Can Quitting Streaming Music Bring You Closer to It?

I use youtube music for discovery and then bandcamp to digitally purchase my favorite albums. CD purchases are rare but I still do it for my favorite artists.

 

I still don't use streaming, if anything I will use Bandcamp or youtube music to check out an album. Other than that I only buy digital music, at 600 albums on bandcamp! I agree with this article, bringing you closer to music by listening to music through digital download, vinyl, cd. I for one will buy an album and spend time with it before buying another album. I think we taken for granted that we can go from one album to the next instantly that we don't spend time with it. Also with digital downloads I am able to make some sound better with Audicity. For example, Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal sounds so low for whatever reason, but throwing it in Audicity and fixing the sound, sounds 100 times better. So much so I started doing this with a lot of digital files. Also if the world ends I guess I can still listen to music with files. Now if only I can get files for movies off Fandango.

 

The Best Version of ‘Never Take Friendship Personal’

Bugged me for years!

 

Well would you look at that! I'm not the only one that noticed this, here I thought I was crazy, but I am glad you and others noticed. Just doesn't make sense why that is up like that, especially probably their most listened to album? As for the three album compilation, wish I knew this beforehand and then I wouldn't have gone down the Audicity rabbit hole and how to adjust volume on digital files.

 

Completely agree with the article. I would read the liner notes and spin the album front to back reading the lyrics before normal listening. You don't get that with streaming. The accessibility is great but not the same experience. I get bummed when I go to a show and they don't have a CD available for purchase.

 

"But I still curate my “Apple Music” collection in a similar way as I did my old iPod/iTunes one. Cleaning up metadata. Collecting extra album tracks and b-sides. And being (trying to be) diligent about what I actually add to my collection."

I do the same and still like the idea of having MY collection, even if it's not physical. I also enjoy collecting bonus tracks. I also insist on keeping the original artwork for deluxe reissues so I'm meticulous about album art.

 

I didn't know this existed! I think the mp3 version I have is still the original advance rip from 05. Should seek this out.

 

Sidenote for you nerds, do you tag bonus tracks with a "[bonus track]" or something in the actual song title or nah?

 

I can't remember why but I got the CD for the new starting line album. the only other CDs I've gotten recently are records that friends made, so it must been from pre-ordering a bundle. since the only CD player I have still is in my car I threw it on a lot while driving. never ever would've connected with the album in the same way if I had just added it to a playlist and moved on. getting the liner notes also let me actually appreciate the lyrics too (they're mixed too quietly lol)

I agree, ease of distribution has led to the devaluing of the product. it's a better experience all around if the music is separated from the herd. on that note, I've been thinking about pulling the trigger on a vinyl player finally. though listening to music is funner while driving 'cause I can belt along without embarrassment

 

nah

 

I don't, but only because I keep the art work to where the song came from, that way I know it is from somewhere else. If it is a bonus track like "deluxe edition" I take off the add bonus, etc unless it is acoustic or live. I keep those end notes.

 

I still enjoy using Apple Music because of Replay. It’s fun to know how my listening tastes have changed over time.

I definitely still buy albums that I really like because I want to make sure I’ll always have a copy. You never know where Apple Music will be in the next 10 years.

 

I use streaming for band discovery and for bands that I can't seem to find any cd of lp to buy from.

For the most part I still buy albums/lp's at shows or at my local music store.

I love the fact that you have something in your hands to check out and to look into the artwork, lyrics and so on.

It feels more personal to me to listen to an album on cd than on a streaming service. The quality of an album or espicialy LP'S is way better than the quality of the version you get on streaming services + artist don't get enough repay for the streams.

 

I’m in the minority of people who have never had a streaming subscription. Still trying to pay for my music (even if not physical copies). I have a free Spotify account (which I haven’t actually used this year). I load all my purchases (CDs or MP3 downloads) onto my iPod. As there’s limited space I have to update it every so often. I keep all new releases from the year on for the whole year. I keep 20 year anniversaries on there. And then I rotate whatever I feel like listening. Is it frustrating to not have everything at my fingertips? Yes at times, but I like that I’m trying to throw money in the band’s direction intentionally and that makes it worth it.

 

Some people have said the mix on The Starting Line’s Eternal Youth is off, think Audicity could fix it?

 

I do use streaming sometimes to sample albums or artists, but I never made the leap to Spotify or Apple Music for the majority of my listening. I still remember the early days of streaming, and just getting this feeling that an album felt ephemeral unless I had it in my iTunes library and could put it on my iPod, lol. I always felt the same way when I'd get advances via stream versus mp3. There was something different about having that "ownership," even if it was just a file sitting on my hard drive.

 

I've been running a bit of an experiment for the second half of this year. I ditched Spotify for good after their response to the ICE ads they have running. Every Friday I check here and Bandcamp for new music. If I find something I like, I buy the CD from the artist on Bandcamp. If I really like it, I pick up the LP. Then, I take time with it. A casual listen at first, then a deeper dive with a good pair of headphones. I've found some really awesome albums that I am connecting to more than I have connected to music in the streaming world.
There's absolutely something to this. Everything now is too fast and casual. We are living in the content era, and honestly, I think it kills my ability to fall in love with a piece of media. There's no time for it to grow on me.

Sorry for going on a Grandpa Simpson rant, but the article really resonated with me. Anyway, here's some of the cool stuff I have gotten really into so far during this experiment for anyone interested:

The Heir Apparition - Broken Crowns (Memento Mori Edition):
This thing is a love letter to early Coheed and Cambria. Strong In Keeping Secrets vibes here with a little touch of Vaxis.
That being said, it stands on its own in my opinion and can be catchy as hell.

Swimming Bell - Somnia
This has been my "everything sucks and I need to chill out" EP. It is absolutely gorgeously layered. Think folk/americana with a healthy dose of that 70's Laurel Canyon sound and just a dash of psychedelia. "Mushrooms in July" with a good pair of headphones will remove your soul from Earth for a few minutes. Great stuff.

 

I think, ultimately, it's about being intentional with your listening more than it is about cutting the cord entirely. All of us on this website are probably predisposed to being intentional listeners, and aren't as at risk of becoming the "lean back" background music person mentioned in this story. That said, I definitely don't think streaming has helped with that intentionality in most cases. The platforms really aren't built for that, especially Spotify.

 

I haven't listened to it yet, I plan on it soon, but it's possible. I haven't dived too deep into what Audicity can do, I set up a setting for myself where it expands the volume on songs to where it won't distort or cause noise. Surprisingly its helped a lot of albums I have that I downloaded from either Bandcamp or Amazon. Some it does nothing because it was mixed and mastered fine, so you can always throw it in and adjust and export and try. I do the car test because you tell the difference in a car studio.

 

I held out on streaming until late 2017 and caved. The convenience of it was too good to pass up. I tried Spotify and hated it but liked Apple Music, considering I could edit track names, album covers, etc. just like iTunes. I do feel guilty that artists don’t get paid a fair amount, but I also pirated a lot in high school. In both cases if I ended up loving an album, I would eventually buy it anyway. In high school it was CD and now vinyl.

While I agree with many points in the article, I don’t believe that streaming has made me a passive listener. I still listen to full albums and the only playlists I listen to are the ones I create. I still consciously search for music and don’t rely on an algorithm to give me new albums. I think it’s great because of the convenience for the listener.

All that being said, I would love to eventually get off streaming. It would just require a lot of time, money, and patience to get there because I wouldn’t want to “give up” 98% of the songs I currently have downloaded. I do think the process would be fun and worthwhile, though. Getting all my old CDS at my parent’s house. Then searching through Discogs, records stores, and thrift stores for CDs to replace the files in my library, then getting a CD burner to upload them all. Might make that a goal for 2026.

 

Do you know how this version compares to a CD rip of the original album...is this version a better mastered version that the CD?

 

I haven't listened to the CD version in years to be honest, so can't compare.

 

I stream a good amount but if I find myself coming back to an album often I will buy it digitally or on vinyl. Vinyl purchases have been a little more rare due to the cost of that but I like owning my music.

I remember when Hot Mulligan had SYG Years pulled. A lot of fans were mad they couldn't stream it anymore but I bought it so I still had it to listen to. The perks of owning your stuff.