• Under such conditions, the tide of amateurism cannot but recede until there will be left only the mechanical device and the professional executant.
• John Philip Sousa • In a 1906 article titled “The Menace of Mechanical Music,” making a passionate argument against the use of the player piano and the gramophone. In a way, he was right – people don’t sing kum-bay-ya around the campfire much anymore – but even he admitted his claims rang a little alarmist. Ars Technica has a great article covering the ways that mainstream content creators have freaked out over new technology. Other new ideas scorned? The photocopier, the VCR, home taping, MP3s, DVRs and Digital TV and radio. Amusing read. • source

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