Sony Walkman reaches 30 – named best music invention
The Sony Walkman has reached the grand old age of 30. And its impact and influence on the world of music cannot be underestimated. Which is why it has celebrated its birthday by being named the best music invention of the past 50 years.
The first ever Sony Walkman hit the streets 30 years ago this week. It was the first commercially available personal stereo, and its presence would have an untold effect on the music industry. The first Walkman to be produced, the TPS-L2, took a while to start selling, but a slow buildup eventually became a huge buzz.
Japanese owners then started taking their Walkmans to the United States and the first true PMPs went on sale there in 1980. The rest, as they say, is history, with the now humble Sony Walkman going on to sell over 100 million units by 1993 when personal CD players and then eventually iPods and mp3 players took over in popularity.
Fittingly on this anniversary week, T3 magazine has named the Sony Walkman as the number one most important music invention of the last 50 years.
Top Ten Most Important Musical Innovations of the last 50 years:
1. Sony Walkman
2. MP3 format
3. Apple iPod 1st Generation
4. CD
5. Napster
6. Dolby
7. DAB radio
8. Boombox
9. Sonos Multi-Room Music System
10. Panasonic Technics DJ deck
And few would argue with this billing. Without the Walkman, there would never have been the iPod. So even though most of us would now baulk at the idea of using a Walkman for our personal listening pleasure, it remains the most innovative and important invention to hit the music industry this side of Christendom.
Brilliantly, this week saw the BBC choose to test out how a teenager would compare the PMP of the day from 30 years ago (the Walkman) with the PMP of now (the Apple iPod). He doesn’t like the size, the shape, and the lack of a shuffle button. However, he liked the belt clip and the fact that two sets of headphones can be connected at one time straight out the box.
I remember owning a Walkman as a kid, then an portable CD player, and then finally an mp3 player. I wouldn’t go back to either of the old choices but there is a nostalgic pull as there was something special about the mechanics of it all, which has been lost with the no-moving-parts mp3 players of today.
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July 6th, 2009
SONY named its product as WALKMAN and all the similar products were referred to as WALKMAN :).
Very few products have embedded their footprint just as SONY’s WALKAN . :):)