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Get Ready For a Streaming Music Die-Off
walterbyrd writes "Streaming services are ailing. Pandora, the giant of its class and the survivor at 13 years old, is waging an ugly war to pay artists and labels less in order to stay afloat. Spotify, in spite of 6 million paid users and 18 million subscribers who humor some ads in their stream, has yet to turn a profit. Rhapsody axed 15% of its workforce right as Apple's iTunes Radio hit the scene. On-demand competitor Rdio just opted for layoffs too, in order to move into a 'scalable business model.' Did no one wonder about that business-model bit in the beginning? Meanwhile, Turntable.fm, a comparatively tiny competitor with what should have been viral DNA, just pulled the plug on its virtual jam sessions this week—and it just might be the canary in the coal mine."
The article is FUD. Why? Because there is still demand for this service.
Sure, current generation of services might die off, but as long as there is demand there will be a way to make money off it. Just look at the radio - they found a way to keep music "streaming" and pay the bills for the past 100 years or so. It is just a matter of finding correct monetization strategy.
I wonder how much of this is just adjustment of the market to over-saturation.
That is not to say the RIAA is not shooting itself in the foot by pushing for higher royalties then the consumer will bare, but I do wonder if the explosion in sites has lead to more then there is room for.
The next generation may be the one that grows up without very expensively produced music.
FTFY.
Humans will have music for as long as we can find something to bang on rhythmically. But, in the future, most production will probably happen in small and home studios, as opposed to the monolithic labels owned by RIAA members.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Back to downloading music for free and setting up playlists then!
Conversely, I find it hard to work in silence. Music, radio, (with inane chatter) or even a TV in the background helps me so much more.
I find silence distracting as I instead here little irregular noises here & there (doors slamming in the building, people shouting in the street etc)
Making high-quality music used to require investment. Expensive instruments at a minimum - but if you didn't want to sound like Kenny, you'd also need high quality microphones, sound damped recording studio, mixing desk, specialist technician to operate it and several high-end recorders capable of syncronised operation.
That's all changed now. One person working on consumer, affordable equipment can - on a purely technical level - match that quality with comparative ease. It's down to the level where people can and do make music as a hobby, without any expectation of payment.
The number of good music acts is increasing as the wealth that was centralized by Labels becomes decentralized.
Huh? No, technology has advanced such that good musicians/songwriters/performers can become good acts without a middleman. That's all. The Labels are not becoming decentralized, they are becoming deprecated.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
You know what is one of the traits I like least in a person? When they assume that it's everyone else who is ignorant, rather than check their facts.
Yes, one meaning of converse - apparently the only one you know - is to take part in a conversation. However, there is another meaning which has a similar meaning to inverse and obverse.
converse
adj
(prenominal) reversed; opposite; contrary
n
something that is opposite or contrary
a categorical proposition obtained from another by the transposition of subject and predicate, as no bad man is bald from no bald man is bad
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin conversus turned around; see
So basically, your post is laden with iron. Very irony in fact. Such disdain. Wow.
which is totally what she said
The FOSS auto-tune alternative has been around a long time. It's called "practice"
My business, (as with millions of businesses), exceeds the square footage that's allowed for legally playing a radio. As a result, I pay DMX/Pandora for the privilege. The service sucks. I either need to download an app or load Flash onto my computer to administer the account and the music choice. The rotation is repetitive. It takes between 20 and 45 minutes for the genre or channel to change. The remote control doesn't work properly. The stream inexplicably stops often. Customer service is abysmal. iTunes Radio can't be used in commercial settings. Same with Spotify. And Rhapsody. When one's business practices consist of poor user experience, poor customer support, and poor product delivery one's business deserves to die. This isn't a result of a shit market, it's the result of shit products.
As an amateur singer, I think that MOST people who believe that they "can't sing" - - can very likely develop their voice far beyond what they imagine, with some hard work, dedication, and practice, (and some professional instruction). Many, many common vocal flaws can be overcome with proper training, and practice.
Will that overcome a deficit of "talent"; maybe not. But I think that probably about 80% of people out there who believe they "can't sing" - have a lot more hidden potential than they know.
In the case of autotune - in my opinion, it's a useful tool to give a voice a certain "sound" but it is in no way a worthwhile substitute for a properly trained voice, or good vocal talent. It can easily be a substitute for "making money" in pop music production. But frankly, who gives a shit about that? Unwashed masses be unwashed masses, and the scammers out there in ANY industry are going to find ways to take advantage of that, and bet money off of them.
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
If the cited trend in this article is true, perhaps young listeners might learn of the majesty of Beethoven, the emotion of Tchaikovsky, the joy of Gershwin.
Ludwig van Beethoven and Piotr Tchaikovsky yes, George Gershwin no. Along with The Walt Disney Company, Gershwin's estate was one of the biggest lobbying forces behind the Copyright Term Extension of 1998, the statute that initiated what some believe to be Congress's policy of "perpetual copyright on the installment plan". Gershwin's piece Rhapsody in Blue, first published in 1924, is perhaps the oldest famous piece of instrumental music still under copyright in the United States.
My problem isn't that I can't sing. It's just a little distracting when everyone keeps throwing rotten fruit at me while I'm singing.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Hell, I bet dedicated audiophiles could probably come up with studio quality stuff using nothing more complex than Audacity.
Dedicated musicians could.
Dedicated audiophiles would blow the entire project budget on a 4 foot patch cord.