Knowledge Is Power

Knowledge to me is defined as the skills and information an individual has acquired throughout their lives. Whether this be through experiences, or in a classroom, it’s the wisdom someone has gained. Outside of the classroom, I engage in conversations with people with different backgrounds. I have been able to get to know people from various religions, sexualities, nationalities, etc. I try to see things from different perspectives in the simplest of things, and ask why a lot. I tend to think about how my generation as a whole is doing, and why we do the things we do. Why do we enjoy certain genres of music? Why do we wear certain styles of clothes? Our slang, and even the foods we consume seem to have a trend. If we do not attempt to keep acquiring knowledge, we will conform with what we know. If we do become knowledgeable on topics other than what filters make us look on fleek, then we will stop growing as a species. We will become very susceptible to being possibly told what to do by the government or some person with power. By being knowledgeable on current topics, we gain the ability to voice our opinions in an educated manner. It helps us become more self-aware of our surroundings and our thoughts. Striving to further our knowledge allows us to answer many of our questions and to help educate the next generation. 

The Value of Music

                 “Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for.”, Taylor Swift wrote in The Wall Street Journal. I agree with Swift in her belief of music as art. However, she fails to see that streaming services broadens the extent of her popularity in not only the music world, but in pop culture as well. When Taylor Swift pulled all of her discography from the streaming site Spotify, it sparked controversy in the music industry. Not because it left around 2 million fans disappointed and without any T-Swizzle music, but because of the reason behind her actions. I believe streaming services are an important tool to any avid music fan, and that they will replace digital sales, just as they replaced CDs, and the audio cassettes before them.

 Music artists are conflicted with their emotions. Taylor Swift was not the first artist to shun the streaming giant Spotify. Multiple artists such as Beyoncé and The Black Keys have opted to not release their albums on the streaming service. What artists are really scared of are sales in their albums dropping. And so far, their decisions of not making them available on these sites have gone in their favor. The 2013 Beyoncé by Beyoncé (which she has since allowed Spotify to play a year after its release), holds the record for fastest selling digital album with 830,000 copies sold in its first three days, while Swift’s record 1989 was the biggest selling album of 2014, recently hitting 4 million in the US alone. Having no access to them on streaming services, fans were forced to go out and buy them or to download them. However, they fail to realize millions of people illegally download their music. Studies have shown that these people also tend to be the ones subscribed to streaming sites such as Spotify and Pandora. Swift lost some 6 million dollars profit by taking her music off Spotify alone.  “It's my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's price point is. I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art.", Swift said during her American Music Awards acceptance speech for the Dick Clark Award of excellence. Her speech lead to many artists taking to Twitter or interviews to voice their stance on the subject. Artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé may be able to shatter records without being on streaming sites, but others aren’t as lucky. While some argued that it degraded the value of music, others believed that they served as incredible means of exposure for new emerging artists, as well as new releases from those who aren’t titans in the music business. It allows those performers’ albums, who would probably not get picked over say Ariana Grande’s or Bruno Mars’ albums, to receive some sales and exposure. I’m not saying people shouldn’t buy albums, but I believe that it’s the lesser of two evils if someone can’t afford to buy hundreds of songs.

     

Music expresses the thoughts we can’t put into words. It reflects our personalities and who we are. It lifts our spirits when we’re down, and it helps us remember those memories from years past. Music is there when you’re singing at the top of your lungs driving down the coast with friends, or after your breakup with your 8 month boyfriend. Now imagine if you could only listen to a few songs and albums all year. For those who listen to music 24/7 like I do, we wouldn’t be able to cope. Spotify is a great alternative to illegally downloading those songs you can’t afford. Not to mention the artist’s entire collection of works are accessible. I can go from listening to Uptown Funk (2014) to Vison of Love (1990), and even every single song produced by Linkin Park since their start. You could also listen to an album completely and then decide if it is worth purchasing or not. Pandora likewise offers hundreds of songs based on your preferences and broadens your music taste from just the top ten singles on iTunes. These sites give us access to millions of songs from decades and decades past, as well as the Top 40 radio hits from today.

   
I believe that music is an important part of humanity. A beat can explain an indescribable feeling, a song can hold a hundred memories, and an album can represent an important part of your life. Music has always been an immensely large part of my life, and I’m sure it’s important to most people as well. I am completely for streaming services. I do not believe that these sites will be leaving any time soon. They will become a defining part of the music industry, and they will help launch new artists to the top of the charts. The music industry will continue to evolve, and this is just one more tool that hardcore music lovers now have to keep up.