Digital Media and New Aural Cultures

I have always found the billboard top 100 picks to be quite interesting because it is easy to question the reliability of how it is ca lculated.  The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the most popular songs in the United States based on data from various music streaming services, radio airplay, and digital sales. The chart is compiled by Nielsen Music, a company that specializes in data tracking and analysis for the music industry. While the chart is based on objective data, it is possible that certain factors, such as the availability of data from certain music streaming services or the airplay of certain songs on certain radio stations, could influence the chart's rankings. Additionally, I think it is fair to assume their bias toward certain artists, genres, or types of music.  These rankings can determine an artist's success and the influence of consumer song choice and preference.  I grew up hearing the 99.9 virgin radio announce that "today we'll be playing ...

  An aspect of digital media I find rather interesting is the way in which it allows for communication with individuals we would otherwise have a much less chance of interacting with, as well as how it encourages subcultures. TikTok in specific does an excellent job of uniting users from different countries and allowing them to interact and even form online friendships. This often occurs through the use of algorithms, where platform users are grouped together due to similar interests.   There is an incredible amount of content regarding digital media and how it functions in our day-to-day lives. I find the study of digital media and aural cultures extremely interesting and I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge surrounding the subject.

Hi Everyone,  My name is Caraline. I am a fourth-year communications student here at Laurier. I took this class as digital media has always been a solid interest of mine, especially in how we operate online. I find digital media to be a very compelling area of study, as the industry and market are only continuing to get more prominent and larger as the years go on. The understanding of digital media and our online world is fundamental to me, as it seems many businesses and operations look to utilize digital media in the workplace. Many years ago, the possibility of having a career online seemed nonsensical since the online world was nowhere near as popular as it is today. The study of this world has grabbed my attention greatly. One of the main things that interest me in everyday life is the fitness and health world. When connecting that to digital media, many individuals have begun careers and make their salary off social media by posting fitness content.  I personally find t...

Something in the world of digital media and sound/music that I find  interesting is a Spotify playlist I found. This playlist is called release radar, I  had stumbled across this playlist while looking for new music. This playlist  uses the Spotify algorithm to find songs from artists and genres that I listen  to but more specifically these songs have just been released.  I have decided to take this course because I want to expand on my knowledge of digital  media. Due to how digital media is intertwined with social life today I feel that this  course will provide me with useful information to use not only in a scholarly fashion. A  topic I am interested in exploring with my group would be sound, noise, and power.

  One aspect of digital media and music I find interesting is my playlist via Spotify (link below). I grew up listening to all different kinds of music and since have fallen in love with genres ranging from classical (Mozart) to old school hip hop (Outkast). The playlist that I have shared is typically played while I am in the car with friends and family (as the title states). The songs consist of throwbacks and music I know will get people to sing along. I tend to do a lot of driving during the summer so having a good playlist for people to sing along is a must for me.  I prefer to have a pre-approved playlist compared to a Spotify made playlist for two main reasons. Firstly, this playlist is exclusively listened to in a car and  it would be dangerous if I am changing the songs while driving. Secondly as said above I like creating a fun environment that allows people to sing along and relax while driving to our destination.   One thing I am quite interested in learn...

Something that I find very interesting in the world of digital media and sound/music is the phenomenon that is “ trending TikTok sounds ”. As many already know, TikTok allows users to upload their own sounds, but more importantly, users can essentially use any other sound on the platform. Interestingly, a lot of artists and their music has become successful thanks to its popularization on TikTok’s trending-sounds page. In a lot of cases, it seems as if a musician might only focus on creating one section of a song so that it becomes viral on TikTok, neglecting the rest of the song creation process.  One of the most prominent reasons that I took this course is because of its exploration of the world of sound. Most of my work in Comm studies has been focused on visual/nonverbal communication, so this area of study is both a needed and wanted change for me.  A topic I’d like to explore regarding digital media and new aural cultures in my group project would be something in the top...

Something that I find interesting that relates to the world of digital media and sound is TikTok and its “For you page” (FYP). TikTok has become a platform where individual artists can share their music without having to already have subscribers like YouTube. The for you page specifically has allowed many small artists to blow up and gain a following online. Especially throughout the pandemic, many artists blew up because they went viral on the app. As a user of TikTok, I’ve discovered many artists by scrolling through the for you page and finding songs or artists that I enjoy listening to. One artist that I’ve recently discovered is a country artist named Josh Ross whose video was duetted by another country artist named Bailey Zimmerman. I find it interesting how one video going viral on the app can really accelerate an artist's career. Josh Ross TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joshrossmusic?_t=8ZHDoNG5pY5&_r=1 I took this course because I’m interested in the various aspects o...