# how will streaming change classical music



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/techno...ruining-the-way-we-listen-to-classical-music/

That guy's not happy, but I didn't see any very good argument. Discovering classical music has always been hard. I can't see how spotify would make it harder.

The thing I wonder is, with services like Spotify or Naxos streaming, are the financial incentives in place to motivate new recordings?


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I'm sorry - there is this thread already: http://www.talkclassical.com/23579-streaming-classical-music.html


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

science said:


> The thing I wonder is, with services like Spotify or Naxos streaming, are the financial incentives in place to motivate new recordings?


So do we need new recordings? There seem to be quite a few already.


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## StevenOBrien (Jun 27, 2011)

> The rapid change is overwhelming listeners and is having an adverse affect on listening habits, as the loss of ownership cheapens our relationship with recorded music.


I'm only 19, and I was lucky enough to grow up with Youtube and discover classical music through it when I was 12 or 13, and I think I turned out just fine. If I had to actively go to concerts (not really possible in my area) or buy recordings, I seriously doubt I would even have any interest in music at all today.



> It beggars belief that a solution to labelling digital files of classical music has not been found. Multi-movement works are treated like standalone album tracks and music descriptions are shoehorned into a metadata standard intended for popular music, with no distinction between performers and composers.


Yes, this is extremely annoying and needs to be addressed. The same problem existed on Youtube in 2006/2007. What an incredible epiphany it was when I discovered there was a THIRD movement to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata! And with that, I always sought out the other movements of works I.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

science said:


> . Discovering classical music has a...ble worldwide for those that wish to explore.


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## julianoq (Jan 29, 2013)

> The way we listen to music has changed dramatically over the past few years. With just about everything available on tap - free or cheap from music streaming services such as Spotify - owning nothing and having access to everything is becoming the norm. If this isn't the way you listen to music now, it soon will be. Nostalgia can't hold off a world of everything, anytime.


I am not sure about that. In my case it was the opposite, I was getting used to listen to music using only streaming (in my case, Rdio), then 6 months ago I "discovered" classical music and started to buy music (mainly digital) again. Now almost everything that I listen is mine, with the exception of youtube videos that I watch only to see the performance and not as as replacement for the music itself.

Streaming is growing a lot, but digital music sales is growing too. I think there is room for both, and I think that classical music "fits" the second model better.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I've pretty much embraced streaming at my computer desk at home, but I can't carry that with me to work or even to do house work, and don't want to pay for the cell phone minutes or whatever to stream it that way. CDs or digital downloads are still the way to go if you want to be mobile.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Well, it's the Telegraph, so I'm not surprised the writer has confused the words "changed" and "ruined". I also notice he complains but that there's too much music online and that the record labels haven't made all their back catalogues available.

When I first got into classical music, I was a student and the only way I could feed my interest was through the local library. I didn't know what to listen to - so I just dived in. That's how I got to know a lot of music quickly. Once I had a good disposable income I was quite some distance from any such library, so if I wanted to hear more music I had to buy it. Every purchase something of a gamble. Then marriage and children, less time to listen to music, so less enthusiasm in investing in new recordings, meaning less investment in music generally. Fortunately I was saved by a cheap source of downloads (emusic, back in the day). And now Spotify, which I don't use much but am glad to have.
Vast amounts of cheaply available music hasn't ruined the way I listen to music. It's kept it alive.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

There is a similar "crisis" in the puiblishing industry. With everyone self publishing e-books, there is an awful lot of junk available, but I say bring it on. The cream will still rise to the top and we will no longer be at the mercy of publishers churning out the same old tired formulas -- or shunning them if that's what we want. Funds go directly to the people creating the product. Creative people must rise to the newer tehcnologies, else they are not as creative as they would like to think.


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