Bring Back the Music

“Music inspires, it motivates. It’s also the thing at night that helps quiet me. I think it’s better than any medicine.”

-Tim Cook, August, 2018

I agree with Tim Cook, music is that and so much more. It is an integral part of my life as well as my children’s.

Growing up I was fortunate to have access to music, I had a simple radio in my room and later a tape deck. As a teenager, I could get lost in the world of music with a portable radio and headphones and then a Sony Walkman.

Children (and adults) today ironically don’t have a reliable, easy way to get lost in the music. While Apple’s devices certainly provide one with the ability to listen to music, they also burden their owner with an onslaught of distractions – text messages, Snapchat notifications, FaceBook, and on and on.

Even the simplest iOS device, the iPod, inflicts these distractions upon the user.

My children have iPods with music on them. They recently went to summer camp where internet capable devices were prohibited. I went to Amazon, ordered some MP3 players and proceeded to download music. I was successful, but it felt like I was back in 1997.

What if Apple were to make a small, portable music player that – get ready – only played music?

People could listen to their music without the distractions. This would be especially beneficial for children who may not have the self control, or knowledge, needed to disable these distractions. They could take them to camp and have their music. They could be somewhere without the internet (there are still such places) and listen to their music.

Apple has made such a device, the iPod Shuffle. It played music and did nothing else. It would be easy for Apple to bring this back. It would align with Tim Cook’s philosophy on music and would not cannibalize any device in the current product line.

Bring Back the Music.