Discovering new artists and music used to be a lifestyle. Endless pirating tunes across torrents, purchasing CDs from HMV and tracking down bangers on FM radio dictated the way we discovered and digested. Time is now one of the most precious resources we have and technology has stepped in to streamline the process!
Enter the birth of cloud based streaming services that have ‘trimmed the fat’ off time taken for discovering new music. Some of the the previous ‘leg work’ has been replaced by playlist curation. Take Spotify as an example – The introduction of their analytics, algorithm and curated mood playlist from hired music experts has made discovery a breeze.
The biggest observation I’ve made as a label owner has been when a music lover hears a song they like on a streaming service:
Traditional music fan listens to a song on CD/MP3 – ‘What a tune! I wonder what other stuff this band / DJ has made.’
2017 music fan hears a song on radio – ‘What a tune! I’ll save this onto my personal playlist and listen to it again later!’
This demonstrates a trend that hasn’t been necessarily looked deeper into the artist. Rather, the fan opting to save the song on a personal playlist and listen to it over and over again until they’re sick of it. And with that said, that fleeting song romance may be the only interaction they have with the artist. Ever.
‘[Streaming] has made it a lot easier. I can now access around 90% of current/new music instantly. I barely have to lift a finger.’ – Alexander Nut (Radio Host / Producer)
So, there’s been both positive and negative outcomes for artists from the change in the listening pattern. Being an optimist, let’s start with the positives!
The positives for artists are
– Streaming services creates income for the artist where it was previously free.
– Streaming and music discovery streaming allows for users to surf and save across lots of genres and pick their personal musical cherries.
The negative for artists are
– The fan may never know any other song from an artist beyond the one they added to their personal playlist.
– The artist is required to be more active than creating music (it could be a positive also!).
‘I just think it’s harder for the musicians, artists and bands to create substantial music and projects. Things are more disposable now, five mins later and we’re on to the next thing.’ – Alexander Nut (Radio Host / Producer)
Loving a song isn’t a one size fits all strategy anymore. Streaming has made life infinitely more easy without the worry of having to physically collect. With the way the average music fan digests music, it brings into question, are people worshipping the song more than the artist? Streaming has taken the fan out of their musical box and converted them into an open canvas of listening.
Tell us what you think! Does it matter what genre you’re listening to?
Electronic Music Conference 2017 visits Sydney’s Redfern for a two-day program seeing international music leaders and industry experts appear across an array of panels, talks, workshops, parties and masterclasses on November 29-30. Tickets are on sale now via electronicmusicconference.
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