Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?
Streaming music sucks. It might seem weird but I don&#x27;t like it. The first music I ever &#x27;owned&#x27; myself personally were songs I taped off the radio. After that I started pirating music the same way I would collect songs on the radio, after that I started buying CD&#x27;s, today I buy songs and albums from artists and producers directly.<p>Building playlists on a streaming service is not the same as building a music collection.<p>Music discovery is easy, relying on a streaming service for discovery is lazy. What&#x27;s hard is commitment. Taking time to explore the back catalogue of artists you like and taking the time to get to know music.<p>When all you had was physical media, you listened to albums over and over got to know them, relished the new albums you purchased and had to take the time to decide between one or the other.<p>When you heard a new song on the radio or through a friend, there was anticipation. You had to wait before you could listen on your own. Whether it was a slow download on icewire or that wait until you could go buy an album, acquiring music gave you something streaming music doesn&#x27;t.<p>It gave you forced limitation, which in turn I feel like led to a greater appreciation towards music. It wasn&#x27;t just something tou consumed, it was something you waited for, finally acquired and then got to enjoy and became part of the rest of &#x27;your music.&#x27;