Online music streams high notes all round
ONLINE music streaming, introduced on a global scale only a few years ago, has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception.
Streaming services offer unlimited access to music online for a small monthly outlay.
According to a report by analytical firm BuzzAngle Music, song streaming through subscription services more than doubled in the US last year, overtaking US digital music sales for first time in what has been a long-stagnant industry.
The report, released earlier this week, found that US listeners streamed songs more than 191 billion times last year, with more than 76% of the audio streams through subscriptions.
The most popular streaming sites were identified as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.
South Africans are not far behind, though Spotify is not yet available here. Acquiring music online seems to have become the way to go, particularly for the youth.
When asked how they consume music via the Daily Dispatch Facebook page, readers named Apple Music, Google Play Music, Simfy Africa and Deezer as their preferred sites. While some complained of high data charges and the monthly costs of WiFi for online streaming, all agreed that online music was the way to go, and many named their preferred site.
Ryan Adrian Odendaal said: “Apple Music baby! I haven’t bought an album in more than a year – been using this platform and it’s fantastic as you are able to download the music to your device so you’re not constantly having to stream it over WiFi or 3G.”
Lizo Maneli: “Apple Music. I have not bought a CD since they launched in South Africa. It allows me to play my music in the car, at home, the office or wherever I feel like. I have more than 4 000 albums on my phone. Imagine if I had to carry all those CDs around! It also deals with the problem of losing CDs because people borrow or steal them. I back up my music to iCloud, so it synchronises to my iPad and if I lose my phone I can just synchronise my new device.”
Jacobus Adriaan Gangat-Duvenage: “I’ve recently started using Deezer. It’s a great app. It has all the music I’m looking for and I don’t have to do much, just tap the play button and enjoy a good mix.”
Vho Naledi: “Deezer. I love it but it milks data like nobody’s business. But otherwise it’s a great app because I get all the songs I want.”
Hedley Botha: “Apple Music is the best place to shop for music, they have a wide variety.
Malindi Lindrix Ndika: I get mine for my phone on Tubidy [a video search engine].”
Simphiwe Dika said he still tried to maintain a CD collection for his old favourites, which he considered classics, although he also made use of Apple Music to purchase certain tracks.
“Apple made it easy for us. Now we are not forced to purchase an entire album, but we are free to choose only the tracks we want and as a CD buyer, I would say the cost is minimal,” he said.
But Mawande Mbudane said online music is not relevant in South Africa as the internet is not free and music streaming requires “expensive data”.
So how much does it cost to stream music?
A quick search revealed that costs don’t vary much across sites, though some offer a percentage of the music free provided consumers are willing to endure ads.
All sites offer free trial periods, though the length differs.
Apple Music – unique in having a whopping three-month free trial period – offers individual membership at R60 a month, family membership for up to six people at R90 and student membership at R30. This gives access to 30 million+ songs, radio shows hosted by a variety of DJs and artists, offline play and recommendations and playlists based on previous choices, but for now it is restricted to Apple devices.
For R60 a month, Google Play Music gives access to 35 million songs. It also offers offline play, and it can be accessed via all devices, including Android, IOS and the web.
Simfy Africa customers get to hear more than 32 million tracks on the web, desktops, tablets and smartphones. A R60-a-month package comes with an offline play option. A budget R25 package gives users web and desktop access only.
Deezer’s monthly Premium is R60 and its family plan R90. There is offline play too.
Besides music, South Africans now have the option of watching movies and television programmes via online streaming site Netflix, launched here last year.
In an article on website Mybroadband last year, writer Jan Vermeulen compared the streaming site to regular pay-TV, urging consumers to weigh the costs involved before signing up to either service.
“DStv requires the installation of a satellite dish and decoder set-top box, while Netflix requires an internet connection with at least 100GB of cap,” the article reads.
“To compare Netflix to DStv, one has to look at the type and variety of content available. One person’s essential viewing is another’s garbage. Although the volume of titles available on each platform makes it difficult to do an item-byitem comparison, it is possible to address the benefits of each service. To sports lovers, a DStv Premium subscription is valuable – thanks to its live sports offering.” — zisandan@