The End of MP3 and music collection in general?

[zenaudio]

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.

[sumnerbrowne]

Same here. My family and I had a blast exploring the breadth and depth of Spotify in the car and in different parts of the house via not- so-bad blue tooth speakers. Coldplay, easy, Eheads, done. Yo-Yo Ma, here you go. John Williams. The guitarist or the conductor? Both accesible. FrancisM, check. Yoyoy Villame, Boy Sullivan, Bong Penera, Gary Granada, Carol Kidd, Clair Marlo, all here, all free.

We're blessed to be living in a period in history where we can shift from one storage media to another depending on our preference.

I agree. Vinyl, of course, will continue to attract its niche market but its achieving critical mass or a renaissance of sorts which was already a stretch last year will be even a virtual impossibility with the rise of Spotify. Already, U2 and Apple are now talking of records as calling cards and live performance as a more viable income stream.

Meanwhile, my kids and I are in search for the best and affordable blue tooth speakers out there.

[Jon Agner]

MP3 maybe, but not music collection. There will always be music that you want to listen to even when you are off the grid

But as always, nothing beats a music collection that you can physically see and feel everyday

The generation of today may not be able to appreciate it yet, but a decade or two from now, they will start to look for the music they grew up with, and unlike our generation, they may never get to listen to their music again.

[dimfer]

listening to Spotify as I type - good alternative source of music fix and a great way to discover new music

too early to say if it will stop me from collecting

[Mamimili]

Well, i gave it a go....
No results found for Hamilton Bohannon - South African Man.
No results found for Case of Tyme - Manifesto.
No results found for Wombat - I'm Gettin' On Life.
Dottie Cambridge - Cry Your Eyes Out. Sound is muffled and boomy.
Prince Buster - Al Capone. Sound has echos and booming bass, tempo is slow. Rubbish!
A good selection of Vinny Peculiar......but nothing i do not already have.

Quote - "Spotify contains nearly every song in existence, with few exceptions".
Question - How come the exceptions seem to apply to my musical tastes and eras???

Experiment over, Spotify does not have all i need from my youth so i will stay with my "Plastic Fantastic" collection

[Damaged Goods]

Yes i believe it's the end of an era. No point of keeping all your vinyl collection. So please sell them all to me

[zenaudio]

Another interesting read.
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/08/an-industry-insider-explains-why-streaming-musics-already-profitable.html

Some predictions:

"On-Demand streaming will continue to replace the $5B US physical and digital sales with all-you-can-eat playlist subscriptions."
"Apple will release iBeats and make it available cross-platform early on, eventually replacing downloads completely. Pandora survived iTunes Radio because creating a good personalizable endless music stream is complicated. Spotify will not be so fortunate."
"Terrestrial radio will fight desperately before yielding the last of her $18B in annual ad revenues to the far superior Personalized Radio streaming services. AM/FM transmitters will go dark completely by the late 20s, becoming a fond memory of a dying generation."
"Vinyl’s novelty cool factor will survive the Hipsters but will never clear a fraction of a percent of the total music pie."

[Mamimili]

I am becoming fed up with my own good self. How many times do i say "I just don't get it".
It was just earlier this week that i learnt of Spotify, now i read Spotify is doomed.
When all this streaming / personal radio stuff is sorted, wake me up and tell me who won, which hardware i should buy etc.
It seems that day is not so far away, i will listen to my old tried and trusted personal collection until it is safe to go outside

I trust the last paragraph is a vision and not sarcasm, i do hope that musicians continue to be paid well enough to keep on doing what they do.

[zenaudio]

I wouldn't write off Spotify just yet.
I think the current business model/user interface may not survive but if they are smart enough to innovate and evolve, they will ride the next wave, if not lead it.
Just think of Facebook and how it is so different now from just a couple of years ago...

[Voltraizer]

remember this funny scene from the movie demolition man:


i guess, there will be some few people who prefer to do it the old-fashion way!
i mean the way you play music!

probably, there will be people who will still prefer possession of music collection (in any format.)..
anyway , there will always be the option of saving any music format in future digital storage for any new program made available for music enjoyment like spotify...
(even though it's all there in the cloud)..

picture it this way, it's all there in your ipod/hard drive yet some of us prefer picking up a vinyl or cd and puttin it in da player ...
doing it in time-consuming fashion!!!

..not a quickeee yet longer time spent yield more pleasurable result............
meaning more quality listening time!

[JoeyGS]

I still would suggest to retain the digital files in hard disks .... after all these are your collection and most of them especially the HTF ones are not always available at the streaming services and in vinyl format. A music server that can handle hi-res digital music files, CDs, networking, streaming and mass storage will provide versatility in handling different music formats

Try to get a digital player ( in your main system) that would allow hi-res playing and at the same time has the ability to play streaming services such as Spotify, Wimp, etc.. Of course, this source in your main system also has the ability to be networked so that other output devices (sonus, logitech, etc.) can access your music files in the same hard disk wherever you are in the house.

Personally, I am not ready to give up my analog system. Current digital systems still cannot outperform vinyl .... but it's getting there ......... I can listen to both my digital and analog system without judging one over the other .... I enjoy them both! What nice is that the digital domain has a lot of activity now and it keeps my audio interests alive and kicking.