It has become increasingly common to hear people say something along the lines of “streaming is killing music”, whether that is referring to ownership, shorter attention spans, or low concert attendance.
Alan Cross, host of The Ongoing History of New Music and music writer, believes streaming is killing community, too.
In his TED Talk from six years ago, Cross highlighted how the head of Sony, who oversaw the creation of the Walkman, included two headphone jacks in the first iteration, because he couldn’t imagine people listening to music on their own.
But now, with headphone culture, music has become a very personal thing, which Cross acknowledges as an upside but also worries about the consequences of putting oneself in a musical bubble.
”You think your musical world is the only musical world, and it’s not.” Cross said in an interview.
But is music really becoming a solo act?
Concert attendance
With concert attendance at a record high, the demand for live music is very much alive.
There are opportunities for live music everywhere in Calgary, from bars such as the Ship and Anchor to venues like the King Eddy and the Palace Theatre.
More broadly, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour saw people buying tickets priced from around $1,000 to more than $4,000, not including flights or lodging, as over 10 million people worldwide travelled to see the artist.
Meanwhile, the singer MICO, a Toronto native, had to expand his concert venue here in Calgary after tickets sold out in October.
So while music consumption has become more private, it’s still a communal act. People – especially younger generations are more likely to attend classical concerts, and while attendance has decreased since COVID, there is still a lot of demand.
The problem with algorithms
But Cross also has some concerns about algorithms.
”We just kind of stay in that bubble. And there’s- it’s difficult to get outside that bubble to discover something really new and innovative that we might like,” Cross said.
He adds that algorithms make it so people don’t get to hear new music, but built-in software isn’t the only avenue for discovery.
Many people use streaming music services, such as Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist, or do the work of finding full songs based on clips from social media.
While there has to be some effort, people are not trapped in the algorithm.
If video killed the radio star, what did streaming do?
Music has continued to evolve since recording and streaming became available, with music on demand whenever we like.
But it still remains a communal process – and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest we can hear a new beat.
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