The 1990s witnessed one of the fastest rates of technological innovation of the 20th century. A movement that spurred an increase in media availability and helped usher in an era in which music was shaped by emerging technologies, transforming not only the songs of the 90s, but also changing the world of music. music for decades to come.

At the epicenter of the new wave of technological innovations in the 1990s was the digital revolution. Bulky, single-use mobile phones were replaced by smaller devices loaded with many built-in features. The Internet grew exponentially from anonymity to become a digital communication and information superhighway adopted by 50% of Western countries. Helping increase the dominance of the Internet was the creation of the Pentium chip by Intel. For their part, hardware manufacturers added staples to their personal computer offerings, such as CD burners and CD Rom drives.

With the onslaught of new technologies came a transformation of the songs of the 90s. The 1990s heralded the dawn of the boy band, teenage pop sensations, commercial and sampled hip-hop music tracks. Even armchair musicians would have the opportunity to make more meaningful musical contributions with excess music technology as more musicians were able to produce electronic music. What started out sounding like dance music was gradually directed less at the dance floor audience and more at home listeners. This genre later became known as “Electronica”, or in its slower manifestations, “Chill-out” or “Ambient music”.

In late spring 1998, the first MP3 player was released, along with the 32 MB and 64 MB MP3 players. By the mid-2000s, the Mp3 format would overtake the CD player in popularity. Early adopters of technology, mostly younger music audiences, would have the opportunity to endorse their preferred musical tastes, the pop songs of the 90s, catapulting pop stars into the spotlight. Unsurprisingly, between 1997 and 1999, American teen pop stars and groups were all the rage, with some of the most popular acts being the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Christina Aguilera, and Britney Spears. This scene was aimed at the younger members of Generation Y.

Today, technology continues to play a vital role in deciding what music to allow in our personal space. The Internet and new media have been built on the foundations established in the 1990s to provide better access to talent that might not have been discovered in the past. Songs from the 90s evoke a sense of nostalgia for perhaps the decade when today’s dominant musical genres were still in their infancy.