State of Streaming Music

Record Store Day has recently come and passed—a day to designed to remind us to get out into local record stores and buy music. Every year I’m reminded of stores I loved and the records I bought, starting back in the early 80s. Those days are long gone, largely thanks to digital music, and especially thanks to the emergence and convenience of streaming music.

Lou’s Records, Encinitas, California

There are streaming music services of all types, each with their advantages and limitations. At their best, these sites give us access to huge libraries of music, and allow us to listen online, on our smart phones, on our tablets and even in our cars. More convenience and portability of music than ever before, and it’s only just begun. The world of streaming music is still relatively new, but there are a myriad of choices out there.
Online streaming is the fastest growing form of music listening, according to CNN, and other industry experts. The Recording Industry Association of America, has said that overall music sales continued to decline in 2012, but digital-music sales were up 14%, topping $4 billion.
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