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All Songs +1: The Madness Of Never-Ending Format Changes

NPR | By Bob Boilen

Published October 16, 2015 at 9:30 AM EDT

The way we listen to music evolves constantly. From wax cylinder recordings all the way through to today's streaming services, formats have come a long way. What's next? What does this unending metamorphosis say about the music industry? And what does any of this have to do with Robert De Niro?

In another installment of our series The Martin Atkins Minute, Martin Atkins, the Public Image Ltd. drummer-turned-professor of music business at the SAE Institute, explains it all, from the strange newness of emerging formats to how vinyl records made such a resurgence that they ended up in Whole Foods.

The story was produced by Brad Pack at SAE (School of Audio Engineering) in Chicago.

Bob Boilen

In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.

See stories by Bob Boilen