https://variety.com/2019/music/news...ng-soars-30-1203152036/#article-comments

So physical media like CD’s and vinyl are now down to 12% of total revenues. It will be interesting to see how much lower that percentage will go as time goes on. Vinyl of course enjoys a rising popularity within a small, niche market but I think the CD will go totally extinct in a few years.

Even digital downloads aren't nearly as popular as they once were a few years ago. It's really all about streaming now.

And yet, from my recent Car and Driver (3/19)...

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"2018...Despite the fact that no one can remember the last time they actually listened to a CD, an IIHS study finds that 76 percent of new cars sold in 2015 have CD players. The group predicts that number will still be 54 percent in 2021."
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Meh...I just need a USB port for my flash drive.

But yeah, streaming is taking over. I'll never do it, mainly because I'll never need to. I killed my XM Radio service for the same reason, part of streamlining my monthly entertainment budget.

I believe you've mentioned that you already have all the music that you care for and that no current day music interests you at all. Under those circumstances, you can definitely avoid streaming of any kind.


In my case, streaming from Youtube has actually exposed me to several artists/bands whom I had never heard of before and in some cases I ended up liking their music so much that I bought a few greatest hits CD's.

Plus, on the very rare occasion that I do come across newer music that I like, I'll purchase DRM-free MP3 from Amazon.

I listen to spotify on my desktop and phone, I can even shift from one to the other to keep the same playlist going. none of our vehicles have the capability of playing off my phone, but my '99 suburban plays cassettes, CD and radio over decent speakers. I keep a few CD's onboard for times when the radio is all ads.

I just plug in my Ipod into our car stereo when we go on trips. 128gb Ipod can hold a lot of music.
Have 6 disk CD player built into the stereo to. Have it loaded with CDs we have burned.

A road trip playlist is a sacred thing to me.

BTW JimK, congrats on your 10k posting. Mine was just a few days ago (I noticed the label went from Hotshot to Veteran).

PM better watch his heels, we're closing in!

I'm a dinosaur only listen to classic rock and have a large library of cd's I've burned or bought,,not much of the new stuff appeals to me ,The great grand kids stop in and never heard any of the music I play but the like some of it..I'll stay in my time warp and catch some
U-tube music from time to time especially when I'm watching TV the sets on with CC and I listen too "Good Old rock and Roll " never streamed and don't plan to.

There has got to be a few audiophiles here that still have a reel to reel set up, along with music to play on it.

To many, streaming music is just too "compressed". I still treasure my little collection of "remastered" CD's that I have. There is a good music store by me that still sells CD's and LP's. It is a bit expensive, but I treat myself once and a while.

I only stream movies, Music is all mine, No cloud will ever own.

I can't be the only person who can hear the difference between a CD and compressed digital media

I think this has more to do with residual value than actually using it


There are actually quite a few uncompressed streaming services out there, I’ve been using Qobuz for a couple of years now, but I’m hearing good things about Tidal as well.


Well, there is compressed and compressed. I've participated in a listening test between CD, Apple iTunes and Spotify a few years back, and 8 out of 10 times, there was no discernable difference between CD and Download. The main problem i'm having is that the record companies decide the quality of the upload, and that the digital services just click "accept all" in that regard. Thankfully, I now rarely listen to music while not doing something else, and the offering and price point of Spotify is simply unbeatable.

I don't consider myself an audiophile, or any kind of expert. I have never really owned any high end equipment (some decent stuff though), but I remember being able to hear the difference in a MP3 and a good CD. A lot of the music made in the "90's seemed to have that "wall of sound" feel to it. I still like to hear the spaces between the notes and chords, etc..

I do like digital over analog though. But again, I am no expert. I just play one one TV.

Same here, I just wanna hear it loud when I can. Car is the best place, love my 2002 Lexus LS430 Mark Levinson sound system.

Tidal Hifi subscription for me.
Streaming ticks all the boxes, I don’t care about downloading and owning the tracks / albums anymore.

Cheers,
Slug

Streaming makes perfect sense to me for young people. They most likely haven't begun making the huge investment in a physical music library like some of us have. Plus, assuming they enjoy current music and at least some of their parent's music (and many do) and much in-between, it's so much music they have access to for a small monthly(?) cost. I'm assuming these subscription services are comprehensive.

That's assuming they actually pay for their music and not use the current version of Napster, if one exists.

It makes more sense for me to occasionally purchase a new CD (preferred option) or DRM-free MP3 to shore up my existing physical music library (CD's all burned to lossless for archiving, then MP3). I did this on my 90's thread, purchased a couple of albums and half-dozen songs to make my 90's collection complete.

I don't mind MP3 (320 kbps, 192 min.) because my aging ears can probably no longer tell the difference. I see an audiologist and I know I have hearing loss and roughly at which frequencies. My hearing took a dive a few months back and has miraculously mostly recovered, but I'm very cautious now, especially with volume. Ultimate quality no longer matters to me, 320 kbps is fine now, even 192.

I'm about to drive a rental to NYC, love that I can just pop in a flash drive of MP3 playlists.

That's an excellent post MarkG!


One thing I've noticed that has changed significantly with this streaming trend is that the majority of the mainstream market really couldn't care less for albums. It's really all about the individual songs.


With that being the situation, is the whole notion of the "concept album" irrelevant now?

I'm streaming Dream Theater's new (released last week) album 'Distance Over Time' in 'HD' right now.
This is via YouTube on a PC (Firefox+Ad Blocker) so isn't costing me anything.
However, it's pretty good so this will go on the list of CDs that I'll buy when I get back in range of free delivery on Amazon Prime.

I'm probably buying as many CDs as ever, but no longer making any random purchases due to boredom at airports, and CDs are mostly cheaper than they were 20 years ago. So, I'd say things have improved.
This will end when YouTube becomes unusable due to ads on PC. So far, this segment hasn't really been targeted as most of the monetization efforts have been aimed at mobile.

Personally, I can't listen to music 'on the move' so I can't imagine ever paying for something like Spotify.
I probably don't fit the 'young people' category though.

THIS! There is no comparison between digital download(a file, mp3 or whatever else) music clarity and CD(compact digital disc) music clarity. I have a VERY nice setup and I have tried even the supposed high quality formats of digital download and streaming and then putting in the CD and listening to all 3 back to back. The digital and streaming stuff just sucks IMHO. It might be very convenient, but then again I listen to music to hear the Fidelity of the original studio recordings, not some computers interpretation of how to fit it into the parameters of the software. I have 6 CDs in my car right now and a CD player, obviously, and I love it. Again as someone else said, " I will stay in my musical time warp and enjoy my albums and CDs until I die." RWatson maybe?

S!Blade<><