# Does anyone listen only to streamed music? Or at least a lot?



## Sondersdorf (Aug 5, 2020)

I have been buying music for 55 years. Most often I have Swinsian on a Macbook playing mp3s I have bought or ripped from my CDs. It is not an entirely pleasant experience. It is not even that easy to buy the music I want. I have lots of CDs and LPs, but it is so easy to use Swinsian, that's what I do.

I get the message. The world wants to me to subscribe to a streaming service. I tried iAdagio for a while, but went back to listening to mp3s on my hard disk because I do not always have internet access and I don't want to accumulate libraries and playlists subject to the providers' whims. They go out of business and then what do you have?

Does anybody really depend of streaming services for most of their listening?


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## BlackAdderLXX (Apr 18, 2020)

Sondersdorf said:


> Does anybody really depend of streaming services for most of their listening?


I have spotty internet where I live so I only use streaming to try out music and see if I like it enough to buy it.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

I use streaming primarily to listen to new recordings, or ones that have been mentioned here which I'm not familiar with. My day to day listening is mostly with recordings I've imported into iTunes or occasionally CD's. I've found the audio quality of streaming to be spotty and prefer at least CD quality when I listen to classical music.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Yes. It is my only source of listening. I do not own a single CD and do not plan to. As an incoming college student on a budget, indulging in the buying habits that TC seems to encourage does not seem conducive to wise financial planning, but maybe some time down the road I will get into it.


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

I've subscribed to a streaming service for about a year and it's become an equal partner with my CD collection. I buy almost no CDs anymore. What changed for me was 1) moving back to the States from overseas locations where I didn't have internet and needed CDs, and 2) the recent availability of high-def (Redbook CD quality or better) streamed music. I'm pretty sure that if I were in the position ACB describes above, I wouldn't start a CD collection. But I have an SACD player with the amp and speaker set-up to play multichannel SACDs, and I like that a lot. If I do buy CDs anymore, they're SACDs. I'm not going to get rid of my 1000+ disc CD collection because it contains music I've collected over the last 30 years which I keep returning to and some of which isn't available (for now, anyway) on my streaming service. One other issue for me is that I like the album art and liner notes of most of my CDs. It's kind of like an extension of my collection of nice books.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Yes. It is my only source of listening. I do not own a single CD and do not plan to. As an incoming college student on a budget, indulging in the buying habits that TC seems to encourage does not seem conducive to wise financial planning, but maybe some time down the road I will get into it.


You're better of not getting bogged down with mountains of physical media. For us older folks that's all we had. CDs were the new thing. Enjoy the advantages of being free of material bondage.


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## Sondersdorf (Aug 5, 2020)

Simplicissimus said:


> I've subscribed to a streaming service for about a year and it's become an equal partner with my CD collection. I buy almost no CDs anymore. What changed for me was 1) moving back to the States from overseas locations where I didn't have internet and needed CDs, and 2) the recent availability of high-def (Redbook CD quality or better) streamed music. I'm pretty sure that if I were in the position ACB describes above, I wouldn't start a CD collection. But I have an SACD player with the amp and speaker set-up to play multichannel SACDs, and I like that a lot. If I do buy CDs anymore, they're SACDs. I'm not going to get rid of my 1000+ disc CD collection because it contains music I've collected over the last 30 years which I keep returning to and some of which isn't available (for now, anyway) on my streaming service. One other issue for me is that I like the album art and liner notes of most of my CDs. It's kind of like an extension of my collection of nice books.


Oh! Speaking of living outside the U.S... This reminds me of one of my big annoyances of buying digital downloads: Amazon will not let me download music I bought in the U.S. because I now live overseas. They won't let me buy music from their U.S. site if my debit card address is not in the U.S., even if it is a U.S. bank. I just want to buy music and listen to it.


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## Sondersdorf (Aug 5, 2020)

There is some attraction to having your own music collection. iAdagio let you build your own database that looked like your personal collection which was nice, but I hear lots of stories of people looking for one of their favorite tracks or albums on a streaming services and poof! the streaming service no longer has it.

CD booklets are really nice. I come across a CD of something I have ripped, look at the booklet, and it is a rare and wondrous thing. An LP jacket? Pure heaven. At least sometimes.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I enjoyed the CD booklets a lot more when I was younger. Now it's a chore to read them with my aging eyesight.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

I have finally gotten to the point where I can listen to MP3 files on a thumbdrive, under conditions that are not ideal for listening anyway. (The convenience of not having to carry and change CDs can be worth the trade off in sound, especially if listening is not so great to start with.)

Creating these copies is cumbersome, and some CDs will not cooperate. I cannot imagine doing it for my whole collection, nor do I plan on doing so.


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## Sondersdorf (Aug 5, 2020)

I haven't used iTunes for several years and I don't remember how easy it was to search and filter, but Swinsian is really handy. If you want to compare four versions of a Haydn Op. 76:3 string quartet, there they are. You don't have to load four CDs and get them to the right track. And, all those multi-composer CDs that you can't remember where you filed them? No problem. Search for the album or track in any of a zillion ways.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I am lucky to have free access to the Naxos Music Library through the university where I work. I use that fairly extensively to listen to new music. I also sometimes use youtube if I want to hear something quickly. When I decide I want to own music, I purchase a CD and rip it to my iTunes library. I then have the option of hearing the music on a CD player or through iTunes. 

I will admit that I love having the Naxos access because it allows me to hear such a wide range of music and usually with several versions of the work.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

D Smith said:


> I use streaming primarily to listen to new recordings, or ones that have been mentioned here which I'm not familiar with.


That's one of the reasons I subscribed to a streaming service (Spotify). I also stream music when in the car, at the gym, or outdoors. But when I'm home or in my office, 90% of my listening is via physical media.

Much as I appreciate streaming services, I'm cautious about them, concerned that they may not be around forever. Or at least not as long as I will be.


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

I'd say 99% of the time I do. I'm not a stickler for audio fidelity and sound quality (as long as it doesn't sound like it was recorded with a toaster I'm fine, think about how many incredible mono recordings there are!) so streaming services do the trick and you actually get access to really high quality streaming anyway. 

I think the vinyl revival is mostly a fad: unless you have a $1000 turntable and and equally expensive stereo system, any 'superior sound quality' you're experiencing is actually a placebo. You can definitely argue that older records have higher fidelity (I think that's just true) but modern represses and new presses of LPs are so compressed anyway that you're essentially paying for an overpriced CD. A close friend of mine is rabid with collecting records and we differ greatly on this topic, but I personally think it's just an expensive hobby to have cause the record player as well as the vinyl themselves eventually get worn and torn with time, and it's all for either a placebo or a very minuscule difference in sound quality.


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## Sondersdorf (Aug 5, 2020)

GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> I'd say 99% of the time I do. I'm not a stickler for audio fidelity and sound quality (as long as it doesn't sound like it was recorded with a toaster I'm fine, think about how many incredible mono recordings there are!) so streaming services do the trick and you actually get access to really high quality streaming anyway.
> 
> I think the vinyl revival is mostly a fad: unless you have a $1000 turntable and and equally expensive stereo system, any 'superior sound quality' you're experiencing is actually a placebo. You can definitely argue that older records have higher fidelity (I think that's just true) but modern represses and new presses of LPs are so compressed anyway that you're essentially paying for an overpriced CD. A close friend of mine is rabid with collecting records and we differ greatly on this topic, but I personally think it's just an expensive hobby to have cause the record player as well as the vinyl themselves eventually get worn and torn with time, and it's all for either a placebo or a very minuscule difference in sound quality.


And then there is the joy of ripping LPs. I met a guy at a party who had plenty of money who was going through his entire LP collection, ripping and typing in the tags. I told him it was hardly worth his time as you could download most of his albums for five dollars or less. He didn't want to hear it. It was giving him some time with his music and he was getting to see those album jackets again. I understand, I guess. Sorta. When I rip an LP I am delighted when Picard finds tags for me.


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## BlackAdderLXX (Apr 18, 2020)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Yes. It is my only source of listening. I do not own a single CD and do not plan to. As an incoming college student on a budget, indulging in the buying habits that TC seems to encourage does not seem conducive to wise financial planning, but maybe some time down the road I will get into it.


Very wise. TC has been horrible for my bottom line!


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

Sondersdorf said:


> And then there is the joy of ripping LPs. I met a guy at a party who had plenty of money who was going through his entire LP collection, ripping and typing in the tags. I told him it was hardly worth his time as you could download most of his albums for five dollars or less. He didn't want to hear it. It was giving him some time with his music and he was getting to see those album jackets again. I understand, I guess. Sorta. When I rip an LP I am delighted when Picard finds tags for me.


There's something to be said about the aesthetic about _physically owning _ an LP or CD, which is why I totally understand where my friend and your party dude are coming from. My friend spends a lot of quality time with his records and I can imagine it does create this sense of intimacy and familiarity with each particular album and it's more satisfying to look at your collection when it's physically there. Waaaaay too expensive of a hobby for me though!


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## Sondersdorf (Aug 5, 2020)

*And LP revival?*



GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> There's something to be said about the aesthetic about _physically owning _ an LP or CD, which is why I totally understand where my friend and your party dude are coming from. My friend spends a lot of quality time with his records and I can imagine it does create this sense of intimacy and familiarity with each particular album and it's more satisfying to look at your collection when it's physically there. Waaaaay too expensive of a hobby for me though!


I have wondered how much of the LP revival comes from people wanting a physical connection and perceived ownership of music. As the line from the song goes, "Just give me one thing that I can hold onto."

I don't think it is the great sound that entices people to buy LPs. It is probably acquiring something physical (and big!) or a "look at me, I am cooler than thou!" motivation.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I listen to streamed stuff quite a bit, mp3s/FLACS and CDs in roughly equal measure


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Yes. It is my only source of listening. I do not own a single CD and do not plan to. As an incoming college student on a budget, indulging in the buying habits that TC seems to encourage does not seem conducive to wise financial planning, but maybe some time down the road I will get into it.


Primarily streaming for me as well. I'm a rising high school senior and thus in a somewhat similar situation. I feel it would simply take sooo long before I had a CD collection which could substitute streaming. I have a few CDs but I'm taking it slowly with collecting .


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

I wouldn't want to use streaming exclusively. There are too many things that are not available on streaming or even for download. Plus, some files on streaming (Warner) are faulty which means I need to get the CD if I want the music with no problems. Some things I listen to end up getting removed from the streaming service too. Basically, I use streaming for anything I don't have a physical copy of. If I like it, I buy the CD.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Sondersdorf said:


> I have wondered how much of the LP revival comes from people wanting a physical connection and perceived ownership of music. As the line from the song goes, "Just give me one thing that I can hold onto."
> 
> I don't think it is the great sound that entices people to buy LPs. It is probably acquiring something physical (and big!) or a "look at me, I am cooler than thou!" motivation.


I wasn't alive when LPs were the main physical medium for music, but I have some. There is definitely something enticing about looking at the larger album cover art. Pulling the record out, placing it on the turntable, placing the needle on the record, and hearing that distinct vinyl sound (even if it just sounds awful) is a process thoroughly appealing to the senses.


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## Jokke (Dec 28, 2013)

I'm 100% into spotify to listen to music. Haven't purchased CD's anymore since years, altough I have a nice collection. The CD player remains unused.


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## Oakey (Nov 19, 2017)

No

I do listen to mp3 but mostly CDs and (for pop) LPs

I do not like it when the music I want to listen to is controlled by others


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