“The Spotify format is a desirable one, garnering the program 24 million active users worldwide.” —Brianna Patterson
In recent years, technology has changed the way we consume information, entertain ourselves and listen to music.
For Generation Y, listening to music has become a more personalized activity with portable CD players, iPods and other MP3 players keeping a database of our most cherished tunes. Websites and applications such as SoundCloud and Spotify aim to offer listeners access to millions of songs — without having to download them — and share their music preferences with their friends through social media.
Among the most popular applications at the moment is Spotify. Developed in 2006, the music database has more than 20 million songs users can stream for free. Spotify is a social network in itself, allowing users to follow and like others’ music choices. It also connects to Facebook, updating friends and followers with every listen.
The Spotify format is a desirable one, garnering the program 24 million active users worldwide. A newer and similar application is Rdio, which has the same premise with a sleeker design. Headphones company Beats Electronic (known for its headphones, Beats by Dre) launched a music streaming site in January that follows the same format but requires users to pay for its services.
Applications such as these are good for making playlists and staying updated on popular music and album releases. But this format is not ideal for discovering new or independent music.
Spotify and Rdio have access to major music releases, but more often than not, when independent artists release EPs or when Lil Wayne drops a mixtape, these won’t be in their databases.
The simplistic and consistent design of Pandora Internet Radio has made it a classic online music platform. It’s one of the best places to discover new music because it’s crafted based on the artist or song requested.
“I don’t like that I have to create a playlist [on Spotify] so that music won’t stop playing — I’m lazy,” said sophomore accounting major Nkem Nwogbo. “Pandora is quick and easy. I stay signed in. I get introduced to new songs and artists through it.”
Although users can upload their songs onto their Spotify players, these songs are only available on the device they’re downloaded on, meaning users can’t take their music on the go.
That’s where Google Play Music comes in.
The biggest draw the application offers is the space to store more than 20,000 songs online. The songs’ files can be accessed from any device or on the Web if connected to Wi-Fi.
“I use Google Play because I can upload all of my songs and listen to them anywhere,” said senior studio art major Jeremie Lecuyer. “It doesn’t limit me to popular songs, which is an advantage because I listen to a lot of mixtapes and underground music.”
There are drawbacks to each application — ads on Pandora and Spotify have the potential to kill a party playlist, and Pandora skip limits have frustrated many — but using a combination of the music players can enhance the listening experience.
“When I want to listen to a variety of music, I go to Pandora,” said Genesis Henriquez, a sophomore studio art major. “When I want to listen to music I specifically starred, I’ll use Spotify.”
Social listening and music streaming has created tense situations for the music industry — Spotify has been highly criticized for failing to compensate artists whose music appears on the site and streaming doesn’t help record sales when users can listen for free. But these applications have changed the ways to experience music — a pastime many can relate to.
