[JediSpork]

Will streaming subscriptions eventually be the only way to obtain music?

I read a few articles that claim apple is planning or wants to eliminate downloads. A few other articles claim that cd's will outlast downloads due to this. I don't buy from apple but noticed that even amazon shut down their mp3 importer and is pushing their service as well.

People seem to be switching over to these services rather than buying music. To me it seems ridiculously naive to give up control of your media and then pay on top of that. I recently went to download ruby ripper for linux and the developer said he was done with the project and everyone should just use services like google play. Why is everyone clamoring so hard to get drm back and require proprietary players for their music? I also don't think it makes financial sense for music subs when for the same price you could buy 1 album per month or more with sales.

Its not like I'm for or against digital or physical but I simply want control of my media collection.

 

[Jonas2]

Will streaming subscriptions eventually be the only way to obtain music?

I read a few articles that claim apple is planning or wants to eliminate downloads. A few other articles claim that cd's will outlast downloads due to this. I don't buy from apple but noticed that even amazon shut down their mp3 importer and is pushing their service as well.

People seem to be switching over to these services rather than buying music. To me it seems ridiculously naive to give up control of your media and then pay on top of that. I recently went to download ruby ripper for linux and the developer said he was done with the project and everyone should just use services like google play. Why is everyone clamoring so hard to get drm back and require proprietary players for their music? I also don't think it makes financial sense for music subs when for the same price you could buy 1 album per month or more with sales.

Its not like I'm for or against digital or physical but I simply want control of my media collection.

Amen brother! I'd like to maintain control of my media too. I prefer physical, unless there really is just ONE song on an album that I like, then I might download that song. I do stream at work, but ain't buyin' no subscriptions. If it comes to that, where we're forced to buy subscriptions, then I'm out. I'll take free streaming with the commercials. Of course the big companies are simply looking out for the bottom line, that's all they care about - the profits from them and the shareholders, they are large and in charge of our lives, IF we allow it. They make decisions solely based on that, they will follow the $$$ and the trends they thing will yield the most for them.

 

[TuteTibiImperes]

I very rarely buy music, only if it's something that isn't available on a streaming service, usually a new band/artist that I'd like to support and who hasn't signed a streaming deal yet.

Yes, you could buy an album for the cost of the monthly streaming service cost, but with that monthly streaming service cost you have access to hundreds of thousands of albums instantly, and from all of your devices so you don't have to worry about where the disc or stored digital file is, you just grab it right from the source.

 

[Montucky]

Well, perhaps the popularity of streaming video is an indication of where the industry's headed, but I don't think purchasing music will go away entirely for the reasons stated above. I still purchase vinyl, I still purchase hi-res tracks from places like HDTracks.com, AND I use a couple subscription services too. I personally really like Google Play Music and Tidal. I've also really enjoyed Apple Music too, but I really prefer the service that's best for the device (Apple Music on iOS devices, Google on Android). I have really come to enjoy Google Play for when the family's just hanging out and we want some good background music or something really specific that we may not have, like if we want to play something for a random Holiday. That said, for when I want to sit down and enjoy an album properly, the quality (with the exception of Tidal) and reliability's just not there, so that's when I revert to a good old fashioned record or SACD. Sublime.

I think it'll end up like video, though. It's pretty much there already. SO many people I know default to Pandora (the free version), which I personally can't stand due to commercials, repetition, and lousy quality. How many people choose streaming video over Blu-Ray due to cost or convenience? Again, I do both in that department too.

 

[JediSpork]

I think streaming is great for discovery of new music and I've found a lot of good stuff on youtube. I agree with the others that free with limited ads seems to work for me. Then I can purchase what I like for regular listening. Now that net neutrality is in danger relying on streaming media only is concerning. Also I'm not sure if its like the video services with exclusive artists and such. They can also do whatever they want to increase monthly fee's when everyone is hooked on.

 

[They_call_me_Roto]

I really hope not.

I buy all my music on CD, that way I can rip it anyway I want, and I own a physical copy that I could rip again in the future if a new compression codec comes out. I know that I am a very minor statistic in the music industry, but I have given iTunes and some streaming services an honest try, but I keep returning to physical CDs because in my mind nothing beats it.

For about the last five years I was introduced to a lot of new music from watching Later With Jools Holland on MTV Live, but a new season of Jools just finished and it seems that MTV Live is no longer airing new episodes. The show airs in the UK on BBC2 but I have not found that channel available on any cable or satellite provider so now I don't have a good source for finding new music/new artists.

 

[brian6751]

I subscribe to Deezer HiFi and listen through a Bluesound Node2. It is cd quality and I can just let it play and it plays lots of music I like and wouldn’t know to even buy on cd. Not to mention having just about any music I want right at my finger tips.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[glangford]

I prefer physical media and I do download albums from HD Tracks. I think I've downloaded maybe about 6 albums from iTunes when I had my first 4 GB iPod. I just rip everything into iTunes in lossless format. I'm looking forward to the advent of MQA encoded CD, there a couple out there now. In the not too distant future, people will say they like the nostalgia of the physical CD, similar to some of what you hear vinyl enthusiasts say.

 

[SmittyJS]

You don't buy individual TV shows so why buy your music individually?

However, I don't think music has reached that point yet. The streaming services don't have the obscure albums I listen to. They don't have the remastered versions I want. They don't all handle FLAC, and from what I've read, the ones that do make capturing FLAC for local storage a hassle. So there are a few areas that need to be resolved before I go fully streaming. But I've already reached the point where I only buy a physical copy of something if there is no way to download it in FLAC. I consider physical copies of anything - clutter. I do like to have my 1s and 0s locally though, which is why I have everything on an external drive (eventually on a flash drive when cheap 512GB come out). You never know when access to the cloud will be down.

If Amazon ever decides to handle FLAC I will have all my music uploaded to their cloud so I can voice-command stream it through Alexa Show.

But yes, soon streaming will replace buying individual copies of music. That scares the hell out of the techno-phobes I know, but with the coming voice-command options it won't be that hard. I can already tell Cortana to play my Windows Media Player library.

 

[DanPackMan]

You don't buy individual TV shows so why buy your music individually?

.

I think music and movie/video are very different consumption wise. I typically watch movies and/or tv shows only once, there are some movies I'll watch again, but that might be once a year. I'll buy movies but I won't buy TV shows, only stream them. Music, however, is totally different. I'll listen to good stuff over and over again. And I'll listen to it in many places, at home, in the car, on a walk, etc, and therefore I like to have as much control over it as possible.

My preferred method of music ownership is to buy a used CD, rip to FLAC and MP3 (MP3 for car and mobile listening). That is much cheaper than downloading.

Streaming services are nice, I've tried Amazon music and enjoy being able to listen to something new, but its simply not as flexible to me as having the files where and when I want them.

 

[JediSpork]

I think music and movie/video are very different consumption wise. I typically watch movies and/or tv shows only once, there are some movies I'll watch again, but that might be once a year. I'll buy movies but I won't buy TV shows, only stream them. Music, however, is totally different. I'll listen to good stuff over and over again. And I'll listen to it in many places, at home, in the car, on a walk, etc, and therefore I like to have as much control over it as possible.

My preferred method of music ownership is to buy a used CD, rip to FLAC and MP3 (MP3 for car and mobile listening). That is much cheaper than downloading.

Streaming services are nice, I've tried Amazon music and enjoy being able to listen to something new, but its simply not as flexible to me as having the files where and when I want them.

This is almost exactly how I feel. I might use netflix for a month or so and then there is absolutely nothing else I want to watch so I cancel. I rarely re-watch movies anymore either and would probably sell most of my bluray collection if I could get anything out of it. Again I've found that concert blurays are the most used. I use vudu with ultraviolet as well. Of course disney won't join up so again this is a example about how your stuff has to be fragmented on different platforms and accounts.

I do agree with the other poster that we don't really need physical media but I like the freedom it gives you. I also have a kobo e-reader and try to avoid buying physical books as well but I want everything drm free. I think they also want to add state and local taxes onto streaming services. Also for video content you will probably have to pay more fee's to avoid throttling once net neutrality is done.

 

[altpensacola]

There is not a streaming service anywhere in the world that even comes close to the diversity of my own server and music collection from my CD collection.
When I hit shuffle I get EVERYTHING. And CD's are less than a dollar resale so.....
One bad thing though ; the album as a art form is over it appears.

 

[Montucky]

One of the greatest cases for buying music (and DRM-free if digital) is that agreements end. Licenses expire. And then there go some of your favorite songs or artists. Happens ALL the time for video with the likes of Netflix and Hulu. I'll have something stored in my queue that I've been looking forward to finally watching. I FINALLY get a moment of peace in my life where I can watch it alone, free of judgment from my non-nerd wife. I sit down, hot popcorn and freshly poured beverage in hand, pull up Netflix, go through my queue...and again...and again. What the heck? Where did that movie go that I've been so looking forward to go? I look it up. Aaaaaaand, it's no longer available as they cut ties with that studio last week. How many times has that happened to you?

Music won't be any different. This is why I like having a collection that I own the rights to and the studio or distribution platform can't revoke its viewing/listening willy nilly like they do all the time.

EDIT: Actually I looked it up, and apparently this has already been a common occurrence with iTunes, even for stuff people legally purchased. Now they can't even redownload it, because it's been pulled from the store. Forget that. THIS is why you don't allow streaming or even download services to dictate what you watch or listen to. If you really like something, and never want it to go away, give it a purchase!...physically or a drm-free file at least.

 

[SmittyJS]

My preferred method of music ownership is to buy a used CD ...

Being an active Bandcamp buyer, I've noticed a trend and I think it's very clear - CDs are going bye-bye. Most of the bands I listen to don't even offer CDs. Due to the affordability of technology, many bands are self-producing and CDs are a hassle to produce and cost more. As of the end of 2016, *CDs account for less than 16% of total music sales revenue. Subscription sales produce twice as much revenue. I give CDs 5 years max before they become like vinyl - a niche product.

So the only question that remains is, will people buy subscriptions, or buy downloads. Looking at the growth of subscriptions over the last three years, now producing 34% of music sales revenue, I think that's pretty clear also - subscriptions.

* source: American Enterprise Institute

 

[Kal Rubinson]

You don't buy individual TV shows so why buy your music individually?

I almost never want to see any TV shows more than once while, OTOH, I buy music with the intention/hope that I can enjoy it many times over the years.

As a result, I buy discs that I immediately rip and I buy downloads and all of these are at my fingertips whenever I want to enjoy them. Streaming is just a way to explore what I might want to own.

 

[planed]

I almost never want to see any TV more than once while, OTOH, I buy music with the intention/hope that I can enjoy it many time over the years.

As a result, I buy discs that I immediately rip and I buy downloads and all of these are at my fingertips whenever I want to enjoy them. Streaming is just a way to explore what I might want to own.

That sums it up for me as well.

 

[postrokfan]

I very much enjoy streaming services and I agree that it's a great way to find albums I would like to own. I don't buy as much physical media as I used to but that's simply because I'm a bit more selective these days. I add them to my NAS for easy access.

 

[They_call_me_Roto]

EDIT: Actually I looked it up, and apparently this has already been a common occurrence with iTunes, even for stuff people legally purchased. Now they can't even redownload it, because it's been pulled from the store. Forget that. THIS is why you don't allow streaming or even download services to dictate what you watch or listen to. If you really like something, and never want it to go away, give it a purchase!...physically or a drm-free file at least.

Yup, several years ago when I was getting almost all of my music via iTunes I discovered this first hand. Then I came to learn that even though I had paid for copies of music, I did not actually own it. Once iTunes lost the licensing rights, I lost music. That was when I switched back to buying CDs.

I'll also reiterate the point that by owning my music, I can have absolute control over what I listen to. To me streaming services are just a different form of radio - they play songs and as a listener you have little control over what you are hearing.

 

[glangford]

EDIT: Actually I looked it up, and apparently this has already been a common occurrence with iTunes, even for stuff people legally purchased. Now they can't even redownload it, because it's been pulled from the store. Forget that. THIS is why you don't allow streaming or even download services to dictate what you watch or listen to. If you really like something, and never want it to go away, give it a purchase!...physically or a drm-free file at least.

That's why whenever I buy something, I download it and local store it, be it an ebook, or iTunes album. I don't rely on the provider to keep track of it. The few iTunes albums I did buy when they came out, I still have, stored in iTunes files on my computer locally.

 

[glangford]

I almost never want to see any TV shows more than once while, OTOH, I buy music with the intention/hope that I can enjoy it many times over the years.

As a result, I buy discs that I immediately rip and I buy downloads and all of these are at my fingertips whenever I want to enjoy them. Streaming is just a way to explore what I might want to own.

Same here, although I'm also a movie hoarder, although in recent years I've gotten to purchasing about 3-4 movies/year.

Music wise, I used to stream i-tunes radio when it was a free service and discovered music that way. Not a lot now in free streaming services. I listen to XM radio in the car, to discover things (or rediscover) things I may want to purchase. Same for me, I rip and I buy downloads. I put it all on a 256 GB SSD based usb drive and it's plugged into my oppo 203. I can access anything I want to listen to in an instant with my Oppo iPhone app. On the go, I have an iPhone with 256 gb of memory that I keep about 70 gb of tunes on, all in lossless. And the car has a 128 gb usb drive permanently plugged in. (I have to down convert all my hd tracks purchases to ALAC 44/16 to include on my phone and car usb drive) I have about 50 SACDs that I still have to use the physical media, although I do rip the CD layer so I can have them on my phone or the car's usb drive.