I want to discuss how music gets onto internet/stremming services

NH-MAN

NH-MAN

Addicted Member
So just like to flip around you tube and look for stuff that sounds good and the best version of some songs I like ect.

I would like to try a streaming service sometime but I wonder what am I listening to and how did it get there?
Is it the best version? is it some copied version?. What am I listening to?

I realize you tube is a lower resolution than than some HQ streaming but why can I find such nice sounding stuff on you tube? I have found good stuff equal to my CD at home back to back

So lets take this you tuber for example https://www.youtube.com/user/MrVinylObsessive

His stuff sounds incredible and you can even tell the differences between the different cartridges he uses. His versions are better than any other source of the same songs on you tube including from the artists themselves.

How can he put out sound that is better than the original put up by the record company?

What is it we are hearing on a premium service, somebody ripping album's and cd's in a room somewhere? Are they buying a copy of an original? What are they using for equipment to get it to us?

What am I Actually gonna hear from a streaming service and from what source is it? Is there multiple ways from different sources on streaming services or if I want to listen Who's Next by the Who there is one choice and I have no Idea what the source of that album came from and was it the best one/source? Is it a master tape, a copy of a copy of the master tape? would I be getting the best possible recording or just what someone has and puts it on the service?

I would think this would be interesting to others as well.


Example of my thoughts

This is from Sony Music so I guess I would expect it to be the best they have for upload .


Yet this from a you tuber sounds better
 
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I think it has to do maybe some with the compression type used by the uploader or what resolution the recording is uploaded.

Record labels probably have certain digital albums they license out similar to the way a movie company licenses out their digital movies to theaters. It's just a digital copy of whatever digital master they are using at the time. It may be that they have chosen this specific master because it sounds the best on the widest variety of devices but it might not sound the best on your carefully built 2 channel stereo.

There are too many factors at play I would assume and I am not an expert I am just giving my thoughts without any actual knowledge or research.

You can see similar effects by playing the same digital song/track using different software based audio players...something in the way they are programmed alters the sound even when playing the same file. I imagine some of this kind of effect is at play when comparing different digital files online... maybe the person who recorded the vinyl rip is using some software that processes it in a way that you find to be most enjoyable?
 
Why overthink it? Does it really matter? I have had Spotify Premium for a few years now with thousands of listening hours. Their catalog is VAST and often times had several versions of the same song. Just try it for a month and see how you like it.
 
Bodyblue said:
Why overthink it? Does it really matter? I have had Spotify Premium for a few years now with thousands of listening hours. Their catalog is VAST and often times had several versions of the same song. Just try it for a month and see how you like it.
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Not overthinking it, just curious as to what I would actually be listening to; a ripped cd an album, some master copy and wonder I where it comes from.
 
There was a RMAF YouTube video out some time ago .. Tidal reps at the time .. that said they got their files in hard drives from the record labels (basically what ever version they sent them). RMAF took the video down .. guessing due to one of the Tidal reps (at that time) now working for Qobuz as their US sales rep. This was around 6 years ago .. so things could have changed since then.

In my personal experience .. what's on streaming is usually what ever the last version of something that was released by the record labels.
 
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Condorsat said:
There was a RMAF YouTube video out some time ago .. Tidal reps at the time .. that said they got their files in hard drives from the record labels (basically what ever version they sent them). RMAF took the video down .. guessing due to one of the Tidal reps (at that time) now working for Qobuz as their US sales rep. This was around 6 years ago .. so things could have changed since then.

In my personal experience .. what's on streaming is usually what ever the last version of something that was released by the record labels.
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That would have been interesting thanks.
 
YouTube actually encourages you to upload at the highest quality you can and stay within some total size limit (like a GB or something). But with a still picture on each frame the size of the video stream will be a bare minimum. Almost all video compression has to do with data that "predicts" changes in subsequent frames, instead of actually including the frames. So with a still image there really isn't a lot to predict. I downloaded both of those videos and the audio streams are the same:

Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: opus, 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp (default)

But we don't know what the guys uploaded. YouTube set them both to 48000 Hz, but may have had more to "work with" with one upload or the other. I'm not really an expert on what's going on on the audio side (or video to be honest) but you can give YouTube more "overhead" I'm guessing if you upload the best you can.
 
I think the answer is you get a variety of sources. Most newer albums are probably the digital versions that were mastered for the CD release (often in the master format ie: 24/96, etc.). For older albums, many have been digitized from the original master tapes and often have been subsequently remastered. And I would venture to guess that a lot of streamed music is from ripped CDs. None of the streamed music (excepting Youtube) is needle drops. Needle drops on Youtube are from hobbyists, not record companies.
 
The other thing about YouTube is copyrights and monetization. Their algorithms are pretty good at identifying the song and what entity holds the copyright. 99.9% of the time the copyright holder has agreed in advance to allow you to post the material, but all ad revenue is automatically diverted to him / her / it. The only time I've run into "trouble" was after a few months ABKCO? (the Rolling Stones) changed their "tune" (nice pun) and blocked it. But nothing punitive.
 
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