Are streaming music services changing how you consume music?
With the increase in music streaming services over the last few years (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music) it seems that the way we consume music is changing. The fact that these services are now very affordable (I pay $9.99 per month for Spotify, rather than pay more than $20 per CD a few years back) is also contributing to this change.
Quality versus quantity
With Spotify I literally have access to pretty much any album song I like (and the few that aren't on Spotify can be found on Youtube!). Although I love the selection, I feel that sometimes I have become too quick to dismiss music and move on rather than giving it a fair listen - as there is an endless list of music to catch up and listen to!
I had this debate recently about the new Machine Head album (which I listened to once and thought was terrible!). In my mind it is a fall from grace after some great albums - The Blackening is a masterpiece and something they will struggle to live up to. Have a listen to the single Catharsis and let me know your thoughts:
I think I am going to give this album another shot though, as I really do enjoy Machine Head and feel maybe I have been to harsh.
Back in the day when CDs were cool….
However before the times of Spotify there was limited choice in what I could listen to (and a bigger investment - CDS cost about $25 each!). I remember back in the day buying a few different CDs and not enjoying them, but listening to them atleast a dozen times and some of them I ended up really enjoying. A classic example of this was Powerman 5000 (great band… after a few listens!). I remember buying the album ‘Tonight The Stars Revolt!’ and hating it. But because I had spent more than $20 on it I felt obliged to give it a few listens… and a few more listens, and then ended up being a huge fan and even bought some of their newer albums. The singer is the brother of Rob Zombie - so you can imagine their music is fairly heavy! Check out the video for ‘When Worlds Collide’:
At times I find myself missing the nostalgia of buying and collecting CDs - I had a few hundred back in the day (I got rid of them all a few years back!). For me, the lack of selection meant that I felt obliged to give thing a few more listens rather than just give up on them. Nowadays with Spotify I sometimes feel I miss good music as I am too quick to judge and move on to something else. However, Spotify has given me instant access to music I wouldn't have had even 10 years ago. Through the #musicdiscovery tag I created I have also been able to instantly check out suggestions from awesome Steemians such as @calisya, @verhp11, @johngreenfield, @nate-atkins, @thevillan and many others!
Thanks for all the music suggestions 😊
A little note - #upvoteplankton initiative
I am now using the tag #upvoteplankton initiated by @kabir88 here. The idea is that plankton use this tag and work and grow together. I will be checking out others using the tag and upvoting some of their posts!
I think having nearly free access to all the music I can consume makes it easy for my favorite things, or things that will become my favorite, to float to the top. I don't have to develop a taste, so to speak, for things I don't care for. To me it's like developing a taste for mangos. I don't like them, and I don't want to work to like them when I can just eat an apple instead. I'm sure I'm missing out on some music that I would like if I gave it a couple more chances, but I like so much music from so many different styes of music, I don't have time to listen to it all anyway.
Fuck me, I wouldn't have guessed that was Machine Head in a million years. I kinda like it though, off to go give that record a listen now...
I don't really use music streaming services, mainly just because I've built up a massive MP3 collection over the years. I wouldn't normally put this out there, but I've been one of them music pirates since the napster and audio galaxy days of the late 90s. My reasoning has always been that I can't afford the £15 for a new album all the time, and just like you had, I don't want to lay that out for an album I eventually dislike. And so, I've downloaded everything for the past 20 years nearly.
That's not to say I don't support the artists though, as I have had the premium Google Play Music service occasionally, but I am an avid CD/Vinyl collector. In fact, I'll go snap a picture of part of my collection...
I love going to gigs, went to see New Zealand band Flight of the Conchords last week in fact (amazing). I'll buy the merch, tell my friends and so on. This is even backed up by a recent article from MOTHERBOARD: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evkmz7/study-again-shows-pirates-tend-to-be-the-biggest-buyers-of-legal-content
Oh, and then there's sites like bandcamp where you can pay artists directly for their music. I think there's some big changes still to come.
It's sad but I'm coming to the realisation that the lifestyle I want doesn't really accommodate vast collections of stuff. I really don't want to have to part with them though!
Edit: I've been listening to Ziggurats in the car today, and the sound reminded me of Bedouin Soundclash. Just wondering if that's a band you've heard of?
Just wasnt my jam - it seemed a bit all over the place! I had a collection of a similar size to you and moved it from place to place and used them less and less and so decided one day (sadly) to part with them all. Kind of regret it but not really lol. Spoto=ify is fine for me at the moment especially while travelling.
Flight of the Conchords are brilliant - Im jelous actually becuase its one band I havent seen live before! Have you watched there tv show? they have a few seasons its pretty funny!
I havent listened to Bebouin Soundclash but will add it to my playlist ! Cheers mate!
I know what you mean, it wasn't exactly consistent.
Yeah, I've been thinking about it, I don't use them all that often, but I do really like having them there. I get very attached sometimes.
I didn't think we'd ever actually see them, but @calluna saw they were touring the UK this year on Facebook and got on it. I absolutely love the TV show, in fact their support act was Eugene Mirman who was the landlord Dave I think in the series.
I think you'll like them, I'm sure you'll have heard the one song "When the Night Feels My Soul".
I understand what you're saying. I also appreciate the connected theme of a full album if there is one and single songs rarely convey a full story. There's a lot of context that goes missing in streamed music. I remember back when I listened to radio the DJ would comment on a song, or give a little anecdote about the band sometimes. They would also talk about if the band was on tour. I am not sure streaming conveys they whole offering a band has like radio or a CD. A CD has the artwork and printed lyrics maybe. Although now most bands put out videos which are really important to the experience with music. Merchandising and touring has become the bread and butter I think. I was discussing NIN with a friend the other day and we are both disappointed with Trent's latest stuff for quite a while but man, people still buy that T-shirt! haha He has done an excellent job on his brand. While Trent might show me his fist at that statement (or... I dunno, he's kinda not so angry anymore?) he does seem to be at peace with the fact it is business and he needs to make a living which I fully support artists doing that. People gotta eat!
I saw something in the News this week about streaming music now being counted towards the hit charts, where it was only based on albums sold. I think that is a pretty significant change, right there. How long before Rick Astley is back in the Top40 again? Haha!
Hmm, researching this comment further, I see that the UK has been including streaming results in their Top40 since 2014. So either the US has only just started doing so, or our NewsHub (Kiwi news) is somewhat behind the times.
Being from new zealand aswell id say we are behind the times 😂
I thought digital downloads had counted towards the charts for a while...
Ah, you know what
NewsHubNewShub is like then. It's all fluff and filler. They probably lifted that article directly from the NZonAir archives and recycled it, haha.Yeah i dont miss the kiwi news eh its all filler haha
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I was just going through my feeds and saw your post, its content is amazing and article is amazing buddy 👍
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Mp3s and Napster were just a warning shot to the music industry. They survived as the artists mostly got worried about losing their paycheck.
So imagine combining the spirit of Bittorrent with the ability of the blockchain to create rewards.
Welcome to steem and good bye music industry
It will be interesting to see how musicians make use of blockchain to market and sell their music! It could actually be a really great move forwards.