Turn on, tune in, sign up
Online music-streaming has come on in leaps and bounds of late, and there are now any number of reasons for signing up to one of the top providers
Few things have revolutionised the way we listen to recorded music as much as the advent of online streaming. The move to storing musical information on a vinyl disc was a landmark – as was the advent of the compact disc as the standard-bearer for the digital age – but doing away with discs altogether? That innovation surely deserves a place at the top table.
The genesis of this particular revolution was predictably modest. When streamed music first broke cover and flowed into the disc-playing public’s consciousness, it was touted by one or two fledgling firms juggling copyrightinfringement issues and preaching a gospel of convenience. So-so quality MP3 files were the order of the day and quality-conscious audiophiles found little to get excited about.
But, like any other newborn, online streaming soon grew up. It threw off the shackles of lo-res formats and morphed into the multi-faceted medium we have today, loaded with useful features and flexible user options. There are now dozens of services to choose from, including a core of very sophisticated ones. The main players boast tens of millions of tracks in their catalogues and with so many of them now offering much – sometimes all – of their music as hi-res streams, sound quality is no longer an issue, as we explain in our feature on p56.
As well as offering easy and largely affordable ways to listen to your tunes via a variety of file resolutions, musicstreaming services are also a great way to discover new music. Elements that started life as crude mechanisms for suggesting alternative listening have evolved into complex and effective algorithms that can recommend all kinds of music based on sophisticated analysis of your previous listening.
The provider (or providers) that will suit you best is determined principally by your equipment and your budget, and our round-up will tell you all you need to know about the major players. So, whether you’re into Bartók or Bottleneck, online streaming is at your service.