(New) Music To My Ears
Written by Gabrielle Gronewold, Culture Staff Writer
I tried to think back to the last time I bought a song on iTunes—and I genuinely could not tell you. Maybe I was 12?
What I do remember about actually purchasing music, rather than using streaming services, is my 10-year-old self logging on to iTunes, listening to random clips of music from the song charts and aimlessly buying random songs. I’d like to think that these buying habits would have evolved, but I can never really know as I’ve been a Spotify user since 2014.
Using streaming services for music rather than buying individual songs allows users to open up and diversify their tastes. Since the surge in streaming consumption, users have experienced an increase in the amount of music they consume, an increase in music variety and an increase in the discovery of new music (Datta, Knox, Bronnenberg, 2016).
This is no surprise to me. Just last year—according to my Spotify Wrapped report—I listened to a little over 100,000 minutes of music. I don’t know if I should be concerned that I listened to about 80 days worth of music last year, but I do know that this number is a direct example of the impact music streaming has on my life.
When I think about the types of music that fill these minutes, it’s much different than the random music on the charts I bought when I was ten. Being able to consume music via streaming allows me to make random playlists full of hundreds of songs, share music with my friends and see what other people are listening to. And do all of this without limits.
Before streaming, people relied on digital downloads and physical copies. Music today is rapid and instant, one hour you can listen to one genre, the next another, all for a flat price or a few advertisements.
When analyzing my music taste, it’s hard to think about what it would be like if I didn’t have access to music streaming. Would I listen to as much music as I do now? Would my music taste be less diverse than it is now?
Yet, streaming services haven’t been beneficial for everyone. Streaming services have made it much harder for artists to make as much money as they had been before (Media Update, 2019). But, I’m pretty sure they’re still doing just fine.
The way music was purchased before made payment to artists more direct. Today, payments depend on the region, subscription services, royalty rates and the currency of a listener’s location. Although artists still receive payments from streaming, it is much more challenging to make as much money as they previously had from album sales, leading artists to rely on revenue from alternative platforms like touring (Media Update, 2019).
However, as music intake diversifies and increases the main concern should not be about profits. Music streaming levels the playing field for newer, smaller artists to be discovered and emerge, as a result of more unique music intake (Datta, Knox, Bronnenberg, 2016).
Streaming services have been popular for about half my life, making my perspective on them much different than someone who may remember buying music before the internet. I accredit the music I listen to today, to the new-ish, ever-changing ways of music consumption.
Although streaming services may make for a shift in music profits, I believe the ability to ingest music in this way is extremely beneficial and allows people to be rich in the arts.
Sources:
Datta, H., Knox, G., Bronnenberg, B. “Changing Their Tune: How Consumers’ Adoption of Online Streaming Affects Music Consumption and Discovery.” Marketing Science Institute. September 2016.
“How Streaming Changed the Music Industry.” Media Update. October 2019.
Murphy, S. “Here’s how music consumption has changed in the last decade.” Music Network. December 2019.