Music Consumption on Digital Platforms: A Study on Bangladeshi University Students

Abstract

Because of advancements in information technology and the emergence of various digital platforms, there have been significant changes in the way people consume music over the years. Gramophones, audio cassette players, CD and DVD players, and other analog devices that were popular in the past, have become nearly obsolete. The internet and, later, smartphones were the primary drivers of change in the late 1990s. Since the mid-2000s, social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, as well as online audio stores and streaming platforms like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Pandora, and SoundCloud, have become the most popular ways for people to listen to music on their smartphones. The internet has a much larger selection of music than traditional sources such as vinyl records, audio cassettes, CD-DVDs, or iPods, which have limited song storage capacities. This study focuses on the growing popularity of online music consumption among Bangladeshi university students. Apart from that, the study sought to explore how university students enjoy music on digital platforms, the platforms they use, whether they use these platforms to consume, or share pirated music, and the devices they use to do so. The researcher interviewed students from various departments at Rajshahi University using a social survey method. According to the study, Rajshahi University students have given up traditional music consumption methods in favour of various digital platforms. In this university, Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify are the most popular platforms for both male and female young students to enjoy music. Music consumption via digital platforms has become an integral part of their daily lives. Students also use social media to share their favorite songs from digital platforms with their family and friends. According to the study, the majority of the students does not listen to music from pirated sources and prefer free sources over digital platforms.