Streaming Music Pt. 3: The Negative

Ahoy!

For the past two weeks we’ve looked at the positive aspects of streaming. To sum up, from the musician's point of view, streaming services allow easy access to distribute your music without needing a record label. You can create whatever content you want and promote it as you see fit. It also allows for quick and free access to thousands of albums from all genres at the touch of a button. A wide variety of active listening is essential for musicians and streaming services now make it affordable to do so. But what are the down sides to having so much music available for free? Is too much of a good thing a bad thing?

In an effort to see this story from both sides, it can be a negative thing that we have access to so much music. With technology advancing constantly, our attention spans are shrinking and streaming services are not helping. We’ve created a culture of music based on singles, not albums. Since radio began, there have been hit songs for sure, but these were in the context of full albums. Good artists put together albums in such a way that if you take a song out of context, it has less meaning.

Fans of progressive rock/metal tend to have a great grasp of this concept because each song is part of the story. Dream Theater, Haken, Between the Buried and Me, and The Dear Hunter are stellar examples of bands that produce concept albums. Each song is meant to lead to the next and the lyrics paint a picture of the story over several songs. It’s like reading chapters in a book. If you skip several chapters you’ll miss important details. Music singles are similar except it’s like releasing individual chapters to several unrelated books. The stories lack depth and originality and all rely on a common denominator of simply being entertaining in order to get as many downloads as possible.

A second drawback to streaming services is that listening to music is no longer an event. I can distinctly tell you all about the day I first listened to Chet Baker’s “Chet.” I drove to a local record store with a friend and we spent hours poring over stacks of vinyls trying to find the perfect one to spend our $20 on. In the end I decided to go with “Chet.” After driving home, I had the pleasure of reading the album's liner notes, which told me all about the music I was about to hear and the musicians who performed on the album. I then had to physically place the album on the turn table and flip the vinyl over half way through. The sound quality was amazing compared to any digital copy I'd heard. With streaming services and infinite playlists you simply don’t get this experience. When was the last time you listened to an entire digital album and it was so memorable you could describe the day? Granted this is not how I listen to music every day, but this is certainly an aspect to listening I would not want to miss out on altogether.

Lastly, because there is so much out there it can often be hard to find “quality” music. How do you sort through the thousands of new albums/singles every day? In a small case for the record label, I have found several artists because I know certain labels put out quality music (Nonesuch Records, for example). From there I always check the related artists’ tabs, trusted friend recommendations, and, when I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll simply pick a style of music and add a bunch of the “new releases.” If I don’t like it, I delete it. If I do like it, cool, I found a new artist I enjoy and I’ll make an effort to see them live and support them in ways I discussed in last week’s blog.

Digital music isn't going anywhere and streaming services appear to be the way music will be hosted for at least a few years to come. There are positive and negatives and I invite you to consider both sides and discuss this with your music friends. This wraps up our first mini series and next week we began anew!

Until next time,
Heard

HAVE YOU HEARD?
Chet Baker- Chet

As mentioned in today’s blog, listening to this album for the first time was an event and the music on it fully lived up to the occasion. This 1959 jazz release from trumpeter Chet Baker consists of songs that are all a slow to medium tempo and can be great background music for studying or your next wine party. However, as with all jazz, if you choose to sit down and actively listen, you will not be disappointed. The depth in Chet’s lyrical lines are enhanced by a stellar cast of musicians making this album an essential for any jazz musician and a great addition to the collection for the casual fan of the genre.