Comments on: Streaming vs downloading

By: Technologies are additive, not exclusionary « zed equals zee

Technologies are additive, not exclusionary « zed equals zee — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:51:18 +0000

[...] I’ve been watching the debate over Amazon’s e-book rental service, announced a few weeks ago. I can’t help but notice how it recapitulates the debate over streaming music. [...]

By: ThriveTech

ThriveTech — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:18:24 +0000

I subscribe to Napster and Slacker for one use, and use iTunes for another. For example why load up my cell phone with music when I can stream, no space requirements, so very handy. Also streaming offers you the true ability to try before you buy. I do leagally buy my music, via iTunes only after listening to it on iTunes. I love the options the internet now offers us, all to our own in the end.

By: SXSWi 2011 panel proposals in music and tech « zed equals zee

SXSWi 2011 panel proposals in music and tech « zed equals zee — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:02:20 +0000

[...] this year’s hot topic: how the jukebox in the sky changes the landscape of music consumption. From the (admittedly brief) descriptions, it sounds [...]

By: Power, communication, and files « zed equals zee

Power, communication, and files « zed equals zee — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:53:16 +0000

[...] Streaming music over the 3G network, is incredibly energy-intensive – like talking on the phone constantly. Rhapsody and Spotify have figured this out, unsurprisingly, and their iPhone apps enable you to download playlists of music to your phone over WiFi. (With an average speed of 22 Mbit/s for an 802.11g network, you can download a 5 min song at a bitrate of 128 kbit/s in just a couple of seconds, so you don’t need to spend long in a hotspot.) But having a bunch of playlists on tap is still pretty far from true streaming music. [...]

By: Audio fidelity is overrated « zed equals zee

Audio fidelity is overrated « zed equals zee — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:03:18 +0000

[...] are 200 channels and barely anything worth listening to). As streaming becomes an increasingly viable alternative to downloading, is something similar going to happen with audio on mobile [...]

By: Welcome, Music Think Tank readers! « zed equals zee

Welcome, Music Think Tank readers! « zed equals zee — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:14:24 +0000

[...] Streaming vs downloading: Do we really want a jukebox in the sky? Or does it make more sense to hold it in our hands? [...]

By: Jukebox in the sky, or in our hands? « zed equals zee

Jukebox in the sky, or in our hands? « zed equals zee — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:03:46 +0000

[...] to our discussion of streaming vs downloading a couple of weeks ago, here’s a short article from Digital Renaissance, “The Future of [...]

By: debcha

debcha — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:43:04 +0000

Tim, I totally agree with you – I would go for the ‘Platonic ideal of a streaming music service’ too. I’m just not very optimistic that we’ll get anything close.

I joke that what I really want is a digital music concierge that makes sure that all my devices are up to date, my music is backed up, rips any CDs that I buy at concerts, and the like (yes, I still buy CDs, not least because I know that CDs sold at gigs have the highest return to artists).

By: tim smith

tim smith — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:43:36 +0000

I think your technical concerns are right on, but streaming does sound like it would be great to me. Owning music is a pain in the ass. You have to store it somewhere, keep it backed up, and sync it with everything. (And forGET ripping CD’s.) My Zune tends to be way out of date just because the process of waiting for the software to load, update itself, and start loading mp3′s onto my device is so painful. (Which is maybe my fault for buying a Zune, but whatever.) Given the Platonic ideal of a streaming music service — it’s available to me on the go, in my car, and at my desk, gives me full access to any music I want and my playlists for a reasonable monthly fee, and works great — why would I want to own music?

By: debcha

debcha — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:54:58 +0000

I think you’re absolutely right, Justin, that multiple options will continue to co-exist – I just remain unconvinced that streaming will entirely supplant downloading (the ‘why would you buy music when you have access to everything?’ argument).