with a techno twist.
Music has come a long way and so have the listeners. Like the seven notes (Sa Re Ga Ma…), we remain hooked to music but the medium (read equipment) has changed. From traditional radios to the gramophones, audio-cassettes and FM receivers, audio and video CDs, then MP3s, data songs (on the computer) and now the I-Pod and mobile phones taking over, we play on... to our hearts’ content.
A showpiece
Once prized possessions, then dumped in the attic, gramophones are now, back in the drawing rooms with as memories get dusted off from ‘lost treasures’. With no new LPs and accessories available in the market the gramophone had merely became a showpiece for those who had treasured it. But things are changing. “I had dumped my gramophone in my store. During my trip abroad, I saw it being sold in antique shops as a collector’s item. Then, I got it polished and now it is a coveted possession,” says city-based astrologer and antique lover PC Pradhan.
Merely a dump
For tech-savvy music lovers, their audio cassettes are just a burden which they can’t throw and are occupying precious space. “I have a collection of more than 400 audio cassettes but almost all the songs are there on my I-Pod or computer which I have downloaded from MP3s or from the Net. I feel sorry that my huge collection is lying waste but nothing can be done about it. The user-friendly and quality music I get was is not possible on cassettes,” says music buff Hina Agarwal.
Sale shows the trend
The oldest shop in Lucknow (since 1938) Devi Radiogram has witnessed the transition. “I am of the fourth generation at this shop into the music equipment trade. There are just a few takers for cassettes now. Car stereos are probably keeping the business alive but it is also transforming into CDs and DVDs. At out counter, audio and video discs are more in demand,” says Vijay Mishra. The players also show the similar trend. “Now, only DVD-enabled personal hi-fi players are in demand. Those possessing tape-recorder come for DVD player which can play audio, video, FM as well as MP3. Unlike previous time, now digitally enabled compact systems (5.1 channel) are more in demand,” he adds.
Bush and Queen’s love
A favourite with US President Geroge Bush and UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, the I-Pod is making waves globally. “The sale of the I-Pod which, though costly, is pretty popular in the city. But, similar Chinese gadgets available at much lower prices are disappearing off the shelves really fast. One can store thousands of song and they can be heard at the click of a button anywhere,” says a Janpath-based vendor.
Pirates rule the market
“MP3s for just Rs 10, VCDs for Rs 20 and DVDs for 30… why will one go for a cassette or original compact disc which is priced at Rs 200–500. When you can get a whole collection for 10 bucks, why invest so much in the original particularly when, there is no compromise in quality,” says a small-time vendor.
“The original music market is shrinking. Only real music connoisseur and selected customers buy them as its really very costly to that available in the market,” says Mishra.
FM tops the chart
“I have many cassettes, CDs and MP3s but FM is the order of the day. Whenever I, or my mom, get time we switch on the FM. It is first on my priority list. When we go for a long drive we just tune in to any of the frequencies and move with the rhythm,” says Shweta.
Mobile music
Latest gizmos are a big craze with the GenNext music lovers. “The Nokia N-series, latest offering from Motorola offer high-quality music. My recent phone Nokia N-73 has big storage memory and high quality sound. While driving and at ease this is my favourite pastime. With so many converters (software) available in the market now it’s easy to covert my CD to MP3 which I can play on my mobile,” says mobile freak Mayank Kant.
