Streaming Technology
Brandon Cohen

Introduction to streaming music
 In 2014 music streaming services, music streaming services totaled $1.9
billion
 First introduced in modern form with the introduction of Flash players in
2000.
 The first subscription bases streaming service Rhapsody was introduct in 2001.
 With the introduction of smartphone in the late 2000’s the way music was
consumed changed for ever.
 On demand services and internet radio like Pandora started to eat into music
sales.

Top Streaming Clients

Spotify
 Spotify is a music streaming service that launched in 2008 in Stockholm,
Sweden.
 The major draw for Spotify is that they offer the service for free on computer
platforms with premium features available with subscriptions.
 Spotify accounted for 10% of U.S. music revenue in 2014
 Spotify accounts for over 50% of all music streaming

Google Play
 Started as Google’s version of a cloud music player in 2011
 Differs from other streaming service because they offer the ability to upload
all of the users music library to the cloud and access it for free.
 Google Play also has a premium service where the user can listen to any song
in the catalog for $9.99 a month
 Available in 58 countries and comes pre downloaded on all Android smart
phones.

Apple Music
 Launched June 30, 2015 for $9.99 a month
 Includes radio stations curated by music artists and DJs
 Introduces Connect, a social media platform built in to the program
 Artists can use Connect to interact with fans and release exclusive content

Tidal
 Music streaming service that attempts so keep the artist involved in
subscription services with their artist owned model
 Owned by rapper Jay-Z
 Tidal claims that artists get paid the highest percentage per listen
 Advertises the highest quality streaming, but charges $19.99 a month for the
upgraded service

Before streaming
 Music has a rich history before the age of streaming
 For hundreds of years before recordings live music was a very rich tradition
 Instruments have been around since the cavemen
 The techniques and instruments from a thousand years ago are still around in
music today

Early Music
 Music can be found in every culture dating back to the beginning of history.
Every civilization had their own form of music
 Native Americans used percussion instruments and techniques and patterns
that can still be found in modern music
 Live performance has always been a sacred tradition among tribes and can be
found at many of their ceremonies

Phonautograph

Phonautograph
 The first device used for recording sound
 Recorded audio sounds onto metal discs
 This technology was not successful because once they figured out how to
achieve playback, the phonograph was invented and replaced the
phonautograph

Phonograph

Phonograph
 Invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison
 Was the first device that could reproduce the recorded sounds
 In 1890 Emile Berliner invented flat discs that could be recorded and played
 These flat discs would eventually become what we know as records

Record Player

Record Player
 Turned the phonograph technology electronic
 The 33 1/3 LP record introduced in 1948. Allowed for entire albums to be
released on one disc
 Consumers now had top of the line sound systems in their homes
 Many still consider vinyl to be the optimal way to listen to music.

Cassette Tape

Cassette tapes
 In the 1970’s music was now able to be recorded onto magnetic tape
 Cassette tapes became popular because it now gave the user the ability to
record onto the tape.
 Offered a cheap way to consume music
 Became almost obsolete after the introduction of the compact disc

Compact Discs

Compact Discs
 In 1982, the first compact disc was produced and music was now able to
recorded digitally
 Standard Compact discs can hold up to 80 minutes on a side
 Close to 500 billion CDs have been bought
 Since 2007 CD sales have been cut by 50% due to the rise in digital downlaods

MP3
 Stands for Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3
 The long standing standard for digital audio codec
 Developed in late 1980’s with first public player,

MP3 downloading
 In the early 2000’s illegal MP3 downloading became popular on the internet
 Applications like Napster allowed users to share music and video files with
others all over the world
 On October 28, 1998 the millennium copyright act made any unauthorized
downloading or sharing of music files illegal

iTunes
 Released in 2001
 Is the number 1 music player and music and media library application
 Also the number 1 digital music marketplace
 Revolutionized the way people download and view media content

Benefits of streaming
 Streaming allows instant access to millions of songs instantly
 No need for storage. The user can have an infinite amount of songs on their
devices
 Streaming music can save money. Subscriptions fees are less than buying the
music individually.

Disadvantages of streaming
 The artists and record labels lose money
 Cellular data is used to stream songs on the go
 Music stores are going out of business

Future of streaming
 Music streaming is the future of the industry for the forseeable future
 Artists will become more involved and will be paid accordingly
 Record labels will eventually become involved with streaming services and
the services will start to become split. Certain artists will become restricted
to certain applications