Month: December 2019

Vinyl Revival: How has streaming impacted the decline and revival of vinyl?

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In the music world, a vinyl record player is a classic statement piece for music lovers from every generation, both old and young. The very first vinyl record became available in 1930, known as a ‘program transcription disc’. Fast forward several years to 1948 with the introduction of the first ever long play (LP) record which changed the face of the music industry forever. This particular record was able to hold 21 minutes of musical magic per side and was a format to be enjoyed by millions of people around the world. But what happens when a new music sharing platform in the form of streaming is put into the equation? Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music. Goodbye Vinyl? Hello Streaming. Has modern day streaming had an impact on the decline of vinyl record listeners? Or has it actually been the push needed for the recent revival and popularity of vinyl records?

 

Recent Revival

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We are constantly consumed in a world of modern music streaming so there is no surprise that streaming is the number one format for listening to/sharing music. The likes of streaming superstar Spotify have in fact encouraged the ongoing recent revival of vinyl. In 2018, the Recording Industry Association found that in the USA, a huge 75% of music revenue came directly from streaming sites, representing the sheer power of streaming in the music industry today. In order to form a close relationship with artists, one in which they feel their voices are heard, streaming sites are promoting and encouraging fans to engage with physical music formats as well as streaming. These sites have a significant responsibility in forming a profile for artists’ and therefore have to consider the benefits of vinyl formats for artists. Deezer, a music streaming site based in France, believe in telling an artists’ story and that streaming and vinyl can come together and work side by side, hand in hand.

A recent report by ICM, suggests that streaming supports vinyl sales as people are looking to listen to the music and get a taste for an album before purchasing the vinyl copy. People are beginning to discover music through streaming and as a result of doing so, are collecting in vinyl format. In 2016, ICM discovered that 45% of people who purchased an album on vinyl had previously listened to it through a streaming site.

 

A Dated Musical Disaster in Decline

Although streaming has encouraged many people, in particularly young people, to purchase vinyl records, streaming has clearly taken its place in the music industry. Using vinyl records to listen to music is evidently inconvenient, you can’t just slip them in your pocket and go anywhere like you can with streaming. Unfortunately for old school vinyl lovers, the music industry has moved on with the times and what people want from their music and now prioritises streaming over vinyl and CD. This prioritisation is shown by the lack of popular albums available on vinyl format when they are instantly accessible on pretty much every streaming site known to man. The paid for music streaming industry is worth an astounding £829 million, 62% of the total recorded music revenue worldwide. When comparing this figure to the 38% of revenue which CDs and vinyls account for, there is little debate as to who the real winner is here.

 

So… all in all, has the impact of streaming on vinyl been beneficial or superficial? 

There is no denying that streaming has quite clearly put an out of date stamp on the world of vinyl with the new technology meeting the needs of music lovers today. However, overall music streaming sites have been hugely beneficial for vinyl as they allow individuals to listen to music before they decide to purchase in physical format which could be the deciding purchase factor. The two music sharing formats offer a selection which can come hand in hand, one a more affordable format with  a large variety of music which may not be as personal, and the other a slightly more expensive option but offering a more personal experience to engage with your favourite artists and support their work.

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I really hope you all had a good Christmas and enjoyed this weeks post. Maybe you received or gifted a vinyl record as a present this year? Don’t forget to keep up to date with all things Sounds Like Streaming via Instagram and Twitter @sl_streaming. Stay tuned in on Twitter tomorrow to find out all about next weeks post, its a good one I promise! See you back here next week.

Musical Mistreatment: The Effect of Music Streaming Sites on Musical Artists

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Streaming music has completely transformed the way musical artists make money from their music. No longer are the majority of people interested in being one of the first to purchase their favourite artists new CD in store. Instead, music fans have turned to streaming services to listen to music which has resulted in a significant decrease of profit for artists as they receive very little per stream. Due to music streaming, artists are beginning to change their music in order to fit in with the streaming world. More than ever, they are reliant on selling their merchandise and concert tickets rather than focusing on the main attraction, their music.

Surely as the artists are the ones making the music that we all love they should be the ones receiving the largest proportion of revenue? Wrong.

The launch of Spotify in 2008 saw a breakthrough for the music industry, one which benefited both artists and their fans. The service offered an unlimited variety of songs in one easily accessible place, as well as paying the artists very well for their contribution of music. All in all, the introduction of mainstream streaming sites were extremely beneficial for artists. However, these benefits were not long term and as expected, things began to take a turn for the worse.

 

Negatives of Music Streaming for Artists

Music streaming sites are easily accessible and affordable for the millions of users who use them as part of everyday life. However, for musical artists there is another side to the story. You would think that artists received a high amount of profit from providing streaming services with their music, unfortunately for them this is not the case. Streaming site superstar Spotify has found itself in moments of chaos with many musical artists such as Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes and Justin Timberlake. This is mainly because the benefits of streaming for the artists are not fully taken into consideration.

A recent Twitter post particularly caught my eye as it makes an extremely valid point about the importance of money per streams for artists. The post suggests that if 1,000 people stream a song on Spotify the artist only gets paid a small £4, whereas if those 1,000 people were to pay £1 to have an unlimited access to stream the song, the artist would get paid £1,000. This is similar to CD sales, the artist will benefit far more from selling copies of their CDs than using streaming sites to provide their fans with their music.

 

Positives of Music Streaming for Artists

Although there are many evident negatives linked to artists’ music being accessible on streaming sites, we must not forget the underlying positives. Streaming services allow a platform in which artists can share their music, both old and new releases, with millions of people around the world. For new artists, streaming is extremely important as part of introducing themselves into the music industry as people tend to find new music through streaming online and then share the music with their friends and family. Spotify also recommend new music through a ‘Recommended For You’ playlist every Friday which tends to include new upcoming artists who are fresh to the music scene. This word of mouth can significantly benefit new artists and increase their fan base. More artists are becoming exposed to a wider range of audiences as millions of people are able to access their music free of charge or for a small fee. Exclusive content can be found on streaming sites such as podcasts and extra musical content that CDs/vinyls do not offer, everyone’s a winner!

In general, 70% of a streaming service’s overall revenue is paid to the creators. According to Billboard this percentage is “larger than a typical record store, and in line with what iTunes pays on digital downloads”. Sites such as Apple Music have aided the growth of many artists in the music industry such as Khalid and Chance The Rapper. With help from the site, Chance’s album ‘Coloring Book’ became the first streaming-only album to enter the Billboard top 200.

 

So… overall have music streaming sites had a negative or a positive impact on musical artists?

Streaming sites may have been extremely popular with artists in the beginning when they were first introduced as they were an exciting new platform to share music, offering a decent pay too. However the harsh reality of using streaming sites for artists is represented through the minimal pay of an astounding £0.0038 per stream! Is it really worth it, especially for upcoming new artists who are just starting out.

Come back next week for a brand new blog and Happy Christmas! I hope you enjoy your Christmas and listen to lots of Christmas tunes!

Streaming Wars: Apple Music vs Spotify

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Streaming music has completely changed the way we access and listen to music. Spotify, the no.1 music streaming site, king of the streaming market, is used by 217 million people worldwide. However, is this reign about to get cut short with competitor Apple Music becoming more and more popular? As part of some primary research on Sounds Like Streaming’s Instagram page, I found that 65% of people use a music streaming service; 62% of people said that Spotify was their personal site of choice. I also discovered that 70% of people who use a music streaming site pay for the service they use. In the race to the most paid subscribers, Spotify has already come in first place with 100 million paid subscribers, in comparison to Apple Music with 50 million paid subscribers. So which music streaming service really is the best of the best? Well there are certain factors to consider:

Price & Quality:

The price and quality of a service is always important to the user.  Both Spotify and Apple Music offer their users a free 3-month trial for their premium services with a variety of plans to choose from post trial period. Students like myself can use both apps and access an unlimited number of songs/playlists for a small fee of £4.99 per month. Apple Music does not provide a free, ad-supported plan unlike Spotify and only allows users to listen to songs from their iTunes library for free. When questioning the stream quality of the music, the use of any music streaming site is questionable as the quality does not compare to that found on a CD or vinyl format. If you are concerned about the overall sound quality of your music, streaming music may not be the right option for you as it is more about easy accessibility at a cheap price.

Song Selection/Variety:

Both streaming services offer a library of over 50 million songs, catering for everyone from your Grandad to your best mate. However, Apple Music offers a unique feature which allows users to access their own personal library through the iCloud Music Library and matches the music on their library with similar songs on the iTunes catalog. This personalised feature is not provided by Spotify but the service does create a recommended for you playlist of songs based on your listening habits every week.

The advantages and disadvantages of using music streaming services

When investigating the champion of streaming sites, the positives and negatives of using these sites in general are important to acknowledge.

5 advantages of music streaming sites:

  1. Easily accessible

    Anyone no matter what age can access music on the go, whether that be on the train on the way to work, on holiday at the beach or even on an airplane thousands of feet up in the air. All you need to create an account with a streaming service is a mobile device/laptop/tablet, whereas with CDs and vinyl you need a CD or record player which are not as popular today. Subscribers are able to store up to 3,000 tracks as offline playlists on their device, therefore you really can listen to music whenever and wherever!

2. Large variety of music

Streaming sites have any genre for any kind of mood as well as the latest music and not to forget the old bangers we all know and love. Whether you feel like jamming in your room to the charts or going for a run to a specially made fitness playlist, streaming services have everything to suit any preference.

3. Value for money

Most services are free of charge to use with a small added fee for the use of premium services.

4. Always up to date

Current charts and new releases are updated every week to keep you in the loop.

5. Share music with friends/family

Music streaming sites are a great way to share your playlists with the people you love, create playlists for special memorable events or even create a playlist for a special someone!

5 disadvantages of music streaming sites:

  1. Advertisements 

    If users have a free account with a streaming site they tend to experience lots of ads between streaming songs which can be frustrating, especially if the site is being used for a party or an event. No one wants to hear an ad in between their dance moves!

2. Ownership/usage rights 
Listeners do not own the music they are listening to whereas the purchase of a CD/vinyl comes with ownership of the music.
3. Impact on musical artists
The option of a free account allows users to not pay for music which means that artists miss out on potential profits. The recent music industry revenue boom is all thanks to streaming, however the artists who provide the music do not see much of this at all. Spotify benefits the consumer rather than the artists who produce the content.
4. Poor quality of music 
The quality of music provided by streaming sites can not be compared to that of a traditional vinyl, however is this factor that significant considering the small fee and amazing accessibility on offer?
5. Internet access is essential

In order to use a music streaming site an internet access is required to listen to and download songs, which cannot be accessed by everyone. Public wifi can usually be used free of charge, however personal wifi packages can be expensive and costly for some people which therefore limits their freedom with streaming experimentation.

 

So… who is the champion of the music streaming world?

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Overall, there is only one clear winner in the fight for King of the music streaming world and that has to be… Spotify! Although Apple Music is a strong contender, Spotify has paved the way for a new generation to listen to and enjoy music.

Come back next week to hear all about the effects of music streaming sites on musical artists.

Welcome to the Sounds Like Streaming blog!

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Hello and welcome to the official blog for Sounds Like Streaming. My name is Lizzie and I am currently in my second year at Bournemouth University studying Communication & Media. This blog will focus on the effects of music streaming sites on the music industry and how streaming has impacted the way we consume and listen to music.

I have a keen interest in music and enjoy streaming music myself so this is an exciting opportunity to share with you all! I hope you enjoy the blog and don’t forget to keep up to date with the latest streaming information on Twitter and Instagram.

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