Album Sales Are Dying as Fast as Streaming Services Are Rising (rollingstone.com) 281
In 2018, Best Buy decided to stop selling CDs, with the change partly brought on by record labels' increasing reluctance to even issue them. Both choices are symptoms as well as causes of a seemingly inevitable trend: Buying music is now going out of style nearly as fast as streaming music is rising. From a report: In 2018, album sales fell 18.2 percent from the previous year and song sales fell 28.8 percent, according to U.S. year-end report figures from data company BuzzAngle, which tracks music consumption. Meanwhile, total on-demand music streams, including both audio and video, shot up 35.4 percent. Audio on-demand streams set a new record high in 2018 of 534.6 billion streams, which is up 42 percent from 2017's 376.9 billion streams.
It's tricky to compare the specific unit numbers of sales to streams --since such a comparison would be pitting continuous playback of a certain piece of music against a one-time purchase of it -- but certain other milestones in the consumption market can help highlight just how much streaming is replacing physical sales and downloads in America. For instance: Even though total song downloads are still in the hundreds of millions, they're coming down in scale at the top. In 2018, there was not a single song that broke 1 million sales -- compared to 14 songs that reached that figure in 2017, 36 in 2016 and 60 in 2015. At the 2 million sales mark, two songs took that trophy in 2017, while five claimed it in 2016 and 16 songs made it in 2015, throwing the modest figures of this year's sales into even sharper relief.
It's tricky to compare the specific unit numbers of sales to streams --since such a comparison would be pitting continuous playback of a certain piece of music against a one-time purchase of it -- but certain other milestones in the consumption market can help highlight just how much streaming is replacing physical sales and downloads in America. For instance: Even though total song downloads are still in the hundreds of millions, they're coming down in scale at the top. In 2018, there was not a single song that broke 1 million sales -- compared to 14 songs that reached that figure in 2017, 36 in 2016 and 60 in 2015. At the 2 million sales mark, two songs took that trophy in 2017, while five claimed it in 2016 and 16 songs made it in 2015, throwing the modest figures of this year's sales into even sharper relief.
Circular problem ... (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm not a fan of streaming, but there is almost literally no places left where I can go in and buy CDs just by looking through the stacks and seeing what they have -- which is how I've bought music for the last 15+ years. I'd just go in, wander around, and buy a couple of CDs I found.
If I can't buy it on CD and rip it myself, I'm not interested. I'm definitely not interested in paying to stream music which is then going to be subject to ads and analytics of my information -- I don't trust the streaming services not to be douchy assholes who share my information and violate my privacy, because at this point you have to assume all online stuff is douchy assholes.
So, I can't go anywhere to buy CDs, I refuse to stream ... which means I simply no longer buy music, and listen to my already very large collection of MP3s ripped from CDs I've bought.
I miss actual music stores, but at the end of the day, if they don't want to make CDs, and will only give me digital DRM'd versions of the music or be forced to stream it ... then I simply won't buy their product and will get on with my life.
The music industry didn't adapt to the modern world, and refused to sell a product in the form people wanted. Now, they're losing out on even more revenue.
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If I can't buy it on CD and rip it myself, I'm not interested.
Whyever not?
I'm definitely not interested in paying to stream music
OK... but why do you want it on CD?
Amazon have sold DRM free MP3s for years now. You go there click some stuff and get a file.
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I don't trust the streaming services not to be douchy assholes who share my information and violate my privacy,
I assume you are talking about services like itunes and spotify. Then don't use them. You can still stream music anonymously from thousands of shoutcast/icecast sites. I use the XiiaLive app on my phone for streams too. There is literally thousands of stations from all over the world. Any kind of music that I want to listen too is here. I just have to look for it. XiiaLive is just one of the apps there are to stream shoutcast. Pick one and explore. Hell, I can even listen to iheartradio dreck if
Re: Circular problem ... (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, Amazon sells music downloads on their site. But unlike in the past, where you bought the music and got a downloadable file, now you have to download into an Amazon application on your computer. They want you to keep that file there, and play it in their app, and stay nicely within the Amazon ecosystem.
This is completely incorrect. I regularly buy music from Amazon, and when you go to download it, yes, they do want you to download it into the Amazon Music app, but they also give you the option to download (DRM-free,) MP3s. I always take the second option.
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, yes, they do want you to download it into the Amazon Music app, but they also give you the option to download (DRM-free,) MP3s.
And even if you do use the App, that still saves it as a DRM-free MP3 with sensible names in your "Amazon Music" folder (as well as letting you stream it).
Then there are more "indy" sites like Bandcamp (that lets you stream the whole album in the browser, and buy a download if you like it) although you won't find the mainstream stuff there...
I, for one, still buy mp3 albums (Score:3)
Re:I, for one, still buy mp3 albums (Score:5, Interesting)
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As someone that listens to shoutcast and spotify to find new music, then goes to websites to buy music right from the author. "You're welcome."
I think streaming has done more to level the playing field than any other service. In less than 15 minutes a artist can set up a shoutcast site and be streaming his music 24/7. I would rather see my money go directly to support an artist than have it go to "big music' pockets any day.
There goes easy to access uncompressed audio (Score:3)
CD's were always my default fall back when I couldn't find lossless audio compression file formats. Also, CDs are guaranteed to be DRM free. I hope lossless audio becomes more prevalent than it is now.
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I hate to pop you bubble there but not even CD's are lossless. Every time a analog is converted into digital something is lost. That is just simply the nature of the beast. The trick is to keep the sampling high enough to make the loss negotiable.
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> CDs are guaranteed to be DRM free
So everybody just *imagined* this (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal) happened?
No, but it didn't install on cd players.
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Doesn't matter, it's still DRM. Hydrian said "CDs are guaranteed to be DRM free", and as the AC pointed out, that's just not always true.
Well there is a CD as in the generic term and there is Compact Disk Digital Audio [wikipedia.org], which is an official specification that is commonly referred to as a "CD". Actual CDs that follow the official CDDA specification *are* DRM free, other formats that are just referred to as "CDs", but aren't actually CDDA may not be. So you both may be correct.
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After years being a musician and studying I can tell you two things. I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket no matter how much training when it comes to singing, and the majority of devices people listen to music on today are crap and you can spend a lot of money on something that still isn't decent quality.
You are correct the factory stereo in my car isn't high enough quality to tell the difference and neither are most after market car stereos. (wattage so high the electrical system in the car couldn't possib
Not about sound quality (Score:3, Insightful)
Lossless is more about having an exact bit-for-bit copy of the original cd which is suitable for archiving. If music isn't exactly a passion for you then you probably don't even care about having your own music collection, and therefore lossless compression isn't much use to you. But if you do, the usual technique is to copy your original cds using lossless compression, put the cd away in storage, and from the lossless master copy you can generate lossy copies in any format, whenever you want. The master co
We will have more lost media (Score:2, Insightful)
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I hope CDs stick around (Score:5, Insightful)
I bought my first CD in 1981, and guess what, it still works. That is close to 40 years old. I've got records that still play from the 70's, albeit with some scratches now. Do you really believe your streaming service will be around in 2060?
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No AC, your 1981 CD doesn't work. You know why I know you're full of shit? Because most old CDs, especially the early ones, are being eaten away. Many of my CDs are dying that way. My Michael Jackson's HIStory (two disc, gold color) is unplayable now because it has black spots all over the disc. That was my first CD, from 1996.
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I bought my first CD in 1981, and guess what, it still works. That is close to 40 years old. I've got records that still play from the 70's, albeit with some scratches now. Do you really believe your streaming service will be around in 2060?
Same here. The first CD I bought was Dark Side of the Moon. I still have it and cdparanoia still thinks the disk is fine.
The downside of some of those old CDs is that the manufacturers didn't really know how to take advantage of the dynamic range of CDs. On a few of my older disks, I have had to rip them as WAVs, then bump up the volume a bit in Audacity before converting them to mp3.
That minor inconvenience aside, I much prefer having physical copies that I can re-rip if necessary (as I've done over the y
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I bought my first CD in 1981, and guess what, it still works. That is close to 40 years old. I've got records that still play from the 70's, albeit with some scratches now. Do you really believe your streaming service will be around in 2060?
I still have my CDs but all they do is take up space. I'd rather listen to the stream than pop the CD in.
I look at those old CDs and a wave of memories flows through and I can't get myself to throw them away.
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Do you really believe your streaming service will be around in 2060?
Why not? If it is a profitable business model then why should we not assume it will still be here in 20, 40, or even 100 years from now? Disney has been a profitable entertainment industry for almost a 100 years now and shows no sign of slowing down. Comcast, as shitty as it is, has been in business for close to 50 years.
An if some reason the business model doesn't prove to be viable, something else will come along and take its place.
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Rush, Presto and Heart, Brigade from 1991 or so. Both still play fine. I'm listening to Presto as I type this.
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How many publishing companies have disappeared and are forgotten, but whose books remain in libraries?
Making the publisher and publication one and the same creates a single point of failure.
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I don't want an infinite supply. I want a limited supply of those things that I enjoy and treasure, to use in my limited time, and that I personally own.
I'll always listen to the radio at times - whether that manifests as youtube, a streaming service, or whatever, for purposes of discovery.
Thing's will be what they will. I'll have my CD's, and you'll have the data driven, ad infested, AI generated, profit maximizing noise de jour.
YouTube to MP3 Anyone? (Score:5, Informative)
Doesn't everyone just rip music from YouTube? Certainly good enough for the car, and alternate versions are usually available if one would like (radio sessions, non-released versions, live versions, cover versions, etc.)..
I just use a tiny USB stick in my car, with MP3 files.
At home, I gave in and we have Alexa the associated music service. Merry Christmas to me (I'm working on a couple of Skills)!
I need to run, there's a package from Amazon being delivered....
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MusicBrainz Picard can do a pretty good job at fixing that mess automatically.
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But I thought... (Score:5, Funny)
I thought that Video killed the radio star!
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I was a fan of MTV and the head bangers ball in the 80s and early 90s when it was still about music but then one day it was nothing but back to back jersey shore and pseudo-reality tv.
People are strange (Score:3)
The higher-quality, lower price option (CDs) are fading yet the shitty quality high price (vinyl) is going up, albeit slowly.
I've yet to see any reason to subscribe to a streaming service for music. I suppose if I wanted to enjoy the feeling of listening to artists I like whilst simultaneously knowing that they're being as badly ripped off as I am, I might give it a go.
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"The higher-quality, lower price option (CDs) are fading yet the shitty quality high price (vinyl) is going up,"
While I agree that the price of new vinyl is too high (sometimes outrageous), for recordings made more than 30 years ago, I find vinyl is definitely higher quality than CD. (Yes, you need high-quality gear to play it on - nothing new there) I have done a lot of A-B testing on high-end audio gear, mainly of recordings from the 50's thru the 70's and vinyl almost always wins for quality.
For 'modern'
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"The higher-quality, lower price option (CDs) are fading yet the shitty quality high price (vinyl) is going up,"
While I agree that the price of new vinyl is too high (sometimes outrageous), for recordings made more than 30 years ago, I find vinyl is definitely higher quality than CD.
While it's true that material recorded with vinyl in mind will sometimes sound better on vinyl, that only really works up until the point where you've dragged a gemstone across it. After that the quality goes audibly downhill pretty rapidly.
Vinyl is inherently rubbish simply because of its fragility. I hated it even before there was an alternative, and I'm certainly never going back to it.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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"The reason you think the older records are better is more likely to do with the quality of production, before the audio was stamped onto either media, in the 1970s, than it does the medium. "
No, the reason it sounds better is because the music was better!
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It's callled "fetish". People have a fetish for physical things. I know, I've fell for it.
And after the couple of times you play that silly record or show it off for friends, you realize it's a stupid purchase. At home I "do" things. I can't sit passively and "listen to music". And if I were the type to do that, I'd have to spend literaly thousands in building a collection of records to keep me busy.
I can understand why *some* people do it, but I don't see how "millions of people" could be doing it.
(I haven
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The higher-quality, lower price option (CDs) are fading yet the shitty quality high price (vinyl) is going up, albeit slowly.
We're in the Keurig Era.
H. L. Mencken would've had a field day...
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much "vinyl lovers" think the audio quality is superior from alternatives, which is a very false claim...
I buy CD's all the time (Score:2)
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Ownership, hello? (Score:3)
While y'all are so busy yelling at each other like a divided bunch of little schoolchildren about blue this and red that, you've all been not noticing the corporations (all of them, really) moving to models that reduce or eliminate ownership.
And what's one of the most tangible ways we had to distinguish ourselves from heathen communists? Ownership. C'mon, boys and girls, all together now: Ow - ner- ship. It's your house, not the State's. It's your car, not the state's.
It's your music, not theirs.
But nooooo, you short-sighted, divided morons continue to fight amongst yourselves and you don't see this .. this thievery happening right under your noses.
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It was never "your music" unless you made it. You never owned it, even on CD. What distinguishes us from communists isn't the ability to buy a Ariana Grande CD.
I disagree. I would LOVE to see Sony / EMI / RCA / AG / DG / Polydor / MCA / Decca come into my house and retrive my LP / CD of
You see, you OWN the CD, but not the music in it. But you own the physical object in which said music came in.
With the "streamers" if they say "Well, no more bad 80's synthpop for YOU" then *poof* there goes your ability to stream that. With no recourse.
But they absolutely can't reach into your house and remove all your horrible 80's synthpop records and CDs.
Yet.
Sounds like some
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It was never "your music" unless you made it. You never owned it, even on CD. What distinguishes us from communists isn't the ability to buy a Ariana Grande CD.
I disagree. I would LOVE to see Sony / EMI / RCA / AG / DG / Polydor / MCA / Decca come into my house and retrive my LP / CD of
You see, you OWN the CD, but not the music in it. But you own the physical object in which said music came in.
With the "streamers" if they say "Well, no more bad 80's synthpop for YOU" then *poof* there goes your ability to stream that. With no recourse.
But they absolutely can't reach into your house and remove all your horrible 80's synthpop records and CDs.
Yet.
Sounds like some people would love nothing more than to do just that.
Why is that so hard to see?
Streaming and CDs are completely different.
Streaming services gives you access to millions of albums for a monthly fee.
CDs give you music for one album without a time limit.
You can buy music per album basis and save it as FLACs/MP3s which does the same thing as CDs.
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It's your house, not the State's.
Try not paying your state rent..er..property taxes and see how well that statement holds up.
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It's your house, not the State's.
Try not paying your state rent..er..property taxes and see how well that statement holds up.
I get your point, but it proves the GP's point as much as it proves yours.
Failure to pay property taxes, at least in my state, turns into a lien, which then turns into a foreclosure. That whole process involves a small mountain of paperwork and a number of lawyers, there are means of appeal, and so on - all of which are meticulously documented and whose procedures are well-defined.
A tax foreclosure is, basically, by definition, the state reclaiming ownership of the land; there's no easy way to use a house w
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While y'all are so busy yelling at each other like a divided bunch of little schoolchildren about blue this and red that, you've all been not noticing the corporations (all of them, really) moving to models that reduce or eliminate ownership.
And what's one of the most tangible ways we had to distinguish ourselves from heathen communists? Ownership. C'mon, boys and girls, all together now: Ow - ner- ship. It's your house, not the State's. It's your car, not the state's.
It's your music, not theirs.
But nooooo, you short-sighted, divided morons continue to fight amongst yourselves and you don't see this .. this thievery happening right under your noses.
You don't own your house. The state owns it and you're buying a license to use it. Again with the cliche, try not paying taxes or using your house that is not allowed by your state and see what happens.
Same with the car. The government owns your car. All you have is a title to use it in a manner that is as defined by the state.
It's all an illusion of ownership. All that is different is that the license are a little more permissive than others.
I have commentary on the matter. (Score:2)
This is a copy-paste that I wrote for somewhere else, do as you will with it.
I have observed something, and it has increased with time, having recently brought it up to my father-in-law, who is also a tech field worker, he agreed with me.
The people - both voluntarily and at some prodding are giving up control and ownership of everything - slowly.
What brought it to my attention is streaming services. Despite being a quite technical individual I skipped out on the early part of the streaming fad, due in part
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This is a copy-paste that I wrote for somewhere else, do as you will with it.
I have observed something, and it has increased with time, having recently brought it up to my father-in-law, who is also a tech field worker, he agreed with me. The people - both voluntarily and at some prodding are giving up control and ownership of everything - slowly.
What brought it to my attention is streaming services. Despite being a quite technical individual I skipped out on the early part of the streaming fad, due in part to living in an area with unreliable web access and literally working in a faraday cage without WiFi access during that time period. I doubled down on the previous fad - ripping and compressing, instead and continue that to this day.
The result - people are lost without access to Spotify. No Netflix, no movies. You unplug the average person from the Internet these days and they no longer have the ability to use their entertainment systems.
I originally contemplated the pros and cons of going all online versus what I was doing [slashdot.org] - are we really missing anything by not owning our media? In time I began to realize it didn't stop at media.
Younger people don't want to own anything.
We are watching the formation of dependence culture.
Young people aren't driving anymore, [nypost.com] which like everything else is a mix of good and bad. Even when I was privileged enough to be able to bike to work and back, and even for my grocery shopping and most everything else I still kept a license and a vehicle. Something I've noted at work - the younger a coworker is the less likely they are to have any damned tools to work with, and it doesn't appear to be tied to not having had enough time to accumulate them. While doing a little research about that tidbit I stumbled across an article [brightside.me] about the non-ownership topic from the other perspective written in a way that meets my approval.
It's important after that last article I make myself clear. I am not condemning the passing of materialism culture. Far from it. I personally have reduced my materialism and even the footprint of what I personally own. I am however against submission and dependence culture - both of which are adopted when you give up your ability to do for yourself by depending on services - AKA being served - exclusively.
I want to go back to tools. Even though I've reduced the amount of junk I personally own, something I do own a healthy share of is tools. Tools are to me, a different kind of possession. They aren't possessions that say "Look at me!", they aren't something that I use as a status symbol, they aren't pointless possessions. No - tools are something that says "I've got this." I use my tools to make a living, to do for myself, to teach. My tools give me independence and if used properly can even be used to spread independence.
I think we're heading down a dangerous path. When most of the people rent someone still has to own what was rented. When people do nothing but stream someone still has control of the source material. When you don't have your own tools you have to depend on someone to provide them for you. When you can't control your own propulsion you can only go where others will take you. In situations where the many are dependent on the few, the few tend to get fewer in time as they are bought out or consolidated after deaths, etc... In turn the fewer the sources of provision are, the more power the providers have. Eventually we all become slaves existing at the leisure of those who control the resources.
I just realized after typing that last line that it sounds like some sort of socialist manifesto - at least when that line stands alone. Quite the opposite - was intended. We have no need of "seizing the means of production" we as individuals already own the means of production - ourselves. We simply need to make sure we don't give it away - and maintain the skill to do so.
I'm at odds with myself on much of this topic. Having lost nearly everything I owned twice in a five year period changed my perspective on possessions. Not immediately after the second time, but about a year after or so, I asked myself "why am I even concerned about collecting this stuff?" I've determined that it's important to maintain responsibility and ability - hence the tools, bikes and parts, and computer stuff (I am an I.T. guy who loves bikes after all). On the other hand I intentionally gave up most of my printed books, moving instead to electronic. Not tethered electronic usually, but actual DRM-free electronic purchases so I can maintain control without clutter. I wasn't a fan of kitchen gadgets to begin with, and I simplified further. I have a cast-iron skillet and some stainless steel pots - I believe in life-long quality. I do not want a lot of plastic junk in my kitchen. If I get a choice between an electric something or a manual something I typically go for manual. I went back to electric for the coffee grinder, I didn't have THAT much time to give, but I keep the manual around for hurricane season. I do have my movies and music, but I've pulled them out of their original packaging and put them in binders, keeping copies on my server. By maintaining the originals I maintain control, and the binders at least reduce clutter.
I sometimes suspect that we are being maneuvered into reducing our independence by means of market adjustment and less than organic trend and media manipulation. The dependence culture scares me, I'm going to be as self-managing as possible to set an example for my kids.
I find having a huge amount of possessions actually robs you of your independence.
Stuff takes space. Space is expensive. You either have to live more expensively or with a worse quality of life surrounded by your stuff.
Stuff for storing stuff is expensive and bulky. Cabinets, boxes, shelves all take up space.
Having stuff that you use every day or weekly makes sense. Having stuff that you use once a year or five or in case of this or that doesn't really make sense.
Maybe after you've settled down, bou
Like talking to my grandfather (Score:2)
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You guys seem totally unaware that every major streaming service offers offline listening. Maybe the reason you don't like streaming services is because you haven't given them a fair chance.
Not a grandfather, but old enough to be one. I fully understand that I can listen offline. My concern is not about being able to listen offline in the short term, it is about being able to decide that I no longer want to pay the streaming service and yet still listen to the music that I have heard in the past. If I buy a CD (physical media) or an MP3 (non-DRM logical media), I can pay once and listen to it forever and no one else can decide that I can't. That freedom is important to me. If others don't want
It doesn't matter... (Score:2)
Personally, I hate monthly subscription fees. $5 a month here, $10 a month there, and suddenly you are spending $1,000s a year on services - services that you once considered a splurge (like buying a new CD) are now required for you to maintain access to your entertainment.
Between jobs, need to cut back on spending? Sorry. You'll have no entertainment this month because yo
They Should Not Have Raised CD Prices (Score:2)
During the 1990s, the street price for a CD nearly doubled.
It would have been interesting if they came out with a DVD density, credit-card sized CD, with 24bit/96khz uncompressed sound quality.
Radio Paradise... (Score:2)
How about a listener sponsored human curated eclectic internet radio station? [radioparadise.com] So, if I make my own playlist on Spotify I am limited sort of by what I know and already like. Algorithm-driven streams like Pandora also wind up feeding you what you already like in a way. I do subscribe to a paid streaming service and that is great when I know what I want. But I love to turn on Radio Paradise and let the expert DJs choose stuff that is sometimes new to me and often familiar as well. It is eclectic in taste, but
There's no income from recorded music sales (Score:2)
The real profit... (Score:2)
It may be worth mentioning that even back when record companies first started selling actual vinyl record albums, those sales were never the primary revenue source for the artists themselves; rather, concerts are and always have been their biggest income source by a pretty solid margin. So if you really want to support your favorite artist...
I buy more (Score:2)
I buy more physical media, CD and SACD, than ever. Reasons: there is a huge used market and it's very, very cheap. Even new discs are relatively cheaper than ever. Even SACDs are rippable now (by using certain older networked Blu-Ray/DVD/SACD players, see Computer Audiophile forum for details). I get a lossless audio disc which is simple to back up/duplicate/rip. With classical music I usually get a full booklet which I can scan, and often I can download a full pdf from the vendor/label.
The only downsid
four significant digits (Score:2)
Four significant digits? Clearly the surveillance state is further along—a
All or part (Score:2)
With that said, while I do keep all of that, I usually ditch the case (unless it's special too). Keeping the paper art work and then I rip to my media server and I do use that the most for listening.
There's a ton of stuff that is NOT on streaming btw.
I think what is missing in all of this is the number of folks that are "stealing", that is, downloading content without securing any rights at all o
My days of media are almost over. (Score:3)
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Bullshit. I have a huge plex system but its not close to 32 TB. How many movies/series do you have, what codec do you have them encoded in? Bit rates and resolutions and how long have you been collecting?
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So you keep all your media in the native format off the disk and don't re-encode it with better codecs?
Re:This is why we can't have nice things (Score:5, Insightful)
I prefer to buy and rip, as no Internet connection is required to play an mp3, and I have full playlist control. And garage sales/used music stores are your best friends price-wise. Sample new stuff on the web and decide if I want to buy the album or track from there when I want something new, radio is unlistenable between the ads and repetitious playlists...
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Got distracted while writing the post and forgot...
The main advantage to streaming is there are now CDs/Albums/Cassettes/etc. to store and take up physical space....
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Agreed, not an issue for me, but for "you youngins", many don't own homes and have limited space.
I agree with you, rather own the CD than rent access to a digital stream that can be removed from my access at any time for any reason.
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Got distracted while writing the post and forgot...
The main advantage to streaming is there are now CDs/Albums/Cassettes/etc. to store and take up physical space....
I thought the main advantage was that you can disconnect your brain, the noises will just keep going all by themselves.
Downsides (Score:2)
I prefer to buy and rip, as no Internet connection is required to play an mp3, and I have full playlist control.
You don't need an internet connection to play a song purchased online either. Even streaming services will let you purchase and/or download some songs for offline listening.
The downsides of ripping CDs being
1) You cannot just buy the tracks you want from a given album
2) It takes substantially more time to rip the track than to download it
3) You accumulate discs on your shelf which gather dust for the rest of eternity
4) Takes more time to acquire the album
5) It wastes physical resources given that you are p
Re:Downsides (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, but quality varies. Tidal, Apple, and a few niche services offer some type of lossless selection(very limited, tbh). The rest? Not so much.
Permanently renting your music doesn't appeal to me
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Re:Downsides (Score:5, Insightful)
The only real upside I can see is that it gives you a modicum of better control over your collection and a backup in case or data loss (albeit with a ton of work to restore).
I think the real difference is people who enjoy music vs people who listen to it. If you just listen you don't care what the song is or who its by as long as there's another one after. Speaking of data loss though, how long is streaming service x going to be available and what happens when it shuts down?
Expectations (Score:2)
I think the real difference is people who enjoy music vs people who listen to it. If you just listen you don't care what the song is or who its by as long as there's another one after.
In which case there is no point in caring about ripping CDs. Just subscribe to a streaming service and be done with it or just listen to the radio.
Speaking of data loss though, how long is streaming service x going to be available and what happens when it shuts down?
Who cares? If one dies then switch to another. There will always be another. That's like asking how long a radio station is going to keep playing. You don't subscribe to that sort of service because you expect them to be around forever. Nice if it does but don't have unrealistic expectations.
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Speaking of data loss though, how long is streaming service x going to be available and what happens when it shuts down?
What happens when your cd player dies and it can't be fixed and nobody makes them any more? Pretty much the same thing.
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Speaking of data loss though, how long is streaming service x going to be available and what happens when it shuts down?
What happens when your cd player dies and it can't be fixed and nobody makes them any more? Pretty much the same thing.
The CD is just a transmission medium between the vendor and one's personal storage devices.
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I disagree about it being irrelevant. Eventually the stuff the play the physical media will go away. It happens with all physical media. How many places make parts for the Edison wax phonograph?
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Of the internet media (books, video, music), music is the only one where purchased tracks are generally *not* drmed, so I have no particular inclination to buy CDs and rip.
Video on the other hand, I buy and rip media rather than buying DRM encumbered video files that can go poof at the whim or misfortune of the vendor.
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For most people how many of them really care for the physical media.
As a kid of the 1990's. Most people had a CD Library. But a lot of them basically tossed away their jewel cases. and Put their CD's in a binder.
There was a disconnect between the normal people who wanted the music, and people who wanted the album, with the art and physical media.
The record industry was really targeted towards the people who wanted the album, so the majority of the people were paying extra for some plastic, and paper that t
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much more convenient.
Convenient for the vendor maybe, not the user. Sure, it may seem more convenient on the surface. One recurring payment for all the music you could want but once you get past the caveats, advertising, info slurping, streaming, data rates and limits, limited selections subject to change at any time, the risk of the service shutting down and many more. Is that really worth saving the bother of ripping your own cds and maintaining your own collection?
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Yes.
Because I barely have any free time and sure as hell I'm not going to waste int in "ripping my own cds" and "maintaining my own collection". I did that 20 years ago, when i was 15 and had all the time in the world. Now? Not so much.
But I still have the "skills" to pirate anything I really want and was "taken away" by some suit who decided I'm not elegible to listen to this song anymore.
And lastly:
GET REAL
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Yes. Because I barely have any free time and sure as hell I'm not going to waste int in "ripping my own cds" and "maintaining my own collection". I did that 20 years ago, when i was 15 and had all the time in the world. Now? Not so much. But I still have the "skills" to pirate anything I really want and was "taken away" by some suit who decided I'm not elegible to listen to this song anymore. And lastly:
GET REAL.
A yearly subscription to Spotify gives you access to millions of songs. But only 3 CDs worth of music if you really want to "own" them.
All the time it takes to click 'rip now' or 'convert cd' or whatever you program of choice says? Yeah whatever, you don't have to babysit the thing. Spotify is $9.99 a month. around the same price as cd. So about the price of 10-12 cds but if you want to treat music as a disposable thing and are only really interested in current pop then that's fair enough. Personally I haven't spent a penny on music in about 10 years. I just kinda got bored of new music and have more than enough in my collection that I don
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Sportify doesn't cost 9,99 in my country. It costs 99 pesos or USD 2.40. The family plan is 150 pesos or USD 3.75. CDs start at 650 pesos or USD 16.25, and vinyl records start at 1500 pesos or USD 37,50.
Also, you know how I know you've never used spotify? Because of the bullshit you just said about it being "current pop". I don't know how, but on Spotify I can even find records from local folklore records that were only released in this province.
Anyway, if you think listening for the same music for the rest
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Re: Duh. (Score:2)
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except for hondo, the names you mentioned did come up with a couple albums each. You can sign up for spotify for free (and use the free plan as long as you want) with only an email address. The only difference with the free plan is that it's like FM radio: you can't skip songs and you are forced to listen to ads every few songs. You can also try premium for a month for free if you enter your credit card (and cancel before 30 days).
Also it tries to convince you that you need to download the spotify app, but
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I guess if you're in the hunt for older songs on CDs you can get them for a buck a dozen.
Assuming you live in an area with an assortment of flea markets or Goodwill. Otherwise you're out of luck.
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I guess if you're in the hunt for older songs on CDs you can get them for a buck a dozen. Assuming you live in an area with an assortment of flea markets or Goodwill. Otherwise you're out of luck.
Or ebay, amazon, craigslist etc etc. The internet is good for more than just streaming you know.
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A yearly subscription to Spotify gives you access to millions of songs. But only 3 CDs worth of music if you really want to "own" them.
THIS is the thing the "CD forever" people don't get about why their antequated medium is dying.
For the same price as I can buy a few albums, I can stream tens of thousands of albums, more new music than I could listen to in many lifetimes. No way am I going back to the limited selections we had back in the old pre-streaming days.
Once you have infinite music at your fingertips, you are not going back to buying music ever again.
On the other hand, for the same price as millions of shit songs I don't care about I can get a few albums of actually properly good music that I like. If you happen to like genres that aren't pop you've no guarantee they'll have the bands you like, the further you go the less likely, even then there's no guarantee the pop artist you like will be on there either because it's not all music is it? Not even close.
Quality>quantity
albums are a nice format (Score:3)
It adds a lot of dimension over singles when artists put songs together into a collection.
I still think the easiest way to instantly pull together a playlist of thematically congruent music is to just plop 5 CDs in the changer. It lets you have just enough control while not wasting your time with fine grained song by song control of a shuffle playlist.
I find it's way too much effort to assemble a long song by song playlist and do that many times. And it's never satisfying when pandora or amazon or
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I pay $3 a month for millions of songs off Spotify. Anything else I can pirate. I don't give a shit about my "posterity" since I know my children won't give a fuck about about my "old music" as much as i don't give a fuck about my dad's "old records".
Also, How many CDs does $3 get you? That's what I spend in a month for music. $3.
It may suck to be someone who loses thousands of dollars worth of purchases when their gome burns down, a thief stoles their albums, or a child plays with their discs.
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I pay $3 a month for millions of songs off Spotify. Anything else I can pirate. I don't give a shit about my "posterity" since I know my children won't give a fuck about about my "old music" as much as i don't give a fuck about my dad's "old records".
About 90% of the music my kids listen to is "old music". They'd rather listen to Led Zeppelin than Justin Bieber. I still have around 500 CDs and they have that music on their phones. Actually, my older son has been going through that entire collection song by song and curating playlists with his favs.
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And - you can't leave your collection to someone after you die. It all goes into the rubbish heap.
https://www.marketwatch.com/st... [marketwatch.com]
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Vinyl is a fad. It will go away and become a "niche" again. Only "hipster" types and curious kids are buying them.
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is it not niche? How many records per capita are being sold now, and how many in the 80s?