http://www.cnet.com/news/spotify-can-never-replace-my-ipod-but-it-ease-the-pain/
It's interesting to read about the demise of MP3, the end of the download era, and of possessing music in general. You can almost feel the pain on the end of the iPod, as this sounds similar to the laments on the end of the CD before that, and the end of vinyl even before that.
With streaming services like Spotify being heralded as the way of the future, collecting music is deemed irrelevant. After all, the whole music universe is there for the picking, and one need not worry about physical storage and format obsolescence, It's all there in the cloud.
Make no mistake, the ability to stream any kind of music from the "ether" is a dream come true for those who love music. Most of all, it saves time - the process of music selection to sourcing to enjoyment is almost instantaneous. In today's world and the future, time is increasingly becoming the most valuable commodity.
But there will be people who will find enjoyment in spending time on the music. And just as there are collectors of coins and paintings, there will always be collectors of music. Who knows there will be a comeback, albeit limited to enthusiasts, the way vinyl did, for CDs and MP3 in the future?
Having started this hobby some way back, I have a modest music collection including vinyl and CDs/SACDs, which I still play, and even some cassettes, which haven't been played for years. I do use Spotify more and more these days and I'm sure it will be an increasing challenge to resist its convenience. But in more than one occasion I get a sense of satisfaction when I look at my vinyl rack and know they will still play music even if computers will already be running on Windows 20.2 or MacOS 19.1.
Hoping we all have a musically enjoyable weekend.