Post #8: iTunes Turns 10

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/itunes-10th-anniversary-how-steve-jobs-turned-the-industry-upside-down-20130426

The iTunes Store home page in 2013.

On this day (April 28), 10 years ago in 2003, the iTunes Music Store was opened for the first time. The idea was a huge innovation in the record industry. At the time, the biggest online music provider was Napster – which was facing tough legal action – and there was a significant amount of confusion about regulating music. No one was sure on what road to take with the legality of free music. Then Apple CEO Steve Jobs came along with an idea that would change everything. His idea was iTunes, and online catalog of thousands of songs from around the world priced at a simple 99 cents. Jobs did some convincing of major record labels, and then the idea took off.

Left: original version of iTunes in 2003

Right: current version of iTunes

Not only was iTunes a relatively innovative technology, but it also priced music for significantly cheaper than it was selling for. At the time, a typical physical album would have been priced around $15 to $18, yet Apple managed to reduce that price to $10. This was also the first time anyone could own individual songs legally. The easiness and cheapness of the service allowed music fans to customize their libraries more than ever before. Within the first week of release, iTunes had already received one million downloads from its store. As of 2013, that number has reached 25 billion.

iTunes is significant in the media as it has changed the music industry almost completely the past decade. iTunes turned the music industry into an almost completely technology-focused area. Now that digital music was becoming available, people wanted to make it more portable. This brought on the rise of the MP3 player – an industry which Apple also dominates still today. In turn, the MP3 player combined its capabilities with mobile phones, making mobile devices the next big thing since the personal computer. iTunes made it possible to have music libraries with thousands of songs and albums. And all of this the music industry had never seen before. iTunes made it possible for the music industry to transition into the digital age before it had even considered making such a move.

Post #7: Explosions in Boston

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57579671/deadly-explosions-rock-boston-marathon/

Earlier today, there was a terrorist bombing attack in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Marathon. Reports say two of the bombs exploded as runners were crossing the finish line, while a third bomb exploded at the JFK library. It was indeed declared a terrorist attack after the second and third bombs went off in different locations. President Obama declared that he was driven to find who was responsible and "hold them accountable." It is unsure if this was an attack by domestic or foreign citizens.

A map displaying the location of the bombings.

With the heap of issues occurring in the U.S. right now, there could not have been worse timing for such an event. The U.S. is seeing its worst debt crisis ever, the war in the Middle East is attempting to be shut down...the list goes on. Also with the recent threats from North Korea, people are becoming quick to suspect them as a culprit. Nothing is quite certain about the event, but what is clear is that – in the peak of the media era – this event could be very influential with the media.

In fact, the media influence has already started. Multiple trends on Twitter today were about the event. A plethora of news sites have started live feeds on the story (similar to the Newtown shooting). But the most significant media innovation that has resulted from this event is Google's Person Finder. Google has used the service before, but only once: for the Haiti earthquake in 2010. The service allows for users to look for someone or give information about someone.

With all of the media revolving around the event today, this could possibly become a milestone in the media world. With such a significant amount of information on the internet, using and enabling media in this investigation would be smart for the FBI. The media has a lot of influence on such an event like this.

Post #6 – Gay Rappers: Accepted or Not?

http://www.cinemablend.com/pop/Snoop-Says-Gay-Rapper-Wouldn-t-Accepted-Do-You-Agree-54412.html

Recently, rapper Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion, depending on how avid of a Snoop follower you are) was quoted saying that a gay rapper could not be accepted: "...,but in the rap world I don't know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine." Snoop went on to say that he has no personal issues with gay people, and said he even has a few friends who are openly gay. He does not think that a gay rapper would be culturally accepted, though.

This sort of statement seems somewhat offensive in today's world, especially in modern-day America where homophobia has significantly decreased. Even the Supreme Court has currently been deciding on whether banning gay marriage is constitutional. But, as discussed in class, the rap world is still really homophobic; not only such, but also sexist. Modern rappers have been notorious for lyrics about their tumultuous amounts of wealth and women.

So, with the current rap world, would a gay rapper be widely accepted? A poll on CinemaBlend.com asked the question to its users. 34% answered "yes"; 66% answered "no." Even the consensus agrees: the rap world is not ready for a gay rapper. But will it ever be?

The future of rap music could experience the biggest evolution the genre has ever seen. Softer genres of rap have begun appearing, more rapidly today than ever before. These softer genres – often influenced by or discussing drug use but rarely containing lyrics about sexual acts or money – have introduced semi-successful rappers such as Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and more recently Kendrick Lamar. These types of rappers have an eager following that is promising a "softer" future for rap music. This could possibly allow for a gay rapper to be reputable and accepted. Rapper Macklemore (along with producer Ryan Lewis) has also touched on the issue with gay rights and stereotyping in his song titled "Same Love." The song was critically accepted, and the music video has received 30 million views to date, despite the main theme of the song being about homosexuality.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis touched on homosexuality in the song "Same Love."

Despite there being no present acceptance of a gay rapper, all of these recent events in the rap industry could open up more doors for gay rappers in the near future.