The iPod Nano: A Cultural Reset
By Marianne Graff
Christmas morning of 2011. As I run down the stairs to see what gifts Santa brought me this year, I find a tiny box. To my amazement, I unwrap it: the iPod Nano. This little pink square marked the start of my music listening journey: this technology revolutionised the way I, and the rest of the world, streamed music. From strictly listening to music on the car radio with my parents, I could now listen to songs I had chosen, at the reach of my fingertips: pretty big deal for an 8 year old. So, I started carefully purchasing songs and curating proto-playlists, with each song choice being special. As the iPod was introduced to the market, streaming music took a completely different direction.
The iPod Nano emerged as a compact, sleek, and highly portable music player in 2005, building upon the success of its predecessors, the iPod Classic. Its introduction marked a significant shift in how people consumed music. As Steve Jobs introduced this new gadget by pulling it out of his front Levi’s pocket (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GRv-kv5XEg), the Nano’s small size and large storage capacity made it easier than ever for users to carry their entire music libraries in their pockets. They now had the freedom to compose their libraries however they wanted: I strongly believe that the iPod Nano was the start of an obsession for playlists, and their meticulous curation. As the iPod Nano gained popularity, it inevitably contributed to the decline of physical music formats such as CDs, and other streaming channels like the radio. With the ability to store thousands of songs on a single device, consumers no longer relied on CDs to access their favourite tracks. Additionally, the Nano facilitated the rise of digital music downloads through iTunes, further diminishing the need for physical media. Its portability and ease of use encouraged users to listen to music in new settings, from commuting to exercising, leading to a decline in traditional radio listening among younger demographics. Is the iPod Nano at the origin of our generation’s incapacity to do a single activity or chore in silence? This product revolutionised the music listening experience, allowing for greater mobility and convenience: everything now in one place.
The production of the iPod Nano series started in 2005 all the way through the 2010s, with its last release being in 2017. Its smooth design, intuitive interface, and expansive storage capacity resonated with consumers, propelling it to the forefront of the industry. In its first 17 days on the market, the Nano sold one million units : an overwhelmingly positive response. With a capacity to hold 1,000 songs, its convenience quickly convinced the public, as this showed significant advances compared to a classic mp3’s 100-song capacity. The production of the iPod Nano also led to the start of illegal download music sites, where, I think it’s safe to say, many of us downloaded our music from back in the day. But when Apple launched iTunes, it was able to take back control, and capitalise on their innovation as much as possible. However, from 2012 onwards, the iPhone started outselling the iPod, and by a landslide , eventually making Apple the giant we know today. The rise of smartphones, which offered all characteristics of the iPod, and more, became an unbeatable competitor, making the iPod Nano slowly lose relevance through the years. Apple went on to discreetly discontinue its iPod series in 2017, marking the end of an era.
While the product has been discontinued, we have seen a rise of the year 2000s (Y2K) comeback both in fashion and in music: a resurgence of interest in retro technologies, driven in part by a yearning for simpler times. Is it just childhood nostalgia as we slowly reach adulthood? As everyone knows: trends work in cycles. Eventually, everything comes back into fashion. I think this applies to music too - or at least in the way it is consumed. We have seen the resurgence of vinyls in full force the last few years, as well as CDs and cassettes. So, I wonder, how long until the iPod Nano becomes the next trendy fashion accessory? The renewal of vinyls and such has suggested a potential market for other vintage music formats. However, any comeback must be adapted to modern times: how will the iPod Nanos of indie film bros in Dalston take form in our current age?
To conclude , it is undeniable that the iPod Nano has had an irreversible influence in the way music is produced and consumed: the product dictated the way iPhones, and thus most smartphones today, function: alongside streaming platforms! Music on our phones is now second nature, thanks to the iPod. The digitalisation of the mp3 thus represents the start of music into digital space: everything is now in the Cloud. Paradoxically the iPod Nano allowed us to have music at our fingertips, And while every aspect of our lives becomes commodified and digitalised, conceptualised as separate from our real material life, are we losing music’s touch? Maybe the reason consumers went back to Vinyls was because we lacked the tactile experience and emotional connection we associate with physical format CDs and vinyls, amidst our technological world. Maybe, the iPod won’t be making a comeback, and people will keep resisting and moving away from digitised music.
Regardless of whether or not it will make a comeback, it is important for us music enjoyers to reflect on what we now consider second nature: easy access to music. Did the iPod Nano start our sensory overstimulation? As music access was more difficult in the past, whether through the necessity of buying vinyls, attending live concerts, or being lucky enough to have access to a radio, listening to songs was considered as more of a special occasion. Maybe as consumers, we are losing the true value of music without realising its full worth, through the commodification of music streaming. Maybe, the comeback of the iPod Nano would help people value the music they handpick, rather than having access to infinite tracks on titanic streaming platforms that have become Spotify or Apple Music. While neoliberalist markets have allowed consumers to have any imaginable product at the tip of their fingers, to what extent should music, and more broadly art, experience the same? Should we all go looking through our childhood memorabilia to uncover our pink iPod Nanos?