Would you be as enthusiastic about the audio hobby if streaming disappeared?

[RunOutGroove]

I have been buying records since I was a kid and will continue to buy records until the day I die. I have thousands. That said, I also have a Spotify account, but I only listen to it when walking the dogs, on public transport, driving, or if using a bluetooth speaker either outside in the summer or if I take it on holiday.

I think the discovery of new music - especially obscure music - has been around for ages. For example, so many obscure psych bands were being discovered in the 70s via 'Nuggets' compilation and then later in the 80s via bootleg labels like Psycho, Midnight Records, Eva etc. This helped get obscure and hard to find records or long forgotten bands into the hands of people like myself who wanted to dive deeper. Those "needle drop" bootlegs (sourced from an LP rather than master tapes) played a huge part in me discovering very obscure bands from the late 60s and early 70s. The audio quality may not have been great, but hell...this was the 80s and back then we didn't have things like hi-def. We were still adjusting antennas and playing our original Atari thinking it was great as we didn't know any different.

Also, there are so many great compilation labels. The 'Brown Acid' comp that was originally posted on page one of this thread is a good example, Numero is also a great label that have put out so many amazing compilations. They employ good obsessive music nerds to curate and find all the great, deep, obscure cuts and put them out on their beautifully packaged physical releases. However, to buy them all is an expensive hobby and of course does take up space. Obviously, one could just stream them as Numero have put everything on Spotify.

What I will say about Streaming that I think is great is when an album or playlist is done and it goes into "more like this" that are randomly picked by Spotify or the said band name's "Radio" - that does a great job of curating similar stuff that may be new discoveries. I have definitely discovered a handful of bands/albums that way, but then I went out and tracked down the physical LP either in local record stores or, if needed, on Discogs.

I can relate... I too have been collecting records since I was a kid and don't quite feel like I'm going to break the habitat anytime soon. Like you seem to be, I'm not really interested in collecting stuff that's necessarily valuable or in exploring different versions of the same batch of classic albums, I'm more into building a really eclectic type library, with a really wide range of different sounds and stuff that would never be heard if I didn't really have my ear to the ground. I only use streaming occasionally, through Spotify on my Roku TV (I don't have any other computer type device hooked up to my stereo) and then it's only the free, lower res, with commercial version of that, but it can be useful to sample music that isn't available to hear otherwise... unless I want to buy everything that I'm curious about, but I don't have that deep pockets...

I could actually see myself springing for some kind of real streaming service as I think that it's a great resource, but I'd probably still be buying albums and such. Lately it doesn't seem like I'm listening to music all that often (which is fine as when I do listen, I really enjoy it) and when I do, I kind of like picking through my collection to find stuff that though I may own a copy, I don't really know the music that well. To have a large collection, particularly if you aren't listening for many hours a day means that you're able to actually "discover" stuff that you've owned for years.

 

[Lab 260]

Prior to streaming, I listened to my era's vinyl and CD. My son introduced me to streaming and like others have said, its a mind blower.

Once a night I'll read and stream for an hour. I started with the stuff of my youth, then as the service gave me suggestions, I'd pick a few.

For $15 a month I have all of my era's music plus I'll read up on who played on whose album and go down that rabbit hole.

Right now it is the 90's jam band scene. That came out of the Allman, Grateful Dead and gov't mule scene.

Its endless.

 

[tomlinmgt]

What I will say about Streaming that I think is great is when an album or playlist is done and it goes into "more like this" that are randomly picked by Spotify or the said band name's "Radio" - that does a great job of curating similar stuff that may be new discoveries. I have definitely discovered a handful of bands/albums that way, but then I went out and tracked down the physical LP either in local record stores or, if needed, on Discogs.

The curation really has become quite good. I have hours upon hours upon hours of songs I've saved from one playing that happened during the "suggested tracks" listening sessions.

 

[oscarinovp]

I inherited my Dad's vinyl collection and went through a phase of collecting other vinyl via the estate sale/thrift store route when I finally latched onto a decent vinyl rig. I have been burned spending beaucoup bucks for newly pressed vinyl so I will stay with used. I still have only listened to a fraction of the LP library I have accumulated.

I also have a decent SACD library and have a handful of costly DSD128 /hi-rez PCM downloads/RIPs. I find decent vinyl playback to be more enjoyable to listen to than my digital media. Perhaps that will change when I get around to adding DSD 256 downloads to my collection. I am loath to spend money on hi-rez streaming when I already have more music than time to listen to it.

I do "stream" audio or use my iTunes library when driving my car.

 

[Natasha Bell]

Yes... as I don't stream at all. In fact, I cannot stand streaming. Now, I am not above, well... especially high resolution FLAC, but I cannot stand streaming. I love the look and feel of physical media.

 

[Natasha Bell]

I also have a decent SACD library and have a handful of costly DSD128 /hi-rez PCM downloads/RIPs. I find decent vinyl playback to be more enjoyable to listen to than my digital media. Perhaps that will change when I get around to adding DSD 256 downloads to my collection. I am loath to spend money on hi-rez streaming when I already have more music than time to listen to it.

I do "stream" audio or use my iTunes library when driving my car.

I so understand this. I am fortunate to be part of a fairly large circle of friends who acquire and then share the music between us. This being said, for me to quench my love of late 1960s - mid 1980s rock, pop, and progressive, it has become more of a desire to collect.. to have basically every release from my favorite artists. Although I do have a number of SACDs, I tend not to be willing to pay the price that is asked for them. I make do with very high bit-rate FLAC copies instead.

 

[David_NC]

I would definitely miss streaming and music listening in general. Sure, I can buy whatever I want on CD, SACD, or vinyl, for the most part. I don't like being in a rut with only the same music over and over. I used to listen to a few specific radio stations back when FM was really good, and that's how I was introduced to new music. I'd then buy what I liked on record or CD. I wouldn't get that without streaming or FM; since FM is really not so good now, that leaves streaming. Add in the ease or selecting and zero maintenance with the sound quality, and streaming is def a winner. I do still have a decent selection of physical media and play them from time to time.
I use Amazon HD mostly and have become a fan of My Discover Mix. It's really random - both old and new and often fairly obscure - and it changes to a new list every Monday morning. I listen and pick what I like from each week's lineup and add to a playlist dedicated only to songs that Amazon has suggested. It's pretty cool to have a list of songs I like that I would never have likely heard without streaming and algorithms used for such suggestions. The closest I could come to that, without streaming or FM, would be for friends with varied music tastes to send me random tracks each week - not likely to happen. I'm always a bit surprised by those who only like the media they own without introducing new and different artists and songs.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I still have a LiveXLive (previously known as Slacker) account that I use mostly at my desk when working. This is where I really learn about new music. After a dozen thumbs up or down, stations get really good. It has a slider to vary between favorite tracks or new tracks, so I get introduced to songs I like but that are somehow related or similar to others I like (via the thumbs up). Reviews back in the day said that it had the best algorithms for track selection, and I'd have to agree.
In the car, I use it via cached mode so I don't waste mobile data or have to deal with dead spots. Mostly, when in the car, I use SiriusXM due to it being FM like; just start the car, and the station plays without touching buttons, messing with my phone, etc. Yeah, I love streaming audio...

 

[wspohn]

I doubt that I would notice. All I ever use streaming for is to audition material (usually on Youtube) to see if I want to own it. My listening is all to vinyl or to digital from my network drive.