Picture the last crowded place you saw… and how many young people were wearing
headphones. Mp3 players are everywhere with most people flashing those white iPod earbuds.
It might be fashionable. It might be anti-social. But either way, iPods have become a staple
accessory. Intern Edition's Tristan Kraft wanted to know what these people were listening to and
if there was any classical to be found.
There's this stigma floating around that classical music is for old people. Who's to say that
iPods aren't filled with classical.
I went to the University of Maryland to ask what was playing. The answers might not be
surprising.
I'm actually listening to Reggaeton - Foo Fighters - REM - Counting Crows - Panic at the Disco -
Nick Drake - Korean Pop.......>
Ok, so no one was listening to classical at that moment. But there were some less hip
surprises tucked away in those digital libraries.
So yes. Young people at least have classical music on hand. Especially the big names:
iPods are changing the way people listen to classical music. No one needs to be thrifty about
what to put on a playlist because everything fits. Even that obscure stuff like Schoenberg or
Webern or Elliot Carter.
Nick Kendall, concert violinist, graduate of the Curtis Institute, and 26 years old.
Classical Record labels are also pretty excited about mp3 technology. Especially the huge
volume of storage, which makes room for classical.
Denise McGovern, New Media manager at Universal Music, Classical Group
And the only thing that really sounds stodgy is the term "classical." Classical music is just a
name for a genre. iPods merge all genres.
And that's what's going on - a big shuffle. What people listen to is still the same, but how they
listen is changing. People can take risks beyond that one CD. There's a capacity for all CD's -
that whole shelf - shuffled together.
So who cares what people are listening to? What's important is the music people don't have,
but still have room for. For Intern Edition, I'm Tristan Kraft