The Pros and Cons Of Streaming

Oh no! I read Rolling Stone (kinda pointless but my subscription expired a year and a half ago & they keep sending me magazines), subscribe to Uncut and Mojo too. But I use it all as a tool. Read about a band, head to Spotify to check them out or get a suggestion from Spotify and go check them out. It works well together.

 

In terms of content, I think it's actually impressive how little stuff I've seen taken down compared to video streaming platforms like Netflix.

 

That's very true.

 

There are no downsides, some people seem to think that if you subscribe to a streaming service you’re no longer allowed to buy CDs.

 

Wow six whole months. Looks like everything’s cool with streaming and I can dump my CD player and turntable now.

Remember when cable cost $30 per month? It will be the same thing with streaming.

 

Oh, I can't believe I forgot to mention this forum. I've learned about and discovered a lot of excellent music from members here. I just joined a little over a year ago and, music wise, I've gained a lifetime of knowledge. So thanks to everyone here.

 

I've been listening to a lot of artists and music I never would have even considered before thanks to streaming. I still buy what I really like (sometimes I buy and still continue to stream the same album when not at home).

 

Me too. And sometimes for the smaller bands I'll play their music all night long with the volume all the way down whilst I slumber.

 

Another pro: less clutter in your home and more space. Your kids or heirs won’t have to go through and figure out what to do with all your playlists when you pass on.

 

I've done that too. Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

 

Right from the get go, as a youngun getting into music, radio in my area has been as good as useless for me finding new music that suits my interests.
Almost all of my dicovery has been through reviews, publications & word of mouth from friends & acquaintances.
The arrival of the internet with digital publications, blogs & forums like this has lead me to an endless discovery of new & previously undiscovered sounds.
Even without using streaming the sheer volume of listening that I have at my disposal is staggering.
To say that I am happier than a pig in the proverbial is very much true in both the philosophical & the physical.
Yet every day I hear that music is dying.

 

I'm a consumer. I listen to the music. I buy physical media if I like it. Some people don't. Are artists well compensated for the physical media I buy? I have no idea. I've heard a thousand stories of artists getting screwed by record companies, making no money or even owing money. Why is streaming any different? If you're not on a streaming service less people will hear your music or go see you live. If no one is hearing your music something is better than nothing. I have no control over the royalty rate.

 

Actually now I am paying less with even Directv... And Yahoo TV promises all goods for $40... )) Adjusted for inflation I paid way more 25 years ago...

 

Easy. I listen to the radio (oldschool) because I like being inspired by what others may like about some music and a good presenter has researched information and is able to express their own emotion and highlightning what they liked or disliked about a certain piece. Ideally they do it in a profound plus entertaining way. I may or may not agree, but this can open myself up for new and unexpected stuff.
Plus I wade through quite a few RSS feeds on a regular basis for news and reviews.
I subscribe to magazines or buy the occasional issue. Read online reviews and specialist music blogs.
I read in forums (such as this one).
And whenever I come across something I might fancy, I fire up Spotify for a more or less extended sample.
I do not use Spotify playlists, not at all. Except for the release radar.

Some obscure stuff cannot be found on Spotify but on Youtube. But Youtube is merely for sampling and enjoying rare stuff, live performances etc. Spotify is for the album experience. I know that many people love and trust their playlists, but that's not for me.

I also watch bandcamp.com closely, use their streaming service to sample and quite often push that purchase button.

 

It's not a rhetorical device, it's the real world challenges of adapting to a completely different media environment than existed in the 20th century. The horses are out of the barn on the technology and consumer demand, and they're never going back in for any of these media businesses. The network delivered, service based model for media is here to stay. It has developed as a response to 20 years of traumatic disruption occasioned by the rise of the commercial internet, in which the total revenue into the recorded music industry was cut in half. And despite enormous efforts to put the genie back in the bottle in the music biz in particular (DRM, lawsuits, etc), nothing stemmed the tide.

Everyone who makes content for a living is going to have to adapt by finding new and different business models, and the broad consumer adoption of paid streaming over the last 3 or 4 years is the first sign that there actually is a future business model for recorded music with new money being created and economic growth. It's up to all the participants in the chain to decide how they want to adapt to it -- keep their music off streaming platforms, only put partially releases on streaming platforms, go all in on streaming platforms. That's a calculation they have to make. and that's a negotiation they have to have among one another. It's not my business. I'm paying for the service and the participants are making the music available to me, when they don't sometimes I'll by a CD, but I'm just paying for the music per its availability, not negotiating the terms of the contract. But we're never going back to a day where recorded music is principally sold as a product via hard copy, and where there's going to be $19 billion in CD sales revenue to spread around. So, yeah, something is better than nothing.

 

We're just in a cycle. Like after Buddy died, Chuck went to prison, and Elvis got drafted. Rock didn't die, it just lurked in the shadows. Same thing with disco. Everytime rock music isn't the main music some folks will say that it's dead. It's not. Just in the shadows, you have to seek it out now.

 

Check this link to a quaint article from The NY Times in 1981 wondering if cable TV will be invaded by commercials. Perish the thought!

WILL CABLE TV BE INVADED BY COMMERCIALS?

 

I noticed with streaming, I'm already thinking about what is the next song or album I want to stream while listening to the previous song I just selected. Playing a CD or Vinyl, I am definitely locked in the music playing without worrying or thinking about the next button I want to press. Vinyl/CDs are much more enjoyable, relaxing, and engaging with the music - when I want to focus solely on the music and nothing else. This may be just me though.

 

Yes some algorithms do exist as do tonics for hair loss reversal, anti aging creams etc. & yes not to the point of full recovery, however, more palpable for listening as an end result is a very strong positive. None of this would require discussion, of course, if they hadn't ventured down the path of the loudness wars to start with.

 

So far the majority of the stuff that I like is still up on the streaming service I use. Having said that, I typically will stream stuff I've never heard, haven't heard in a while, is out of print or too expense or just to experiment and try something new. Streaming to me replaced radio where you are the DJ for the most part. It's nice to rediscover stuff. I have a free Sirus XM subscription with my new car (and guess what--my new car HAD a CD player! I was happy for those times when I want to just throw something obscure on, playing it in a city where I know no one else has heard it or heard about the band. I mean how many Martin Newell fans are there in a 100,000 town?) and I listen to the music stations on there on occasion (particularly Tom Petty radio) but less than streaming.

 

I have a lot of different interests in music -- jazz, classical, pop, I don't really keep up too much like I once did with rock or R&B and hip-hop and country, but a little, plus I'm always interested in discovering music -- from the US and the world -- that I might not even know I'm interested in. So, between mostly non-commercial radio here (listener supported NPR affiliate, college radio stations) and commercial radio -- I'm in the NYC metro market, so it's a big media market -- and what I hear on satellite radio (love the Sirius classical station Symphony Hall), I often come across interesting stuff I didn't know about before across a range of different genres.

 

I’ll wager most people are paying much more. There is a lot of competition now and many people are abandoning cable for streaming. However most of the players are losing money. That will not go on forever. If anyone establishes dominance they will up the price.

We are moving to a pay per each viewing model that will nickle and dime you to death.

In addition the two delivery vehicles are very different. On demand viewing is a component of most cable systems.

I have had streaming TV for ages but it’s not my primary source.

 

So how much would a better lawyer cost. That is a lawyer that is better than the lawyers being paid by a number of the largest corporations in the world.
Maybe you could tip in some funds in support of your support.

 

For me, the challenge is having a network connected laptop which I'm streaming from, nearby and the temptation of the screen and the connection, but it just requires a little discipline to put the PC down and not pick it up. It's a bit of a change in behavior, but I'll adapt.

 

Who suggested throwing out their CD players and turntables? Why do people always try to twist this into a dramatic all-0r-nothing argument? I get the impression that most Spotify users on this forum use it to augment their physical collections, not replace it.