Digitalization has changed the music industry inside out. Older patterns and styles are outdated, and new trends and opportunities are opening every day. For instance, millions of people use music streaming apps every day. During the first quarter of 2021, the number of music streaming subscribers was 487 million, which will continue to grow. Some may think that this facility is convenient and free, whereas one opinion goes against music being free. However, just like everything else, it too has both sides. What possibly could they be?
Music streaming is a popular and indispensable tool for music lovers. It lets music lovers hear their favorite music or musicians. It allows people to access the songs in “real-time” or “live.” The need for downloading songs or music is long gone. There are various music streaming apps or websites to hear your favorite music. Some of the most common ones are Rhapsody, Grooveshark, Spotify, etc. But the use cases of music streaming apps have risen from just music listening to artists sharing their music. These platforms have helped many artists from a successful career. If you also have a flair for music and love creating music, then platforms like Spotify will be a good choice. You can also go for Spotify growth service to increase your reach and gain more fan base. And you are an artist, read the article on how to get plays on Spotify.
So, let’s talk about some pros and cons of streaming apps.
It is cheaper now
Once, music companies tried to stop people from recording music to cassettes. Well, they could not see the industry's downfall that was knocking on the door. The next thing that happened was piracy by sharing the mp3 files. However, these days everything has become more hi-tech and one can easily steal music from one another. The low-cost subscription options are shaping the music platforms. YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, iTunes are the dominants of the music industry. However, even though the subscription rate is low, people do not buy monthly subscription.
Music has become portable and practical
There was a time when you had to collect or maintain records, cassettes, CDs, etc. it took a lot of space, and you could not carry them all with you. Then the revolution came with mp3s. You could have carried that anywhere, anytime. But that too had its limitations. You need to have enough space on your phone to carry all your favorite songs. Then, eventually, they run out of space. But, with iTunes or Spotify, you do not have to download everything. You can stream the music online with no hassle. There is no chance of running out of space in such a case.
Music has become much easier to make
Technology has created a revolution. Music-making has become so easy now. Every day new, and trendy music is being created. New hits are reaching people’s bedrooms all across the globe. Anyone who is tech-savvy and has access to a computer can make music. Your creativity has lots of ways of reaching everyone in the world. The situation was never like this before. In fact, new talents are being discovered in social media like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media every now and then. On the other hand, it has become easier for existing artists to explore the music creation cutting edges. Anyone can sell or upload their music on streaming services such as Spotify, YouTube, and other streaming apps.
Wide Spectrum of Musical Choice
Remember the earlier days when you must wait long to get that CD of your favorite genre. However, now you do not need to do that. Moreover, you have choices from the entire world. Anyone can access any type of music, genre, and everything for just a monthly subscription. It is happening because of wireless connectivity, technological ingenuity, smartphone, and the internet.
Various advertisements
While you listen to music-on-music streaming apps, you can’t avoid advertisements. In other words, advertisements are a part of online music streaming, and you cannot get rid of them. You can sometimes pay extra money for some extra features to listen to ad-free music streaming. However, it sometimes spoils the music listening experience.
Artists get little pay
In the older days, artists used to get more money from record launches. Now, with the time of music streaming websites, they get very little money. So, we can say that the situation of artists has become difficult regarding payment. Becoming famous is easy than getting money here.
Artists launch more tracks in an album
Artists these days launch more tracks than in old times. This increases the chances of autoplay as selected by the algorithm.
Ownership of the music
You could have owned them when there were CDs and records by purchasing them. But now, you do not get any ownership of the music by just paying for the subscription.
There are both pros and cons of music streaming apps. It is expected that the music streaming apps will get more popular in the coming years.
