Hi guys and girls,

My dissertation looks at how the physicality of a product affects user experience. Physicality, a term which is fairly new to me, encompasses the tactile/physical interactions we have with a product. More info here http://www.physicality.org/Physicality.org.html

I've chosen to focus on the evolution of music playback systems as I believe the change from having something physical (a record or CD) to having a hard drive full of music, has a clear affect on the way we consume music. One example being, people would be much more inclined to listen to a whole album using a record player than they would using MP3, largely due to the effort involved with changing track. Although it is of course much easier and quicker to change track with an MP3 album or even a Compact Disc, is the overall experience we get from these formats better than their vinyl counterpart?

If this is something you've thought about before or have any interest in, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could spend a few minutes completing this questionnairre http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en_GB&formkey=dGwyOFUzTUdlZWJLa29qbWYwWlQ4VFE6MQ

Also feel free to post comments here.

Thanks for your help :)

Done. I will listen to an entire album quite often if listening on CD but rarely if using computer/iPod. I find I cherry pick tunes when using computer/iPod, whereas I am more open to experiencing other music using CD/Vinyl.

Most of my new music discovery is via the radio. Internet radio.

That's interesting as when i had TT's I'd only listen to the side with the best track on it. CD on the other hand is more accessible as the effort involved to check through tracks and having a pleasent accident finding something i dismissed before.

I'm finding my self listening to even more music and different genres with HDD music as i can listen online, decide if i like, then go out and buy it - IF it's worth it.

I've never been one for album covers or cataloguing 1000's of records. Infact i find it a waste of time - i could've listened to half an album by the time i find what take me that day. With a file format i can find something in seconds.

Each to his own and all that :D

I have recently started streaming Napster. I now find myself looking for obscure tracks or that one track off the album that I like. I still play full albums but usually my all time faves which I have on vinyl but can't be arsed to play.

Done.

I've never listened to more music than now with my Streaming Server. It runs constantly whenever I'm home.
Most of the time, I let if play random tracks, just occasionally skipping stuff I don't want to hear right now. At some point I'll hear a song I've forgot about or really enjoy, in which case I'll play the entire album.

Thanks for the responses chaps, much appreciated.

You could say a few interesting things about product bundling. Sales of digital cameras are impacted by camera phones. The Ipad will take sales from dedicated ebook readers. In audio, mp3 players are being impacted by mobile phones, and dedicated 2-channel audio is impacted by playing music on home cinema systems.

Another thought is that Apple have shown how physicality can contribute to fashion, e.g the ipod. Another example would also be the resurgence (in a minor way) of the LP as a fashion.

Nic P

won't let me submit, says i've missed out questions... does it work on macs?

I successfully completed it on a Mac.
Perhaps you didn't answer a required question?

I'm a firm believer that an album is a body of work as a whole, I've always listened to complete albums, I just don't get cherry picking tunes.

Done.

Best of luck with your degree BTW.

Dave.

S'funny, since moving away from CD to a HD based system, perversely the record deck is getting more use than it ever did. The whole selection/tactile/physical media element is more important than I thought it would be.

OTOH, I do use random/shuffle in Itunes a lot, which has had the effect of renewing/refreshing my music collection. A good thing in my book.

Although still of the view that I prefer to have a record sleve in my hand with some lovely art work - Pet Shop Boys LTD Edition (vinyl Factory), I do tend to find myself flicking on the PC and pressing shuffle whilst fraffing around home.

Digital has deifnately made a change, and for me the only change is the simplicity of aquiring music, especially when I buy a lot of music internationally, a download does help, but you do miss the physical product.

Done. Love the 100+ top-end for music ownership, it makes my collector disease sound rather moderate...

FWIW I use computer audio / MP3s etc in a totally different way to vinyl - I just use it on shuffle as background or on the bus, kind of like a radio. If I want to listen to anything seriously I'll play the record or CD on the main system almost always in it's entirety, and usually with no distractions at all (my preferred listening is at night with the light off). I've always been an album buyer and almost always stayed clear of compilations.

Tony.

For me, owning something that can be held and put into/onto a machine to be played that isn't connected to the outside world via the web is something that I find both difficult to live without and difficult to understand why that is.

I suppose I associate my PC with things that aren't as fun as listening to music (ahem, except pfm of course :cool:)

Switching on something that doesn't have a connection to the internet, has no screen or keyboard, it says time to relax, so I've yet to hook the PC to the hifi, I feel no compulsion to do so.

Bit silly to some here but very real to me!

:)

Interesting subject btw, I'll fill out the questionaire in a mo.

Good luck with your project.
HD playback has the added advantage of letting you create collections/playlists of your own choice across your music collection. It opens new ways of interacting with your music collection. Like contrasting an artist´s performance of the same music through time or how different conductors interpret the same piece of music - etc.


Cheers

Tom

I've always been an album buyer and almost always stayed clear of compilations.

Tony.

Tony, not sure of your musical persuasions, but as far as compilations go, try out ANYTHING on the Numero Group label. They cater mainly for soul/funk but also have ventured into solo guitar stuff, gospel, folk and generally the most obscure releases around. I've bought almost everything they have released on vinyl now and have never been disappointed yet.

They really do their homework and their ability to unearth true gems is unequalled in the compilation field, which can be a bit crap in all honesty.

Done.

Glad to see another Loughborough (Lufrba!) student out in the ether.