According to theguardian.com,
“by the end of 2014, 37m people around the world will be paying for streaming
music, while 210m will be listening for free on advertising-supported services.” Streaming is huge! With services like Spotify, Pandora and
Tidal, streaming music is a reality.
According to billboard.com,
Agegote Y. (2014) writes, “Spotify
has grown to more than 3 million paying subscribers in less than three years
since launching here in July 2011.
The
last time Spotify revealed
user numbers in March 2013, it had 6 million paying subscribers globally. A key
part of Spotify’s strategy is to offer free access to various levels of its
service. It now has more than 40 million monthly active users including the 10
million paying subs – one in four.” With
the recent emergence of Tidal, huge entertainment figures are claiming ground
in the music-streaming frontier.
Therefore, as you can see, streaming is a viable aspect of music
consumption today. Nevertheless, has it
replaced the compact disc?
According
to rollingstone.com,
Kreps D. (2015) writes, “Digital and CD sales experienced staggering
drops as nearly a fifth of music buyers stopped shopping for albums at
major retailers. Only 257 million albums
– be it CD, vinyl or digital – were sold in 2014, an 11 percent drop from
2013's 289 million "Total Albums Sold" tally.”
Streaming
numbers are up and physical cd sales are down.
With all these things considered, something feels missing.
I
consider myself a serious music consumer.
I love to find new and upcoming acts, read bios, view visual art and of
course, buy music. With streaming
becoming the industry standard, elements of music consumption are going
extinct. Everyone can remember the
tragedy of September 11 2001. Music was
my only escape from the events that happened.
I can still remember everything vividly.
I closed my shop early where I worked.
The only thing open was the music store.
I brought Jay Z’s, “The Blueprint” and Fabolous’, “Street Dreams.” I can remember ripping the plastic off the
CD’s as I made my way home. As the music
blasted in my ears, I looked through the CD booklets’ pictures, lyrics and
credits. I will never forget this
experience. I cannot have this
experience with a stream or even a digital I tunes download. It’s just the music. The only element of visual or written art
included with streaming is usually the album cover. Not too many artists include lyrics,
contributors and additional album art.
Music is suiting itself more for the “leisure” listeners. Listeners that do not need all the
accouterment, just the basic needs; a beat, vocal melody with sparing lyrics.
There
are still consumers looking for a solid music experience. The same article at rollingstone.com,
Kreps D. (2015) goes on to say, “Vinyl continues to be a noteworthy music
industry trend, and in 2014, the 12-inch had its best year in decades, selling
9.2 million units. That's a 51.8 percent
increase over 2013.” Vinyl is a very
outdated form of audio technology trumped by the 8-track, cassette, cd and now
streaming. People are still buying
vinyl. Vinyl provides a unique
experience. Even the sound of vinyl
records is different. This article can
interpret a need for a better-rounded music experience that people need today.
In
conclusion, streaming is a great way to consume music. There are elements missing with this system
but there can be technological advances to fill these holes. I can say personally, I am not a
streamer. I love the physical feel of
music. In the occasion that I do stream,
I do not feel the connection from the artist.
The music is more party oriented and the lyrics can be lacking substance
to create timeless art. Is music
becoming a business and leaving the realm of art? This is another discussion…
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