🤔 Streaming Vs Owning: The Final Straw? Streaming Services Vs. Owning Audio Formats
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- čas přidán 18. 02. 2022
- Is this the final straw in the debate between whether it’s better to stream your music or own it outright? We’re revisiting this topic in light of what's happening with streaming services today, Chief Product Officer Andrew Welker first touched on this in December 2020, but we suspect many of you will have changed your opinion based on recent changes in the streaming scene.
Running the gamut of artists selling their back catalogs and no longer having any control of what can and can't be done with their music, to owning music digitally, to ways of helping musicians earn, he covers a lot of ground.
Looking forward to your comments on this one, from the streamers to the owners, it's always interesting and inspires new video ideas.
Original video:
Are You Getting Rid Of Your Physical Media For Streaming?
• Are You Getting Rid Of...
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#CaseForOwningMedia #StreamingServices #OwningMusicMatters - Hudba
I have a Canadian made Bryston amp and preamp along with an excellent CD player and have about 400 CDs, some of which are 30plus years old and still sound great. The speakers are your M60 towers with the heavy coils. Sound quality is soundstage or studio and I am not able to get that quality of sound from small mobile devices. A lot of the music is late 60s to 80s and I can pretty much replicate a concert I have attended so streaming will not work for me. I consider myself an audiophile and the CDs I listen to always sound great. Sold all my vinyl and turntables and have been using Bryston amps and preamps for better than 30yrs. Your speakers go very well with my system and I can not see going into another technology once again. I have had tube amps, cassette tape, reel to reel and all of those are pretty much dead tech but what I have now is current and will likely be that way for a while. My wife of nearly 50yrs and I enjoy the music and movies and while we are looking at streaming videos or thru Prime and Roku I do not expect much to change.
Glad to hear the M60s are serving you well with your Bryston electronics, thank you for the great compliment! Sounds like you’ve got the best way for you and your wife to continue to enjoy your music listening, thanks for sharing this.
BOTH. Steaming allows me to better sample an album before purchasing it (or not) in physical format. Further, it can hold me over until the purchased music arrives in the mail. Often times, music from overseas can take a considerable long time to arrive at my door.
It is the best way to test drive an album to decide whether to buy it. Waiting for the albums to arrive is the hardest part, isn’t it?
Thanks for the Bandcamp shoutout. LOVE it. I try to buy physical media (mainly vinyl, some CDs, a few tapes), but also download the FLAC for convenience. I have bought digital-only releases from emerging artists on Bandcamp. However, I do not stream at all. None. Zilch. It rips off artists. I am definitely at the obscure end of the musical spectrum: Darkwave, (post-)punk, synth pop, electronica, HIPP baroque, medieval.
You mentioned Bandcamp in this presentation and I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't heard of it. But I finally had a chance to check it out and it's great site for exploring and purchasing new and lesser-known artists. Thanks for the introduction.
Fantastic to bring another music lover to Bandcamp. They also have Bancamp Friday, the first Friday of the month, where they waive their fees and give the musicians all the money. Enjoy!
I use Tidal for most of my listening these days.
I lost all of my records about 8 or 9 years ago (sucks).
If I bought records again I'd might get 1 a month for the price of my Tidal subscription. Over the next decade I might collect a few hundred albums again at most. Also I listen to a lot of world music and would have trouble buying it anyways.
Instead I get to listen to thousands of artists full catalogs from all over the world that I'd never get to hear. Pretty much their full catalog too.
If it all goes away there's still going to be ways to listen to music as long as there's internet. I've had favorite radio stations disappear too, but life and music goes on.
I liked having the records I collected growing up, but hearing new music is even better.
This is a great topic Andrew. Growing up on LPs and 8-tracks, I've seen a lot of changes in the way music has been made available to people and I guess streaming is just the next step in the evolution. Personally, I don't really listen to streaming music much, occasionally Pandora but not a lot. I prefer to have my own collection and I have hundreds of CDs that I've collected over the years, but for a lot of years now I've collected digital music (a lot of times it's the only way to find a copy of an obscure album). I started out with mp3's as everyone does but lately, I've become intrigued with high quality (CD quality and better) digital music files. I recently re-ripped my entire CD collection to .flac, and yes, it's as painful and time consuming as it sounds, but I like the way it sounds a whole lot better. I can get away with this because I use a NAS device, and I bought a solid state drive to use in my car (which was way cheaper than I expected). There's a lot of other quality file download sites like band camp too (HDTracks I go to a lot). Finally, digital music is not only a poor quality convenience anymore, but a medium that can be listened to with appreciation at home or in your car! The thing I have to always caution myself of when browsing for .flac music is, what's my goal, new music or replacing my favorites at higher quality. Right now I'm like 50/50. ; )
Thanks for sharing Scott, and I agree, Flac is well worth the time to rip your CDs. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Great Thoughts. Bandcamp is a great place for the Physical media as well, quite a few artists use it as their main outlet since the demise of most record shops in recent years. Lots of great stuff to be found in any genre. Majority of the C.D.s and L.P.s in my collection can not be found on any streaming services. Some times rather funny to put in a group or artists name and get no results. To then just play the Track /Album I wanted to hear
Bandcamp really does it all for the artists that are with them. Streaming is tough when you are into eclectic music, yet another reason to own the music. Thanks for sharing.
i think having physical media is better then streaming however, i find streaming to be beneficial in the sense that it can be used to sample music that you may want to purchase later on in the form of cd or a download. The downloaded purchased music can be stored and backed up on storage drives etc. The sound quality of streaming isnt as good as Flac or wave files or listening to a cd directly. It's good to stream too at the same time as the ad revenue helps the artists in addition to purchasing the music.
I have 20,506 songs on my pc, and yes I have it backed up as well. I rather own the songs instead of streaming. Heck, I haven't used a streaming site for music yet.
I'm currently ripping my 700 CDs to FLAC and using Roon as the streamer to my DAC. I will sell all my CDs and CD Player when complete as its totally transformed the listening experience - sounds as good as the CD player/DAC too. I will use free spotify to try out new bands and then look to either purchase a cheap CD to rip or download a FLAC from providers online. I may subscribe to Qobuz as it integrates with Roon really well at some future date. But for the first time in years I'm excited by digital playback again.
I ripped all my CD's, but they're all stored in an archive drive. I listen to 5% of my music 95% of the time, so I don't know why I bother keeping them. I think it's so I don't forget about them, even though I have. A spreadsheet would probably be a better tool for me.
@@status101-danielho6 I know what you mean, we tend to play our favourites a lot don't we? But Roon has totally transformed my listening of my ripped CDs; you end up rediscovering things you have forgotten about and also helps you discover new stuff if you add a streaming service. I'm burning all my CDs to FLAC onto a USB stick, with 2 backups - just in case!
Glad to hear you’re excited by digital playback by using Roon, and always smart to have backups to backups. Streaming services are excellent for listening to music you want to try before buying.
I have very recently created a new listening room (Kids moved out!!!) For now the speakers are a pair of Axiom M3's with a Polk sub and am very surprised at how good it sounds. Not like my theatre system but still very respectable. I have a Rega planar 2 turntable, Cambridge Audio CXNv2 streamer, a pair of Carver mono-block power amps (Silver-7t), and Carver CT-7 preamp.
I used to have thousands of albums but had sold most of them at garage sales over the last 40 years (dummy!). I did keep about 200 of the best/unique ones. Same for my CD collection - only about 400 remaining, which are being ripped to FLAC. I use Spotify to check out new music and for casual listening but it does not compare. In direct listening tests, I was quite surprised that local file streaming was better than vinyl. I remember vinyl being the bomb and so disappointed when the world was shifting to MP3. I guess nostalgia will only take me so far.
My plan is to move my Yamaha NS-1000M speakers from the theatre to the listening room and buy a pair of M100 or M80 for there. I would love to see Andrew's opinion of on-wall vs. floor standing. There is about 12 KHz difference on the bottom end but I have an EP-600 sub so probably won't matter. My other concern for on-wall is the speaker tweeter height vs ear height.
Sorry for getting off topic... while I love streaming's convenience, reasonable fidelity, and price, I have always been a curator of my own music library and can't imagine putting myself at the mercy of what someone else believes should be available to me. I will continue to purchase CDs and hi-res downloads - plus the odd vinyl to keep my retro-tendencies in check.
Thank you for sharing, Randy. In almost all cases I would go with floor standing speakers over on-walls IF you have the space. You are correct that the tweeter height can be a challenge with on-wall mounting.
I'm in the "both" camp. I enjoy having the physical media of my favorite albums (although I rip them to a household server and play them using MusicCast or Plex). But I'm now using Tidal to find new music. I used to take a change on new music based on reviews and such, but that only worked out about half the time; so now I don't buy until I've played it a couple of times on Tidal.
Exactly, just because a music recommendation is from a great source, doesn’t mean you’ll like it. I do the same, stream first, then buy.
I disposed of my 300+ LP collection decades ago, plus ~100 open reel tapes, maybe 80 CD's, countless cassettes, and all the furniture used to house them. The ones I've kept fit in a shoe box and were the ones I thought I'd never find again. I checked again after this video, and they're all online!
I kept a back catalog of anime OVA and TV soundtracks I loved (Kimagure Orange Road, Fushigi Yuugi, Ah! My Goddess, etc) that I didn't think would ever get streamed, yet someone somewhere has posted them on CZcams, fan uploaded because there's no business case for studios to monetize them. They're not 16/44 pristine, so there's still a case to keep the media for now.
Amazing what can be found on CZcams! Thanks for sharing Daniel, sounds like you had a major clean up job to get it down to a shoe box.
Hello from Montreal, My preference is owning the physical media but streaming from a service allows me to listen to music that is not on my radar or a different gender. It is harder to find older records and cds to purchase. Streaming is more convenient and easier to achieve. There are a number of services to choose from so if your not happy with their behaviour then change. I have never purchased downloads of music but I do have the capability. My system allows for both analog a turntable and digital streamer. I have an Innuos streamer/CD ripper. This component allows me rip all my cds to an internal hard drive while being a streamer to any service.
All the best
Montreal is a favourite city of mine, hello back! Agreed that streaming is one of the best ways to be exposed to new music, and having your music available digitally & analog is the best of both worlds.
Speaking of ownership of the music (on multiple levels) how about ownership of the listening experience. If you're not invested in the actual listening experience by physically placing the record or SACD on the platter and all the care that's involved in that effort aren't you really just passively listening? I prefer the physical media. It sounds better to me. But maybe just because when I listen to my records I'm so invested in actively listening that the music just sounds sweeter. But I'm a glutton and do also want the entire Tidal library at my fingertips when researching new music. Can't pick a side, they both have a place in this community.
Great thoughts, especially ownership of the listening experience & putting in effort to listen. Thanks for sharing this!
I'm still buying CDs when possible, but there are a lot of releases these days that don't get the physical treatment. Bandcamp is great for certain artists I like, as I can order a CD and get a better-than-CD-quality FLAC download right away. When it's not on Bandcamp, I tend to go for high-res downloads of albums after I've bought the CD and decided I really love it. First I check ProStudioMasters, then HDTracks. When I really really love an album, I also buy the vinyl, but not to play. Those purchases are simply for the collectible aspect. Basically, I do everything BUT stream.
Thanks for sharing your music buying process, much appreciated. CDs are making a bit of a comeback, so hopefully you’ll see that option pop up more often.
Ownership is the key factor for me. The recent unwanted mix of politics with music served as a good heads up in that area. Everything I get I rip to my HTPC so it's available where I need it. Also as others have mentioned, there are often versions I prefer, and would not want to be stuck with just whatever the streaming service offers. For me this applies even more to video, as the streaming services for video often don't have the best audio (Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D).
Great point about video streaming not always having great audio. Album version is a recurring comment, and it’s a very good reason for ownership. Thanks for commenting.
I choose Tidal Plus exactly because of this financial help to my prefered artist. I'm also a very big physical media buyer, a vinyl record collector of some sort. What I hate about streaming service is you can not control the version of the old album you like. They often force you to listen the last remastered version of the title instead of your prefered original version. So for me, Tidal is for the car, it is also to listen before to buy or for that very rare record selling for 300 bucks that I would only listen once in a while. Tidal will also be a good companion for my recently ordered Axiomair Force N3 for the outside listening but don't be fooled, most of the time it will be hard wired to my sound system! I buy around 12 records a month and I love manipulating them, the feel, the artwork and... the wonderful sound.
Great points about Tidal and the remastered versions, thanks for bringing that up. Agreed, vinyl is a very hands-on experience, and I enjoy it for those exact reasons. Looking forward to hearing how you enjoy your AxiomAir 😊
All about the physical product…
Always been better to own than rent.
Agreed, the old adage holds true.
As I watch this I am listening to an SACD on an SACD player.
I also stream it's a great service but will never beat physical media.
I Didn't spend all of that coin on
"Good enough", which is why streaming will always be a casual
Form of entertainment.
My 400$ Cambridge CD transport sounds better.
Agreed, physical media is my preference as well, and do enjoy the SACDs.
Great topic and video.
I am in my late 50's and I rather own music media than stream it. My kids rather stream, but I pushed vinyl on them 🙂. They are not keen neither to owning CD's nor digital music files. If I had more physical space, I would keep buying vinyl and mostly CD's. I buy Hi-res or CD quality downloads when I cannot find certain CD's. I am thinking of just buying downloads from now on due to my limitations in storage space for physical media. I do stream when I am on the beach, hosting parties, working out, etc. But for serious listening, I use CD's and vinyl. I do stream on the 2 channel system to discovering (Qobuz) new and old music and I stream my music downloaded files stored in my NAS. I stream via Bluesound's Node and an external DAC. BTW, I just received one of the M5HP's yesterday; I am waiting on my other one to arrive today. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on owning music, but using streaming in certain situations. Too bad the M5HPs got separated from each other, hope the second one arrives soon. Look forward to hearing what you think of them!
@@AxiomHomeTheaters I carefully auditioned the M5HP's and I regret to say that I did not like the way they sounded compared to my Bryston Mini A's. On the M5HP, the voices sounded veiled, as if they were coming from a smallish box. I even had my 22 year old daughter do a blind A/B test and she thought the same; she preferred the Bryston Mini A's,
I started return process 4 days ago and I have not heard from you all yet.
Thanks
@@roig8578 sounds like you did the listen test exactly right with a blind A/B test. Sorry for the delay in reply, March break has a number of employees on vacation. Can you reply with your name to make sure this gets handled ASAP.
@@AxiomHomeTheaters Thanks! The RMA is #000006049.
@@roig8578 thank you, added the RMA to the note to customer service. Just saw this now, CZcams flagged and held this comment.
I ripped all of my CD and SACD to bit perfect. I have a subscription to Amazon Music HD, if I come across anything I really like, I buy the CD and rip it. If any funny business were to happen, I have the physical CD ripped.
Exactly, that way if it’s not available to stream, you still have it physically & digitally.
@@AxiomHomeTheaters Andrew, I'm actually in Toronto this weekend, but too bad you guys are a bit far, otherwise, I wonder if I can stop by and audition some of your speakers. The fact that you guys apply rigorous science and are portege of Dr. Toole and sell direct, I am super interested. . .and I never heard how titanium tweeters sound like.
@@dfknyc78 Unfortunately we’re not doing in-person demos at this time, but check in with us the next time you plan to be in Toronto.
Streaming services nowadays are focusing on business-wise or earning money rather than building a system to enhance the HiFi effect. These service providers manipulate songs, music, or movies to provide convenient listening and viewing to lure the general public which is a wider audience than the audiophiles. It is a market-driven world, the largest market demand takes it all and they are the major stakeholders. So it is not strange to see HMV shops or media shops closure in this age.
I have an experience that one of my favorite artists cannot be found on a Streaming platform. It might be due to the outcome of some business dispute over profit or like which is out of the control of small customers groups.
Another determining factor for streaming services is the development of the internet which makes the potable of music and movies taken for granted in all smartphones. The outcome is the disappearance of hardware media like CDs, vinyl.
The numbers do show that CDs & vinyl are both increasing in sales every year, so maybe there’s a bit of hope for Hi Fi yet. Thanks for your thoughts on this, and commenting.
I love your channel, but I must say your example about artist being pulled off the streaming service as a way to justify why you should own the music is a big stretch. I am agree it happens but its a very small impact compared to massive library of artist.
Hi Mike, thanks for your comment. You’re correct that right now it might only be a minor concern, but as long-standing artists like Bob Dylan start selling their entire musical catalogs, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that a large company could decide to pull everything from a service like Spotify to start their own someday.