oh and Bandcamp is great, but feels like a different thing, but yeah god bless em and it's incredibly cool and does a great job of exposing underground and fascinating stuff
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 27 March 2017 15:30 (seven years ago) link
also want to stump for Chromecast Audio has hands down the best value product in the entire audio industry....
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 27 March 2017 15:33 (seven years ago) link
i used to pay for spotify premium but rarely used it, so quit a few months back. i listen to whole albums, for the most part, and about 90% of my listening is heavy metal. i stream what i don't own or have at hand, and i find that youtube is a better source for low-visibility metal albums than any streaming service (though the quality is often shit). i do use bandcamp a lot, both for exploration and patronage.
― Balðy Daudrs (contenderizer), Monday, 27 March 2017 16:58 (seven years ago) link
Haha yes youtube has a ton of OOP albums that don't have digi copies avail
― Neanderthal, Monday, 27 March 2017 16:59 (seven years ago) link
Is it worth stumping up for a Bluetooth DAC over Chromecast Audio? Been recommended one for around £80 and wasn't sure if the quality difference was that noticeable.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 27 March 2017 17:11 (seven years ago) link
I guess it depends, my goal was to go from CCA into a traditional stereo (btw I am running it, via the optical out thru outboard DACs but that's not necessary, you can run it directly into powered speakers or a amp/receiver it does have its own DAC built in)... Thing is like $35, incredible
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 27 March 2017 18:34 (seven years ago) link
Not using any of the streaming services, I am too much in love with building a collection, even if it is digital, but whenever I can I get records from bandcamps/band's label website.
― Van Horn Street, Monday, 27 March 2017 20:42 (seven years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 29 March 2017 00:01 (seven years ago) link
I did a trial of Apple Music to hear Compton by Dr. Dre, what a fucking piece of shit that service is, terrible UX and design, confusing and muddled, though these are the people who brought you latter day iTunes, I've pretty much stopped even trying to engage Apple people on rational terms, enjoy your AirPod shitty wireless earbuds
was on a heavy gear envy vibe for much of yr post (those Boston Acoustics sound rad, right? I just know they sound rad as hell) but I am always just mystified by iTunes hate - there's stuff I hate about it (I yelled at the screen today because I wanted to use different artwork on two home demos in the same playlist / under the same "album" -- you can't do that; you have to change the album name or no matter how hard you CMD-V you're gonna get the album art you used on the majority of the tracks in the playlist, or, if there's no majority, some random default to one of the pictures. drove me nuts) (I arrived at a solution, it's as interesting to hear about as the problem was, I'm sure) but generally speaking it just...stores music which I feed to my Sony headphones via a USB DAC?
Like am I missing something sonically by using iTunes iyo, or is it just the shitty cataloguing / control stuff?
― though the tempest rages, (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 02:22 (seven years ago) link
looks dumb too
― j., Wednesday, 29 March 2017 02:37 (seven years ago) link
Before streaming was a thing, I never used iTunes for windows because (limited experience) it's really slow and hogs resources.. but nowadays I tolerate similar performance issues with Spotify because massive library of music... I figure iTunes runs smoother on a mac..
― a but (brimstead), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 03:08 (seven years ago) link
You can use multiple artwork on 1 album (on 1 track even) in iTunes?
― Siegbran, Wednesday, 29 March 2017 07:55 (seven years ago) link
i don't sub to any streaming service, as i use my local NAS/digital archive, but i do have access to a lot of the free stuff on soundcloud via the sonos application.
― mark e, Wednesday, 29 March 2017 08:50 (seven years ago) link
well now i'm curious about tidal. spotify sound quality is just bleh. apple music -- i'm just turned off by the company tbh. i don't have the brainpower or the time to try and sort out how to make my phone's music app not delete all my precious hardwax and beatport downloads which it keeps doing even though i don't have match or w/e enabled. don't tread on me apple. you're like an annoying roommate who's always home. i'm in the apple store a lot more than i used to be though. bandcamp i feel guilty about not exploring enough. soundcloud is always so buggy ime. amazon prime and google play idk. streaming services in general feel like a chore to me with occasional exceptions but i'm just another grumpy guy.
― The times they are a changing, perhaps (map), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 13:10 (seven years ago) link
who needs good sound quality every day like he needs psyllium husk
― The times they are a changing, perhaps (map), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 13:12 (seven years ago) link
my biggest problem with iTunes is it's hard to add stuff, like I made a "automatically add to itunes" folder on my desktop but when you add stuff (unless you rip a CD that seems to work) it always shows up as "file not found do you want to find it?" really weird and dumb
i generally use bandcamp then upload that stuff to google music
there was a rumor that spotify was going to go lossless quality and have a $15/month tier?
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 13:34 (seven years ago) link
but i do have access to a lot of the free stuff on soundcloud via the sonos application.
― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 16:23 (seven years ago) link
how does that work? is soundcloud one of the streaming services supported by sonos? i would surely need a registration at soundcloud, is that free?
yes, it's one of the services supported, and yes, it needs a login.but my soundcloud account is a free one, which only has access to free tracks.you have to go through an authorisation process, but the sonos app/controller runs the show once you have given it your login/password.
― mark e, Wednesday, 29 March 2017 16:53 (seven years ago) link
I use both Bandcamp and Soundcloud, though Soundcloud is a bit easier/more intuitive when listening for new things--streaming music without interruption, and there's no limit to the amount of plays. Can't really choose one over the other, though Bandcamp is obv. better for accessing full albums and it's ideal for purchasing music, physical copies or digital. I recently got a smartphone and started using Bandcamp more often, but prefer to listen to music files using VLC media player. I was a put off by the phone's tendency to default everything to Google music at first.. definitely prefer a more old school approach. There's always YouTube for accessing the familiar/favorites. For music I really like, I'll purchase it on CD/cassette (if possible) for an ideal listening experience.
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:46 (seven years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 30 March 2017 00:01 (seven years ago) link
None #lolold
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 30 March 2017 02:47 (seven years ago) link
As paid streaming subscriptions get mainstream adoption, the big music streaming services – namely Spotify, Apple Music, and Tencent Music, but also Pandora, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, and others – have entered their prime. There are now over 51 million paid subscription accounts among music streaming services in the US. The music industry grew 8% last year globally to $17.3 billion, driven by a 41% increase in streaming revenue and 45% increase in paid streaming revenue.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/30/the-war-over-music-copyrights/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
― sleeve, Monday, 1 October 2018 02:32 (five years ago) link
?__twitter_impression=untrue
― Ah, the minty egg bits (sic), Monday, 1 October 2018 03:25 (five years ago) link
lol
― dyl, Monday, 1 October 2018 03:28 (five years ago) link
I may check this out: https://variety.com/2019/music/news/amazon-music-unveils-hd-highest-quality-audio-streaming-1203338552/
― #YABASIC (morrisp), Tuesday, 17 September 2019 13:27 (four years ago) link
https://www.salon.com/2019/09/13/jeff-bezos-abruptly-cuts-health-benefits-for-nearly-2000-part-time-whole-foods-workers/
― now let's play big lunch take little lunch (sic), Tuesday, 17 September 2019 16:03 (four years ago) link
tempted to pay for beatport. 10 bucks a month. they have so much stuff! and the sound is really good. and i could make cool playlists. i pay for ad-free youtube but it is hardly ideal when it comes to certain things. i'm not a spotify fan. i dunno. i might stick with youtube. but what i do now is go to beatport anc check stuff out and then type new releases into youtube. which is demented. i could justify it if i cancelled one of my...uh...many streaming t.v. services. i don't watch Shudder much...
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 16:26 (six months ago) link
I'm planning on switching to Qobuz.
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 30 October 2023 16:48 (six months ago) link
come on you made that one up.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:10 (six months ago) link
They make good sandwiches
― Beyond Goo and Evol (President Keyes), Monday, 30 October 2023 17:10 (six months ago) link
If you're interested in DJing, Tidal is pretty good too.
― Siegbran, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:11 (six months ago) link
I just had to make sure that all my label's releases were on Qobuz, because it sells downloads as well as streaming stuff. Only half of them were, but they should all be up there soon, if Distrokid does their job.
Since this poll ran, I switched from Spotify to Tidal.
― read-only (unperson), Monday, 30 October 2023 17:12 (six months ago) link
lol first thing i see on quobuz site is Mount@in Go@ts.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:13 (six months ago) link
"If you're interested in DJing, Tidal is pretty good too."
i'm not interesting in Djing other than my once every blue moon fumblethumbs version of it at local places when people are desperate and then i just do vinyl anyway. though beatport does have virtual Dj tools you can fuck around with. i'm just interested in new electronic music that i haven't heard. and good sound.
now that i'm working in back at the shop i can actually listen to whatever i want in peace all day.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:16 (six months ago) link
as far as new music goes, all i really care about is metal/hip hop/edm. for the most part.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:18 (six months ago) link
(and even with hip hop i am kinda succumbing to old man 80s and 90s nostalgia and youtube has all that basically. they have all the new stuff too.) (i listen to 90% of the new metal i hear on youtube as well. and old metal. 400 album demo tape playlists. you would think it would all be too much at some point.but that point never arrives.)
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:21 (six months ago) link
beatport is good at curating genre new releases. deep tech hype tracks of the week! i dig it.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:23 (six months ago) link
how good is tidal with classical and also experimental/avant garde? probably a silly question. probably tons of stuff.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 17:30 (six months ago) link
because i am stupid and old i always forget how much better YT Music sounds compared to regular YT. i always forget to click the Music link. like a lot better! i'm gonna get cooler speakers for my desktop. it really does make me work better.
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 18:09 (six months ago) link
I think it tops out at 256kbps though. I like the UI but hafta use Amazon Music for actual listening.
― Girl (1956) (morrisp), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:11 (six months ago) link
I think Tidal is supposed to be the best one for classical?
Also I think Qobuz had the Tzadik catalog before it was widely available on streaming, I first heard of it when Whiney was doing his complete Zorn project (or maybe they were only available for dl??).
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:12 (six months ago) link
I like Qobuz best for classical, it's very high-rez and also has the booklets which are essential to me for vocal music.
― deep wubs and tribral rhythms (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:22 (six months ago) link
Ooh, if it has liner notes for jazz then it's over
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:23 (six months ago) link
beatport cheapo plan is: AAC 128kbp/s
hmmmm that doesn't seem like its as high a number as 256...
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 18:24 (six months ago) link
this sounds so cool on the little external speakers i'm using. imagine if those speakers were not so little!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxYDkDTFgF4
― scott seward, Monday, 30 October 2023 18:26 (six months ago) link
xp Yes that will sound like gar-bazge
― Girl (1956) (morrisp), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:26 (six months ago) link
I am an Apple Music user. A lot of their stuff, particularly classical, is now lossless. Also, I cannot stand the Spotify UI.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:26 (six months ago) link
Didn't Apple launch an entirely separate service for classical(?)
― Girl (1956) (morrisp), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:32 (six months ago) link
Maybe? I haven't seen it. It's still a part of their overall service.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 30 October 2023 18:33 (six months ago) link
I love Qobuz would really encourage people to try it out
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 30 October 2023 19:04 (six months ago) link
I think the Apple Music ClassicalApp is currently iPhone/IOS only (it’s not available for my iMac).
― Dr Drudge (Bob Six), Monday, 30 October 2023 19:11 (six months ago) link
the Bandcamp app is worth a try, although you may need to fiddle with your library to get it to suggest the type of music you want to hear
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 30 October 2023 19:19 (six months ago) link
Booklets are common on Qobuz for more recent releases, pop/jazz/classical/whatever
― deep wubs and tribral rhythms (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 30 October 2023 21:53 (six months ago) link
I've been an Apple Music subscriber since they started. There's certainly been some bumps along the way, but I think it has steadily improved and is a solid product now. Previously was a Spotify subscriber, but got frustrated with their playlist/offline song limits, which I'm sure have probably been lifted by this point, and lack of local music integration. Every time I do open Spotfy by clicking on a playlist or something, I'm just WTF is this interface, it's so confusing to me. But that could just be a lack of familiarity. I'm so used to Apple Music and finding what I want.
― Jeff, Monday, 30 October 2023 22:54 (six months ago) link
I also think Apple has significantly improved their discovery mechanisms, they always have lagged behind Spotify there. Frequently I turn on the autoplay similar songs so it just continues after I finish a playlist or album and I've discovered a lot of new stuff that way.
― Jeff, Monday, 30 October 2023 22:57 (six months ago) link