From Cassettes to Global Fame, How Innovation Revolutionized Music Distribution and Changed History

The Liat Show

From Cassettes to Global Fame, How Innovation Changed the Game More Than NotebookLM and Led Ofra Haza to the Center of the Stage

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From Cassettes to Global Fame, How Innovation Changed the Game More Than NotebookLM and Led Ofra Haza to the Center of the Stage

A Story Unfolding Across Timelines.

Liat Portal

Dec 30, 2024

Transcript

Collage featuring a portrait of singer Ofra Haza surrounded by vintage cassette tapes labeled "The Liat Show Mixed Tape," with the central caption "Join a Journey of Music Through Cultures," created for The Liat Show. — Ofra Haza

Current Time.

Music editors used to be the only ones deciding what the public could hear. They controlled what was played on the radio and what aired on television. Mizrahi music was rejected by these editors and the cultural institutions for which they worked. It was considered inferior, not fitting their standards, and dismissed by being pushed to the margins. Yet, it stayed alive through the people who connected with it. It spoke to their lives and struggles and carried the stories of their culture that mainstream channels ignored.

The spread of Mizrahi music was powered by the availability of cassette tapes. These tapes were affordable and easy to produce. Street markets became the lifeline for this music, where people could buy a tape and share it with others. At home, double-tape recorders allowed families and friends to copy the music, helping it reach far beyond its starting point. While artists have lost official sales of their albums from tape copying, their music broke through barriers they never thought possible, spread more widely, and became viral more than any marketing campaign had ever achieved before.

A collage featuring retro cassette tapes labeled 'The Liat Show Mixed Tape,' symbolizing a nostalgic journey through music and storytelling. The tapes are styled with handwritten and printed labels, evoking a sense of personal curation and cultural exploration tied to The Liat Show. — Created by me using Midjourney.

Innovation gave people the power to amplify what mattered to them and bypass the traditional gatekeepers. But beyond the technology that enabled that, it was the people who learned how to utilize it to share and promote what mattered to them. The public spread the music they loved to listen to without being asked to share, like, or comment on it.

Today, platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music give us access to more music than ever before, but what pops up on our feeds is not entirely up to us or based on our tastes. Instead of music editors, the new gatekeepers today are the algorithms that decide what shows up in our feeds. The algorithms are designed to keep us scrolling and listening, often limiting what we discover. Instead of being tools for exploration that encourage curiosity and maximize our happiness, these systems favor profit over creativity, narrowing the range of voices that reach us in the first place.

This raises a question worth thinking about. How much of the music we listen to is something we found on our own in our music journey? Are we exploring or just following what gets pushed into our feed? In a world with so many choices, are we discovering more, or are music tastes shaped by algorithms that decide for us?

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To read the series of stories about Ofra Haza they talk about, click the links:

Mark and Samantha, reimagined by MidJourney. A visually striking pair, both exuding a modern, intellectual vibe. Mark wears glasses with a sharp expression, while Samantha has a poised and confident demeanor. The duo represents insightful discussions and storytelling. — Mark and Samantha, reimagined by MidJourney.

To listen to the podcast episodes about Ofra Haza, click the links below:

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Liat

In this journey, I weave together episodes from my life with the rich tapestry of Israeli culture through music, food, arts, entrepreneurship, and more. I write over the weekends and evenings and publish these episodes as they unfold, almost like a live performance.

Each episode is part of a set focused on a specific topic, though sometimes I release standalone episodes. A set is released over several days to make it easier for you to read during your busy workday. If one episode catches your attention, make sure to read the entire set to get the whole picture. Although these episodes are released in sets, you can read the entire newsletter from the beginning, as it flows smoothly, like music to your ears - or, in this case, your eyes.