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Listen here: you can’t rely on music streaming. Maybe it’s time to dig out your old CDs

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Well, I rip each CD ! have and still buy new. I do it uncompressed (WAV) and store it on diverse SSD´s. I listen to it via an old well-maintained Dell business - laptop, equipped with a Focusrite USB sound terminal. But only when I do not fire up one of my turntables....

I hate the sound of any streaming medium.
 
I rip all my CDs into lossless files on HDDs on my MacPro and play them via Tunes - but I still own the discs, and I can play them whenever I am in the mood, since I have an Oppo DV 970HD plugged into my main 2 ch system, My discs include bluebook CDs, SACDs, HDCDs, and some others. I also have some Bluray Pure Audio, DVD Audio, and multichannel SACDs that I can play via a newer Oppo BDP103D on a multichannel system downstairs. Since the front mains and side surrounds there are UREI 809A studio monitors, (with coaxial JBL drivers) the sound quality is quite good. But normally, stereo listening is my preference.

But I do have a Raspberry Pi4 computer configured with PiCorePlayer and a nice DAC, so I can listen to High Res streams from Qobuz if I chose. That's nice to check out new album releases and see if any interest me enough to buy and own a hard copy. I like to do that on Saturday afternoons - it makes the weekend special. And I still buy CDs - a 5 disc Sam Cooke collection is on the way.
I think streaming is just one of many resources that allow me to enjoy old and new music.

I have also been known to listen to lower res web radio services when I like the kind of music the DJ plays - its really more about the music than the gear or the bit rate ;)
 
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I would need to buy 1,000 CDs or more. 90% of my listening is new music (within the last 10 years). I like a song or a few songs from each artist and have them saved to playlists. There's no way I'd pop for a whole CD or download and pay for individual songs like the old iTunes model.

Like a lot of things the music industry is changing and evolving. Where it will go is anyone's guess.
 
I was listening to Spotify for many years and found I was neglecting my lps and cds. Since I was paying for both Amazon HD and Spotify I decided to drop one of them, and I decided to drop Spotify because they always suggested the same artists, plus they never went HD. I'm happy with Amazon and am finding many new artists. I was doing Spotify a lot more because it was convenient controlling things from my chair. With Amazon I have to get up and go over to the stereo.

Because of that I find I'm listening to my extensive collection of vinyl and cds much more and streaming less.
 
Lol at the article saying CDs are an old, dusty medium. I have boxes of diamond discs next to my bed needing cleaning.
 
I'm still buying CDs from thrifts and garage sales.

Two weeks ago at a local Savers, on a 30% off for seniors day, I found Led Zeppelin 1, LZ2, Houses of the Holy, Physical Grafitti, Wish You Were Here, and Bitches Brew by Miles.

You just don't see these much in any medium anymore lately.

They're mine for good.
 
I do just the opposite I stream only what I can't find on LP or CS or SACD. Then I burn it to disc. If I can hear it over my sound systems, then I can dub it CD if I want to via a Professional Marantz CD recorder, too. I have also been known if the broadcast originated from a TV channel or from a HD Fm station to fire up my analog processors to get some dynamic range back and to touch up lousy mic placements. That broadcast of Lang Lang from Royal Albert Hall where the mics were attached to the walls of the piano caused all sorts of low frequency noise that shouldn't have been there and needed to be toned down. I also heard one of my favorite pieces on Wind and Rhythm and when I pulled out the original CD it was like listening to a totally different recording.

So Streaming is is the last resort and then if I find an LP or original CD, I trash the cd of the stream.

What are all of you going to do when it rains and everything stored in the clouds drys up and evaporates?
 
And in the US, CD sales increased last year for the first time in 17 years, though this was almost entirely due to the Adele album.
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o_O Okay then ... maybe she will come out with an album next year as well ... let's drink to that. :beerchug:
 
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BamaBilly said:
So they pull two artists and now you “can’t reply on music streaming”? That article seems like a waste of time.
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It's more than two artists, but sure, it's a small percentage:

Neil Young
Joni Mitchell
Nils Lofgren
India Arie
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Failure

There were also some talk show people that pulled their content.

I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more issues with streaming. Artists are being completely hosed by streaming services. If they aren't at the level of Taylor Swift, they make almost nothing. Currently, artists are trying to compensate for the loss of revenue by touring and charging a lot of money for live shows. Obviously, the pandemic has prevented much of that over the past two years. On the positive side, we will like see a lot of artists touring a lot of make up for two years of lost revenue.




 
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E-Stat said:
From the article:
"...you may not be a Neil Young fan but what if your favourite artist gets in a row with Spotify?"
I couldn't care less about lossy providers.
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I have NEVER been a Spotify subscriber, nor Pandora - there are plenty of quality streaming services where I can hear what I want when I want,
AND be sure the artist is getting paid something for their work.
 
Mustang Dude said:
If they aren't at the level of Taylor Swift, they make almost nothing.
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This has always been the case, no? Popular artists make a lot of money. The list of popular artists is quite small when you look at the total population of musical artists. Streaming services are just one additional channel for smaller artists to get discovered and potentially increase their audience and revenue share. This has been hashed out numerous times in other threads so I'll stop here.
 
BamaBilly said:
So they pull two artists and now you “can’t reply on music streaming”? That article seems like a waste of time.
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Someone pointed out more than two, but not enough to make a difference one way or another as far as I'm concerned.

GChief said:
Boogie man click bait article for luddites. Its bound to get some traction on AK.
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I've seen those that are against streaming beating this drum lately in AK. I suppose it somehow proves their point, assuming there was one in the first place.
 
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