Streaming: why is it so unsatisfying?

Not if you're buying mp3s of new albums off Amazon. Most of the time, the physical product (CDs) are cheaper than the mp3s! The irony is that many times the CD comes with a free digital download.

 

I too get more satisfaction out of buying and owning the stuff I really love. But I'm also a streamer. So

If a new album that I want to hear is available I will either create a playlist or listen at midnight on the day it's released. For instance I will be getting the new WHO album the day of release but if I'm awake I'll play it midnight of that day. This doesn't just work for new albums. If a buddy suggests I try something I'll add it to a playlist. I also created one called New Discoveries where I create a station out of a new to me song and as it plays I'll add songs to the ND playlist.

BTW, for me, streaming has not saved me any cash. I buy more CDs and LPS now than ever.

 

Of course, but make no mistake that the industry is phasing out physical media and switching over to streaming. So while both can be done now, if a young consumer gets off his butt and starts collecting tons of CDs/vinyl (not likely), that opportunity will NOT be do-able in the future. I'm trying to take a longer term view of this.

 

Streaming is just another option. Purists of another medium will always moan and complain because they feel different. Same thing happend with CD’s when it was new.

Just accept the fact that people have different preferences.

Personally, streaming has opened my eyes for A LOT of music I didn’t know existed.
Made me make great playlists of different genres too.

So no, it’s not unsatisfying in the least.

 

Streaming can offer great sound quality.The lack of mastering choice is a big negative for me though.A lot of the output will be compressed simply because Streaming services normally use the latest/most commonly available master of any given album..The 24 bit output might be better.Not because of more bits,but because the chances of the master being half decent should be greater.

 

First timer here but thought I'd add my 2 pence.

Streaming (spotify) is a godsend for me as a discovery tool. I've found so much that I probably would never have found out about before. However, once I realise just how much I love an album (I am an album listener type of guy) I buy a physical copy because of the reality that one day I may not be a subscriber anymore or the fear that it gets removed from the service.

Once bought, I rip to flac, copy to my NAS drive and then stream that around the house. The CDs end up living inside a CD style wallet with the cover, and the jewel case get thrown away.

So, yes, I stream but mainly from my own collection on my NAS. Spotify is used more when I'm out and about i.e in the car, walking the dog, listening at work, etc., and in that sense it's very satisfying.

 

If it does, it still has nothing to do with the music. If you blind listened to the music and didn't know if it was coming from a CD player through a DAC, or a 16/44.1 FLAC through the same DAC from a streaming platform, you wouldn't have any different experience. How any one of us responds to carrying all this extra, non-musical information in our heads into our experience of the music is personal, it's not inherent in the music or the experience of it, it's a separate outside element.

 

It was a long post to read, but I made it through and all I can say is I agree to every single word you wrote.
After I was done reading the first song that came in my mind was "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing".
Actually, the lyrics of this song makes a great summary of your post.

 

I read it too, and disagree with every point in it. I find all of the points unsupported factually and merely reflecting the author's personal preferences. That is fine, but the author presents his personal preferences as truth, which they are most certainly not.

I am 63 years old, own over 20,000 CDs and LPs which I have collected since 1970, and also like streaming very much.

 

I can’t get no satisfaction from not owning the music I really love, but for a party or get together you can’t beat streaming for putting together a themed playlist for the event. Streaming has a place in my listening habits and it’s an important place.

 

The word "rituals" gave me cause for notice...good choice of word. It made me realize my music listening habits are highly ritualized, which is probably why I never took to streaming. There is nothing to hold, to look at, to read, or shelve, it's like music coming from nowhere. When I first started collecting LPs, I used to put on a record and watch it spin, with the lyrics sheet or the gatefold LP cover opened before me. I probably have every inch of the Moving Pictures cover memorized, right down to the catalog number. And the center label on the record, it looks sort of the same when the album is at rest as when it's spinning.

 

I don't stream, but for the amount of music (although not "audiophile" quality,) available, that's still a pretty good deal (imo).

 

Streaming -- via YouTube, not Spotify, in my case -- is a great way to sample and discover new-to-me music, and it's still exciting when I find something I love that way. But once I know I love an album and want to own it, I want a record or a CD. Call me old-fashioned if you will, but I like having a physical music collection. I sold hundreds of records and CD's that I'd replaced with MP3 downloads in 2003-'05, just to save space in the two very small apartments I lived in back to back. Lately I've found myself buying most of that music on CD and vinyl again. I feel a collection is something to display and look at and flip through. I'm not saying anyone who disagrees is wrong; this is just what makes me happiest.

 

The only thing unsatisfying is that I can't FF/skip while driving from controls on the steering wheel. My wife can in her car. I have to use the phone to do this which is only useful to do when at a dead stop. It's ******** I tellz ya. Life is so hard.

 

I'm inclined to agree with this. Although I have several places to go record shopping (Columbus OH) there are few places to buy CDs. And I love buying CDs. So the move to streaming is certainly palpable.

I think it's easy to lose sight of the fact that downloads began the death of the CD and streaming is actually a replacement for downloads. Sure there will always be people like on this forum that will buy HDtracks and the like, just like there will be CD enthusiasts, but downloading is no longer necessary for the general population.

Also, I'm sure there is still plenty of illegally uploaded music, but there's a lot less reason for a listener to take advantage of these. The industry had to come up with a response to people stealing music. Are there better options than streaming? Possibly, but I can't think of one.


On a side note, there is plenty of free legal streaming of content that is otherwise commercially unavailable. Websites like archive.org that stream concerts and public domain movies etc...I found one once where you could play old blues 78s. Stuff that's worthwhile even if one doesn't collect it.

 

You own nothing.. just the song... you can't share it with anyone, except if they are listening to it with you

 

But that doesn't retroactively cause the records they pressed and sold to cease to exist.

 

Everything I write is personal opinion. It's based on my personal experience, and my own feelings. I know it's a long slog, but I'd love to read the points (all of them, apparently) you disagree with. Nothing wrong with opposing views. In my own defense, this isn't something I'm making up as I go along, I have given it some thought. At least you know I'm being earnest.

 

Oh come on! Who hasn't had a party and woken up next day to find all your Vinyl scattered across the room covered in beer, ash, and puke?

 

Indeed - it's cheap. No way could you buy all the music on Spotify without robbing a few banks. When it comes to price and convenience, Spotify wins.

 

I"m surprised there are many that still download files. Or at least, pay to do so. it's fairly trivial to "record" the music from Spotify, but what's the point when you can access it with a click? There will always be cases where music disappears from their site, but overall I'd imagine download sales are pretty low at this point.

The big change wasn't streaming par se, as I see it. It was having the labels buy into the concept, and dumping their catalogs into Spotify. You correctly state, Youtube has effectively been streaming forever, but with Spotify, the amount of music the labels licensed has gone through the roof.

 

If I buy a physical CD or vinyl record - I make damn sure I listen to the whole album from start to finish....

....but on streaming if I get bored with a track - I am inclined to skip it (or indeed the whole album).

BTW I have Qobuz Sublime+ which provides lossless CD and often Hi-Res - so for me the problem with streaming is not purely based on sound quality aspects....

.....having said that - with physical product I can choose the mastering I prefer (whereas with streaming I am stuck with whatever mastering Qobuz happens to have).

 

That's my point Vaughn. Download sales are probably very very low now (I haven't actually checked). That's what streaming was built to replace.

 

Well, having tried the free option too, I'd say if you're a music lover, it won't be the option you choose. I mean, come on, the advertisements are beyond horrible, and very intrusive. IMO.

 

Then what are all those discs on my shelves? Why have I been able to sell some of them when a better remaster/SACD comes along, and get cash for them? How can I rip them for both me and my kid on Apple Music (aka iTunes). Answer: I own the physical albums as private property.

There is always a cost. In the case of Spotify, it's ad revenue the company and its partners are after, using your data, including what SHOULD be your personal data.