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Tetrad Analysis Assignment

Sukhpreet Kaur

8875854

Canada in the future

SOC1140

Dr. Ruma Chokshi

Due- Not mentioned.

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Technology Chosen

Spotify

Introduction to the Technology Chosen

Digital playlists have been used to organize collections of recorded sound since the 1990s

and are now located at the heart of the financial growth of the streaming industry for music.

Building on older practices of queuing tracks before they are broadcasted (as has long been the

habit in radio broadcasts and cassette mix taping for example), playlists were originally

introduced to assist fans in the personal organization of musical archives (Drew Citation2005,

Morris Citation2015). With time, however, they have also become increasingly important tools in

driving online traffic. Most streaming services for music are now filled with editorial playlists

that are either owned and operated by streaming services themselves or run by third-party brands

or playlist businesses.

Marshall McLuhan’s tetrad analysis is an important tool for the analysis of different form

of media. It’s four basic laws are enhance, reverse, retrieve, and obsolete. These four laws

clearly observed to be deeply embedded in the company Spotify.

ENHANCE:

The editorial playlist on Spotify enhances the organization and distribution of music

within the streaming platform, making it more efficient and personalized (Eriksson, 2020).
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Graphical Representation

Tetrad of Media Effects McLuhan (1988)

OBSOLESCED:

The playlist on Spotify has the potential to obsolesce traditional forms of music

distribution, such as physical formats like CDs or even earlier digital formats like MP3s. It
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transforms the way music is packaged and distributed, rendering older models less relevant

(Eriksson, 2020).

RETRIEVAL:

The editorial playlist on Spotify retrieves certain aspects of older practices related to

music organization, such as queuing tracks or creating personal mixtapes. In a digital format, it

brings back the idea of curated lists or compilations, even though the context and technology are

different (Eriksson, 2020).

REVERSE:

The editorial playlist on Spotify, when pushed to its limits, might reverse its original

characteristic of being a personalized music recommendation tool. It may become less about

personalization and more about mass production, potentially losing some of its initial emphasis

on individualized curation (Eriksson, 2020).

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References

Drew, R., 2005. Mixed blessings: the commercial mix and the future of music

aggregation. Popular Music and Society, 28 (4), 533–551.

https://www.tandfonline.com/servlet/linkout?

suffix=e_1_3_4_9_1&dbid=128&doi=10.1080%2F17530350.2019.1708780&key=000231399

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Eriksson, M., 2018. Unpacking online streams. APRJA, 7 (1), 72–84.

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/getFTRLinkout?url=https%3A%2F

%2Fct.prod.getft.io

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Faprja.v7i1.115066&linkType=VIEW_FULL_ACCESS&linkLocation=Reference&linkSou

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