Survey says: Streaming Subscription Services like Spotify Are Too Expensive

Remember, in the 90s we were all saving up to by £14 CDs. People need to FUCKING REMEMBER THAT SHIT.

Spotify Prem FTW

I still like to actually have the music (on cd or whatever) if I cancel my subscription though.
The problem I have with streaming services is that they require a data connection- fine if you're at a computer, but less so if you're in the car.

I mean, look at the proportion who source music from radio - I can't remember the last time I really listened to music on the radio (by choice). I'm thinking close to a decade. Given that such a large proportion of people are happy with radio supported by advertisements as their primary music listening mechanism, is it that surprising that people aren't prepared to pay a huge amount to listen to a glorified radio each month?

I know, I know, $4.99 a month is a good deal on paper. But there are at least two major flaws with that. Streaming access is distinctly less appealing *to pay for* than ownership - I don't mind not owning music in a lot of cases where I can stream it, but paying for temporary access is a different prospect. Secondly, it isn't close to as stable a catalogue as it ought to be - so many albums disappear at whim for no apparent reason, and the fact that certain tracks are unavailable on otherwise available albums *even* for full premium subscribers is pretty unforgiveable. Not to mention the many things that are never on there to begin with.

Re: Moker's comment about people needing to remember when CDs were £14 (and presumably feel grateful that it isn't that bad now) - that was simply a terribly exploitative situation for consumers and isn't a reliable base from which to measure current activity. Pricing is moving much more closely to realistic measures of value in 2011 than it ever was before.

whether Spotify is a good deal for you or not depends on how much music you listen to and how much money you spend on music. I'm currently considering getting a Spotify premium account on the basis that on checking how much I've spent on iTune since last summer I discovered that I'd downloaded on my phone alone 195 tracks which amounts to more than the cost of a monthly subscription over a 12 month period. Also I'm self-employed now related to music so I reckon I can maybe put that through as a cost... research and development...

Separately, the first "source music" graph is misleading to me - I listen to the radio to discover stuff sometimes (along with reading sites like this and word of mouth etc) but I don't "source" my music from the radio - I source it from a shop or the internet (or a subscription service). This graph leads me to believe that people don't buy music they just listen to the radio. The more appropriate question is surely how to people discover new music and then how do people source that new music once discovered?

The only issue I have with Spotify is that it's like renting your house - at the end of a lifetime of renting you're left with nothing of tangible worth. If for the next 5 years I rent my music and then stop, I won't have my physical record collection to listen to which bothers me a little. I'll have spent a lot of money but won't have anything to show for it.