Is streaming the future?

[James83]

[...] then having to switch on the computer every time i wanted to listen to it.

If your "local" music is stored on a NAS and you do not want to switch your computer on, a cellphone or tablet will be able to take care of this.

The same applies for straming music services (Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal...).

I just looked over at my poor little phone and had a good laugh (not at you mind, I realise you were trying to be helpful). Nope, my phone wont be doing anything like that any time soon!

Id have to download it onto the computer, then copy that onto an integrated hard drive connected to the HIFI.. I dont want to imagine how much they would cost though.

You could of course buy a "remote" just to do this job. A cheap and cheerful Android tablet will do just fine. And you can get one for £50 if you are really short on cash.

Then if you're feeling adventurous, a player with built in Spotify Connect (means you can use the full Spotify app on the tablet and make it play from your player of choice (not streamed to the device, played from the device, the remote would simply tell the device what to play).

If you want to go the whole hog, the easiest, but not cheapest would be something like a Bluesound vault, which will rip your CDs and store them in the format of your choice, play Spotify, Qubuz, Tidal or whatever, internet radio etc and you wouldn't even need a separate harddrive.

Oh my, that sounds complicated! Well im sure it wouldn't be in the end, but my simple but trusty phone and CD player sound so much simpler. To me anyway.

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

 

[davedotco]

though I have met people who could get pretty close when using the LAME codec for compression

So I may not be totally paranoid when I think recent versions of LAME are just the pits. Rips lack clarity and sound dull.

No, I think you're simply paranoid. They sound just fine to me.

The people I was refering to have taught themselves to listen for compression artifacts that can be heard in an mp3 track, they are not 'listening to the music'. I was given a couple of pointers which meant that I could pick the compressed tracks on occasion though nowhere near as often as they could.

Think of it as a party trick if you like.

 

[fr0g]

though I have met people who could get pretty close when using the LAME codec for compression

So I may not be totally paranoid when I think recent versions of LAME are just the pits. Rips lack clarity and sound dull.

No, I think you're simply paranoid. They sound just fine to me.

The people I was refering to have taught themselves to listen for compression artifacts that can be heard in an mp3 track, they are not 'listening to the music'. I was given a couple of pointers which meant that I could pick the compressed tracks on occasion though nowhere near as often as they could.

Think of it as a party trick if you like.

Fair enough. I have yet to find anyone I know who can do it. And when "listening to the music" it sounds just as high quality imo.

 

[davedotco]

[...] then having to switch on the computer every time i wanted to listen to it.

If your "local" music is stored on a NAS and you do not want to switch your computer on, a cellphone or tablet will be able to take care of this.

The same applies for straming music services (Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal...).

I just looked over at my poor little phone and had a good laugh (not at you mind, I realise you were trying to be helpful). Nope, my phone wont be doing anything like that any time soon!

Id have to download it onto the computer, then copy that onto an integrated hard drive connected to the HIFI.. I dont want to imagine how much they would cost though.

You could of course buy a "remote" just to do this job. A cheap and cheerful Android tablet will do just fine. And you can get one for £50 if you are really short on cash.

Then if you're feeling adventurous, a player with built in Spotify Connect (means you can use the full Spotify app on the tablet and make it play from your player of choice (not streamed to the device, played from the device, the remote would simply tell the device what to play).

If you want to go the whole hog, the easiest, but not cheapest would be something like a Bluesound vault, which will rip your CDs and store them in the format of your choice, play Spotify, Qubuz, Tidal or whatever, internet radio etc and you wouldn't even need a separate harddrive.

Oh my, that sounds complicated! Well im sure it wouldn't be in the end, but my simple but trusty phone and CD player sound so much simpler. To me anyway.

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

Taylor Swift famously pulled her music from Spotify a few months back as she thought she was not being paid enough.

She is also being paid a premium to back Jay Z's new, more expensive service Tidal, in a move that could fracture streaming across political/financial lines. Ie you may have to subscribe to more than one sevice to access all the artists you want.

This I think is the real issue, with Apple about to enter the streaming market, the next few months could be very interesting.

 

[fr0g]

[...] then having to switch on the computer every time i wanted to listen to it.

If your "local" music is stored on a NAS and you do not want to switch your computer on, a cellphone or tablet will be able to take care of this.

The same applies for straming music services (Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal...).

I just looked over at my poor little phone and had a good laugh (not at you mind, I realise you were trying to be helpful). Nope, my phone wont be doing anything like that any time soon!

Id have to download it onto the computer, then copy that onto an integrated hard drive connected to the HIFI.. I dont want to imagine how much they would cost though.

You could of course buy a "remote" just to do this job. A cheap and cheerful Android tablet will do just fine. And you can get one for £50 if you are really short on cash.

Then if you're feeling adventurous, a player with built in Spotify Connect (means you can use the full Spotify app on the tablet and make it play from your player of choice (not streamed to the device, played from the device, the remote would simply tell the device what to play).

If you want to go the whole hog, the easiest, but not cheapest would be something like a Bluesound vault, which will rip your CDs and store them in the format of your choice, play Spotify, Qubuz, Tidal or whatever, internet radio etc and you wouldn't even need a separate harddrive.

Oh my, that sounds complicated! Well im sure it wouldn't be in the end, but my simple but trusty phone and CD player sound so much simpler. To me anyway.

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

Strange you should pick the one artist that has been in the news because she has blocked her stuff from Spotify.

Try this for size...

First Aid Kit - Lion's Roar

https://open.spotify.com/album/6Z3MfMebUucj95zrHMrbyV

 

[davedotco]

[...] then having to switch on the computer every time i wanted to listen to it.

If your "local" music is stored on a NAS and you do not want to switch your computer on, a cellphone or tablet will be able to take care of this.

The same applies for straming music services (Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal...).

I just looked over at my poor little phone and had a good laugh (not at you mind, I realise you were trying to be helpful). Nope, my phone wont be doing anything like that any time soon!

Id have to download it onto the computer, then copy that onto an integrated hard drive connected to the HIFI.. I dont want to imagine how much they would cost though.

You could of course buy a "remote" just to do this job. A cheap and cheerful Android tablet will do just fine. And you can get one for £50 if you are really short on cash.

Then if you're feeling adventurous, a player with built in Spotify Connect (means you can use the full Spotify app on the tablet and make it play from your player of choice (not streamed to the device, played from the device, the remote would simply tell the device what to play).

If you want to go the whole hog, the easiest, but not cheapest would be something like a Bluesound vault, which will rip your CDs and store them in the format of your choice, play Spotify, Qubuz, Tidal or whatever, internet radio etc and you wouldn't even need a separate harddrive.

Oh my, that sounds complicated! Well im sure it wouldn't be in the end, but my simple but trusty phone and CD player sound so much simpler. To me anyway.

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

Strange you should pick the one artist that has been in the news because she has blocked her stuff from Spotify.

Try this for size...

First Aid Kit - Lion's Roar

https://open.spotify.com/album/6Z3MfMebUucj95zrHMrbyV

Absolutely, there is so much good stuff I don't miss Taylor Swift one bit.

The other day I heard Aztec Camera 'Walk back to winter' in the background on a TV program.

Roddy Frame was a fine artist, one that I never really appreciated at the time (well I did, but not enough), Pottering around the house this morning with Aztec Camera and the Associates belting out the tunes.

 

[EvPa]

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

Unfortunately Taylor Swift removed all of her albums/songs from Spotify last November because she was against people being able to listen to her songs without having to pay a subscription.

You can still listen to her stuff on Deezer though: http://www.deezer.com/artist/12246

 

[davedotco]

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

Unfortunately Taylor Swift removed all of her albums/songs from Spotify last November because she was against people being able to listen to her songs without having to pay a subscription.

You can still listen to her stuff on Deezer though: http://www.deezer.com/artist/12246

Down to her last $200 million allegedly.

 

[bigfish786]

Listen to and watch a streamed music tv channel available on the nowtv box thingamabob.

sound is terrible, pic is terrible, but I'm sticking with it, to see if it gets any better as people stop looking at cats and dinners on Facebook and start watching soaps.

 

[manicm]

Anyway, I gave spotify a chance. Cant ask fairer than that. Everyone keeps on about Taylor Swift, so thought, yep, good idea. Spotify is apparently good for trying out new artists. End result? Spotify failed the trial i gave it!!

Unfortunately Taylor Swift removed all of her albums/songs from Spotify last November because she was against people being able to listen to her songs without having to pay a subscription.

You can still listen to her stuff on Deezer though: http://www.deezer.com/artist/12246

That's a blatant distortion of the facts. She withdrew it as a stand against the royalty structure. And she had a point - Wired I think it was did a breakdown of Spotify payments, and surprise surprise to those signed to the major labels the record company takes the lion's share of the royalty per song. Hate Swift or her music but stop the misinformed stereotyping.

 

[EvPa]

That's a blatant distortion of the facts. She withdrew it as a stand against the royalty structure. And she had a point - Wired I think it was did a breakdown of Spotify payments, and surprise surprise to those signed to the major labels the record company takes the lion's share of the royalty per song. Hate Swift or her music but stop the misinformed stereotyping.

That way I worded it might not have been the the best (I wanted to modify it but for some reason it seems that I cannot edit my posts anymore...) but here is an extract from her Time interview:

Why did you leave Spotify? I’m in an office of people who are upset they can’t stream your music. Well, they can still listen to my music if they get it on iTunes. I’m always up for trying something. And I tried it and I didn’t like the way it felt. I think there should be an inherent value placed on art. I didn’t see that happening, perception-wise, when I put my music on Spotify. Everybody’s complaining about how music sales are shrinking, but nobody’s changing the way they’re doing things. They keep running towards streaming, which is, for the most part, what has been shrinking the numbers of paid album sales. With Beats Music and Rhapsody you have to pay for a premium package in order to access my albums. And that places a perception of value on what I’ve created. On Spotify, they don’t have any settings, or any kind of qualifications for who gets what music. I think that people should feel that there is a value to what musicians have created, and that’s that. I wrote about this in July, I wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal. This shouldn’t be news right now. It should have been news in July when I went out and stood up and said I’m against it. And so this is really kind of an old story.

 

[matthewpiano]

It makes me laugh that Taylor Swift refers to her music as 'art'. It is terrible, badly sung throwaway pop IMO and has no inherent artistic value at all.

 

[steve_1979]

[...] then having to switch on the computer every time i wanted to listen to it.

If your "local" music is stored on a NAS and you do not want to switch your computer on, a cellphone or tablet will be able to take care of this.

The same applies for straming music services (Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal...).

I just looked over at my poor little phone and had a good laugh (not at you mind, I realise you were trying to be helpful). Nope, my phone wont be doing anything like that any time soon!

Id have to download it onto the computer, then copy that onto an integrated hard drive connected to the HIFI.. I dont want to imagine how much they would cost though.

A AEX and any Apple iDevice would do the job. Cheap and simple (assuming you already own an iPhone/iPad/iPod etc).

 

[rainsoothe]

I think the real question is WHO is streaming the future!

 

[EvPa]

I do not think that the WHO is operating a streaming service, their hand are already full with all those pandemia thingamabobs.

 

[Covenanter]

Given the way the UK election campaign is going maybe UKIP and the Greens are the future.

Chris

 

[fr0g]

It makes me laugh that Taylor Swift refers to her music as 'art'. It is terrible, badly sung throwaway pop IMO and has no inherent artistic value at all.

Because other people's taste in music are simply wrong eh?

I am not a fan, but millions are. It "is" art, whether you like it or not.

If I was to be equally snobbish, quite frankly I find most opera appallingly unlistenable. Same goes for most jazz. But I'm not, so I appreciate that others enjoy it.

"I don't like" > "It is bad"

 

[fr0g]

[...] then having to switch on the computer every time i wanted to listen to it.

If your "local" music is stored on a NAS and you do not want to switch your computer on, a cellphone or tablet will be able to take care of this.

The same applies for straming music services (Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal...).

I just looked over at my poor little phone and had a good laugh (not at you mind, I realise you were trying to be helpful). Nope, my phone wont be doing anything like that any time soon!

Id have to download it onto the computer, then copy that onto an integrated hard drive connected to the HIFI.. I dont want to imagine how much they would cost though.

A AEX and any Apple iDevice would do the job. Cheap and simple (assuming you already own an iPhone/iPad/iPod etc).

Pretty sure he doesn't given his phone comment, and for someone who doesn't it's a horribly unstandard and overpriced way of going about things.

 

[manicm]

Anyway, back to Swift, it's not only her who's complained. Fact of the matter is the record companies take the lion's share of the royalties. Which I think for a streaming service is entirely unfair to all its artists.

 

[matthewpiano]

It makes me laugh that Taylor Swift refers to her music as 'art'. It is terrible, badly sung throwaway pop IMO and has no inherent artistic value at all.

Because other people's taste in music are simply wrong eh?

I am not a fan, but millions are. It "is" art, whether you like it or not.

If I was to be equally snobbish, quite frankly I find most opera appallingly unlistenable. Same goes for most jazz. But I'm not, so I appreciate that others enjoy it.

"I don't like" > "It is bad"

It isn't snobbery and I've got no truck against those who enjoy it for what it is. However, the word 'art' infers a certain value beyond just simple enjoyment. I'm not a fan of the music of Stockhausen but I'm still more than happy to accept its artistic value. Anyway, we could debate this for years as music academics have done.

 

[manicm]

At least Swift isn't as pretentious as Gaga. Her hype and theatrics precedes her talent even if she writes her own songs. The trouble is that unlike her 40 years ago Genesis/Gabriel/Floyd had the substance to back up the visuals. I do admire her social work/charity but she's too self-conscious, too vain to be a true artist.

 

[matthewpiano]

People like Genesis and Pink Floyd had real technical foundation to their music, and a desire to explore the limits of what could be achieved, creating something truly individual and instantly identifiable as their work. That really is art.

 

[fr0g]

No, it's all art.

Some you prefer more than others, but it's all an expression, however vapid that expression may be.

Tate gallery anyone?

 

[fr0g]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-bg23Hm3Vg&list=PLF42BD55F99E02549

 

[manicm]

Some art is more equal than others though.