Streaming....

Iv'e been talking with friends a lot about the affect of streaming music over the internet.

This is a pretty buzzing area as in recent years both technological enhancements and internet speed have meant that people can access the internet almost anywhere on devices small enough to fit in your pocket.

In the UK and europe over the last 12-18 months millions of users have signed up to use Spotify and replaced their usual music consumption habits. The majority of those using Spotify as using a free business model that means that the user must listen to adverts after every couple of songs in exchange for almost unlimited free music streams.
Sure those with more traditional sensibilities towards music will find themselves still purchasing music on vinyl and cd but the casual listener it seems is perfectly happy with enduring adverts and using streaming as a primary form of music consumption, this presents the problem...

Spotify (which i feel has been the most successful streaming service to date) had to close their doors to free members in 2009 as they simply had too many free accounts accessing music, this problem has also caused the growth of the company to be stifled and still hasn't launched in the states. Free accounts have since been opened backup but now the usage is limited to a number of hours per month.

The main problem with streaming is that of the casual listener, sure bands will always be able to sell records to core fans and will always have support from them but casual listeners seem overly eager to indulge in this model and not spend anything on music. Sure the artist and the label still receive royalties from streaming but a considerable lower percentage...

Casual listeners present a key market for any band, its them that decide the success of failure of any album released and with casual listeners only consuming music through free applications bands, specifically smaller bands will have a much tougher time getting noticed, getting on tours and thus becoming successful.


For years i've seen peers comparing sizes of iTunes libraries with each other with no real mention of how much have been purchased legally, this years sales figures show this is an alarming problem. It seems listeners main concern is hearing the new 'bands name' album instead of being in the store purchasing it on the release day. Its not at all surprising that these people are the ones who are moving to free alternatives at such speed. For years its been been said that the music industry's biggest problem is finding a way to combat illegal downloads, streaming could be the answer to that problem, but at what cost. I feel that the real problem facing the music industry is finding a way to get people to spent money on music again. But in an age where its 100x easier to download or stream a bands new record can this problem really be solved? Right now it seems to be that bands are moving away from traditional model, kick-starters seem to be becoming prominent where bands are getting people to pay for records before they're even made, offering guest list spots and tee shirts costing the band significantly less to produce than the retail value to the consumer. While this presents a small answer to struggling musicians its longevity is debatable.

Hope this didn't bore you too much...