understanding digital music - part 1
DESCRIPTION
This slideshow is an excerpt from the Amazon Kindle book Understanding Digital Music. It explores digital music and focuses on the two types of streaming music, the music discovery and radio station variety (like Pandora, iTunes Radio, and Songza) and also on-demand types, like Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody, Google Play Music, and Beats Music. Easily confused topics are explained in plain English, including bit rates, fidelity, artist refusals, the DMCA, and Digital Rights Management (DRM).TRANSCRIPT
Digital Music
From the Kindle book
Understanding Digital Music
Part 1
Understanding
Consumer Behavior
Digital song downloads dropped 3% between 2012 and 2013, while music streaming increased 24%
—According to Nielsen SoundScan
In 2013, digital downloads dropped 1%, while music streaming grew by 40%
—According to the Recording Industry Association of America
Renting vs. Buying Music
Buying CDs and downloading songs from iTunes or Amazon means you own it
Buying music means you have a file on a disc or your computer
Streaming music services, however, are like renting music
With streaming, you never have the file —It simply flows through your computer and
is gone after you listen (thus, “streaming”)
Commercial Free Bliss
Most streaming services lack commercials
— These are subscription services that charge a monthly or annual fee
— Examples: Beats Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Rdio, Rhapsody (the big five)
Most free music services feature obnoxious ads
— Pandora’s free service and iTunes Radio
— Pandora and iTunes Radio offer ad-free paid versions
— Songza is the exception: free with zero audio ads
Artist Refusals
Why are some artists unavailable?
—Some artists and bands simply refuse to allow their songs to be streamed by any service
Examples: The Beatles, Garth Brooks, AC/DC, Bob Seger, Metallica, and many others
Led Zeppelin allows on-demand streaming from Spotify and Tidal only
Pink Floyd refused to stream until July 2013
But Wait a Second…
On Pandora or Songza, you can hear the artists that refuse to allow their songs to be streamed on-demand
What the heck?
Enter the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) —A U.S. law that some other countries recognize
Like FM radio, some streaming services use the DMCA —Meaning they can play any song they want
More on the DMCA
Services like Pandora and Songza follow the DMCA and can play any artist
Most services do not follow the DMCA
— Instead, they negotiate directly with music publishers
— This means they have to follow restrictions imposed by the music publishers (like artist refusals)
This is why Pandora and Songza are available in only a few countries
— Limited to countries that recognize the DMCA
Digital Rights Management
Also known as DRM
DRM = copy protection for digital media
— Can be applied to music downloaded or on disc
— Many (not all) songs on iTunes feature DRM; Amazon doesn’t use DRM
The result? You simply can’t share or copy songs that are protected by DRM
DRM doesn’t apply to streamed music, because you can’t capture and copy a streamed song
The Cold Start
Most steaming services get better over time
Why? Because they learn from your song choices
—Also: thumbs up + thumbs down + song skips
The more feedback you give, the more tailored and satisfying your service will be
—Beats Music = best service at overcoming the cold start because it gathers preferences at sign up
Two Varieties of Streaming
Radio stations / music discovery
— You create a radio station or channel
— Cannot request a particular song or album
— Examples include Pandora, Songza, and iTunes Radio
On-demand / “instant” services
— Specify a particular song, album, or artist
— Hear a particular song immediately
— The world’s largest jukebox
— Choose from 20-35 million songs (pretty cool)
On-Demand Features
Playlists — List of songs that you store on a music service
— Most services offer as many playlists as you want
Music lockers — Allows you to upload your own music
— Songs/albums available only to you
— Songs can be integrated into your playlists, favorites
Offline listening — Listen to your favorite songs and playlists when you
lack an internet connection
Bit Rate = Quality
Streaming services have lower fidelity than a standard compact disc
Higher the bit rate, better the fidelity
This can be a concern if you have a high-end stereo system or home theater
Some AV receivers can actually sense streaming audio and video and improve it —Yamaha calls this Compressed Music Enhancer
—Pioneer Elite calls it Advanced Sound Retriever
A Kbps World Bit rate is measured in kilobits per second
— Kbps: higher the number, better the fidelity
Bit rates range between 64 Kbps and 1,411 Kbps — Compare this to 1,411 Kbps for music CDs
How does your favorite service stack up? — Songza = 64 Kbps — Pandora = 64 to 192 Kbps — Rhapsody = 192 Kbps — iTunes Radio = 256 Kbps — Rdio, Google Play, Spotify, Beats Music = 320 Kbps — Tidal = 1,411 Kbps
Beats Music
Highly curated music streaming service
Owned by Apple
Streams at 320 Kbps
20 million+ songs in its catalog
$10/month
Offers unlimited skips on its radio stations
— All on-demand services also feature radio stations (like getting Pandora thrown in for free)
Google Play Music Full service is “Google Play Music All Access” Streams at 320 Kbps 20 million songs in its catalog $10/month Allows 20,000 songs in your music locker Can save a radio station as a playlist Can be accessed in 68 countries
— More than any other streaming service — Services continually adding new countries, so these
numbers change rapidly (but always for the better)
iTunes Radio
Music discovery / radio service — No on-demand listening
Streams at 256 Kbps — Better than Songza or Pandora
27 million songs — Compare this to Pandora’s roughly 1 million songs
Free (with ads) or $25/year (ad-free, via iTunes Match)
Imposes song skip limit 25,000 song limit in music locker
Pandora
Music discovery / radio service — No on-demand listening
Streams at 64 to 192 Kbps
Only 1 million songs in catalog — May lead to song repeats, a common criticism
Free (with ads) or $36/year ($4/month) removes ads
Most popular music streaming service — 75 million monthly listeners / 250 million registered users
Supports Google’s Chromecast casting system
Limits song skips
Amazon Prime Music
Small on-demand streaming service
— Unlike other on-demand services, no radio feature
Available only with subscription to Amazon Prime
— Also gives subscription to Amazon’s Instant Video
Streams at 256 Kbps
Small catalog of roughly 1 million songs
Curated playlists and offline listening
No song skip limit (unlike Pandora)
Rdio
Pronounced “ar-dee-o”
On-demand streaming service
Streams at 320 Kbps
20 million+ song catalog
$10/month
Features offline listening
Available in 60+ countries — One of the few services available in Canada
Rhapsody
On-demand streaming service
Streams at only 192 Kbps
—Lower fidelity than most on-demand streamers
32 million+ songs (largest catalog)
—Claims to add 30,000 songs per day
$10/month
Radio function, music locker, robust playlists, and offline listening
Songza Music discovery / radio type streaming service
— No on-demand listening — Owned by Google
Streams at only 64 Kbps — Lowest fidelity of any streaming music service
Free with no audio ads (only small display ads) Excellent human curated song lists Great interface matches music to your mood Imposes song skip limit
— Like Pandora and iTunes Radio
Spotify
On-demand streaming service — Probably the most full-featured service available
Streams at full 320 Kbps
20 million+ song catalog
$10/month
Available in 60+ countries
Offline listening and curated playlists
Includes super-cool Serendipity feature — Shows other members listening to the same song
New Lossless Services
There are new services that stream in lossless FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) or ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec)
These maintain full CD quality
Stream at full 1,411 Kbps
Compare this to Spotify, Rdio, Beats Music, etc., which all stream at 320 Kbps
Lossless music streaming is 4.5x better!
Tidal
Best example of lossless streaming is Tidal
On-demand streaming service — Very full-featured, well-reviewed service
Streams at full 1,411 Kbps
25 million+ song catalog
$20/month
Offline listening and curated playlists
Includes Led Zeppelin’s full catalog — Spotify is the only other service with Led Zeppelin
Digital Music
From the Kindle book
Understanding Digital Music
Part 2
Understanding
Click here to view
These slides are derived from the Amazon Kindle book
Understanding
Digital Music
Other Books by Curt Robbins
Home Theater for the Internet Age
Understanding Cutting the Cord
Understanding Personal Data Security
Understanding Home Theater
About Curt Robbins
Blog: Middle Class Tech
Flipboard magazine: Middle Class Tech
Twitter: @CurtARobbins
