Is streaming the last form of music consumption?

[Robyn.]

Nowadays we get to have endless music for a very reasonable price per month. It's by far the most profitable option for a music consumer.

Do you think streaming will ever go away for another form of music consumption? If so, what?

 

I don't see it to be honest. Did we get to the last era of how we consume music?

 

[Kern]

I feel like the streaming may become either free eventually or more expensive since artists are not profiting from it almost at all 

 

[LovingDays]

I've honestly thought about this alot. I think someone in the future will invent something that takes out streaming, just like every medium before was taken out by its newer, better, more convinient version. 

[piotrert]

final form will be brain stimulus, bypassing ears altogether. you could experience two songs simultaneously. but either way it's still some kind of streaming

[smartalek22]

A chip implant into your brain that transfers information (including music) would still be a form of streaming so yes 

[Aston Martin]

The development of future technology is too unpredictable to say for sure imo. If you told anyone in the 1980s that buying physical music would one day become very niche, they wouldn't believe you. 
 

s/n: it's kind of crazy that the digital era only ended up lasting a few years. Physical media was the primary form of music consumption for decades, and streaming's been the primary form for at least a decade at this point. But the reign of digital sales only ended up lasting a few years. 

[Solaria]

Yes, but I do think it will become more expensive in the future. Wouldn't be surprised if artists are gonna start bundling albums together for a price which will give you unlimited streaming access.

[Robyn.]

2 minutes ago, Aston Martin said:

s/n: it's kind of crazy that the digital era only ended up lasting a few years. Physical media was the primary form of music consumption for decades, and streaming's been the primary form for at least a decade at this point. But the reign of digital sales only ended up lasting a few years. 

Yeah, that's exactly it.

 

Streaming is already outlasting the digital age, and it has been by far the most profitable option for the consumers out of all the transitions, so I don't see how we go from here.

[Robyn.]

3 minutes ago, Solaria said:

Yes, but I do think it will become more expensive in the future. Wouldn't be surprised if artists are gonna start bundling albums together for a price which will give you unlimited streaming access.

I doubt that would slide, because consumers are used to having unlimited streaming access. Why would they agree to go back to a more restricted consumption?

 

It'd be the death of streaming.

[NEX]

11 minutes ago, Aston Martin said:

The development of future technology is too unpredictable to say for sure imo. If you told anyone in the 1980s that buying physical music would one day become very niche, they wouldn't believe you. 
 

s/n: it's kind of crazy that the digital era only ended up lasting a few years. Physical media was the primary form of music consumption for decades, and streaming's been the primary form for at least a decade at this point. But the reign of digital sales only ended up lasting a few years. 

Digital also lasted about a decade though. Plus you need to take into account p2p sharing/pirating into the digital age, which was what ended the physical era, not iTunes. 

[jezebelvictoria]

Yes and I wish it would've came sooner. I wasted so much money buying CDs in my teens. I regret it. I had over 1000 CDs at one point just to end up throwing them all away. 

[halcyonday]

In-brain streaming coming soon  

[MatiRod]

It's going to get more expensive, slowly but surely. It's not sustainable at current prices. Like, I know it sucks to hear as a music fan, but think about it. You're getting access to basically all music ever for like $120 a year. It used to cost $20 just to buy a single album back in the day.

[Robyn.]

8 minutes ago, jezebelvictoria said:

Yes and I wish it would've came sooner. I wasted so much money buying CDs in my teens. I regret it. I had over 1000 CDs at one point just to end up throwing them all away. 

I mean, you got the experience of it, why would you regret it?

 

Sure, you wouldn't do it now, but back then I'd assume it felt gratifying to collect your favorite music.

[Abracadabra]

I'm not sold on the idea of brain chips for streaming music etc, it's giving people in 1975 who thought there would be flying cars by the year 2000.

[unclefloprry]

For now, yep. Portability is one of the main reasons why music consumption has changed over time and these days we've got everything in one device.

I think the only way record labels could end the streaming era, due to their greed, is doing what they do with movies: creating music services that only include their own catalog and removing it from other platforms 

[Robyn.]

10 minutes ago, MatiRod said:

It's going to get more expensive, slowly but surely. It's not sustainable at current prices. Like, I know it sucks to hear as a music fan, but think about it. You're getting access to basically all music ever for like $120 a year. It used to cost $20 just to buy a single album back in the day.

I doubt that the prices would go THAT up.

 

We live in an era where consumers are vocal more than ever. That would be like giving something and taking it back, why would you accept worse than you had?

I feel like that would eventually drive the consumers back to pirating music if the prices were to ever rise immensely. 

[MatiRod]

6 minutes ago, Robyn. said:

I doubt that the prices would go THAT up.

 

We live in an era where consumers are vocal more than ever. That would be like giving something and taking it back, why would you accept worse than you had?

I feel like that would eventually drive the consumers back to pirating music if the prices were to ever rise immensely. 

Not nearly that high but I could see a premium Spotify subscription costing $30+ per month within 10 years

[Popboi.]

Yes, but the market will change to different platforms, price etc 

[stars]

Not sure I agree with all the takes on high prices here. Sure, inflation plays a role, but one of the main reasons streaming took off in the first place was because the music industry needed to compete with piracy. If they push prices too high, music piracy is going to skyrocket again—and this time, it might be even worse since most people would rather stream than pay full price for an album.

 

For now though, streaming isn't going anywhere. You're getting access to millions of songs for a fraction of what you'd spend on an album at a record store.

 

 

 

 

[BGKC]

In the very distant future, I can imagine AI personifying one's music taste to formulate new music exclusively suited for you. Be it a streaming service or a musical generator separate from streaming. So like the lead vocals of Whitney on a sexy mid-tempo track featuring Beyoncé. Streaming and new music would still be a thing (in order to gather your musical taste), but I wouldn't be surprised if there's some sort of musical generator that creates music for you, ultimately crushing the profitability of new artists (unfortunately). 

Edited 37 minutes ago by BGKC

[Princess Aurora]

It'll become more expensive but AI will make it more interesting. Expect AI Covers to become the standard 

[Robyn.]

45 minutes ago, stars said:

Not sure I agree with all the takes on high prices here. Sure, inflation plays a role, but one of the main reasons streaming took off in the first place was because the music industry needed to compete with piracy. If they push prices too high, music piracy is going to skyrocket again—and this time, it might be even worse since most people would rather stream than pay full price for an album.

 

For now though, streaming isn't going anywhere. You're getting access to millions of songs for a fraction of what you'd spend on an album at a record store.

 

 

 

 

Exactly, you can't put on high prices on a service that has been cheap for years, without it driving your consumers away.