I appreciate the thoroughness of the history of the MP3 that Sterne provides in his book, however in my opinion it took far too long to actually tell the reader what an MP3 is. The book itself was actually rather difficult for me to understand; there were quotes throughout the book that were just dropped in with little context and I honestly couldn’t even discern his thesis. There were some points that I understood though. For instance, the value of efficiency vs. quality, as well as how the MP3 format has changed the act of listening to music and how it has affected human behavior in general.

In regards to the history of the MP3 I suppose it makes sense that it begins with telephones rather than with recorded sound. The invention and the improvement of telephones has had an impact on recorded sound because it deals with the transmission of sound, something that is necessary in recording and playing back. I have to say though the use of the cats in the Bell Lab experiments is incredibly creepy; it feels very unethical as well, however without it would technology be what it is today?

Sterne does argue that the MP3 has been bad for the music industry yet good for consumerism. The fact that MP3’s are cheaper and more convenient seems to out weigh the fact that the song has been greatly reduced. There is also the effect it has on people. Listening to music used to be a shared experience and it has gotten progressively more private. The MP3 allows people to listen to music via headphones on their phone and they don’t have to interact with others. In a way this can also limit peoples personal growth; they are not exposed to other types of music nor the people who listen to it. It is very isolating