Napster made digital music feel limitless for the first time, then vanished in lawsuits, rebrands, and sales. Its name faded, but its ideas still shape how the world listens.
The Sony Walkman was not only a revolutionary device, it was revolutionary on a cultural scale. With the Walkman you could play any song, anywhere, anytime, before the same was possible for movies, e-books or video games.
These days, everyone has a phone in their pocket that can stream music. But two decades ago, you needed a dedicated player to listen to your favorite songs on the go. Enter the iPod.
#TBT Did you know that a floppy disk is more than just a save icon? Can you understand how a pencil and a cassette tape are related? Does the term 'VHS tracking' fill you with dread? What seemed like magic tech at the time, is now a distant memory that those under 20 can't believe was actually real.
#TBT Launched in 1997, Winamp is a media player that supports a wide array of audio formats and was an iconic application in the heyday of MP3 music. Winamp was nearly ubiquitous, used by millions in the early 2000s.
While most people who enjoy music on the go these days are listening from their phones, there are still many reasons someone might want to own a standalone portable music player. Models range from around $1 to more than $3,000, for what is already a niche market, the world of dedicated MP3 players is fragmented into various sub-niches targeting wildly different shoppers.
