Online Music Streaming Becoming Increasingly Popular

Once upon a time it would take longer to download a song from the internet than it would to actually play the song. Thankfully things have come a long way since then and music streaming is an everyday reality rather than a far of dream. its safe to say that the internet has had a massive impact on how we buy (or not) and discover music. It has also opened up the possibilities when it comes to how we listen to music.



These days even some pay as you go phones come with music downloads (although the less said about Nokia's Comes With Music the better). Most internet users stream music from Youtube even if they don't subscribe to any online radio stations. A recent study by Rajar has investigated the usage of online radio and found that its popularity is rising rapidly. Last month alone in the UK 4.5 million people listened to online radio compared to 2.9 million in October of last year.

Rajar's Measurement of Internet Delivered Audio Services (Midas) report also showed that listening to podcasts and to listen-again services such as the BBC iPlayer was also growing, but at a reduced pace.

One of the most popular online radio services is Spotify who allow users to stream millions of tracks in exchange for either listening to adverts or paying a monthly subscription. Spotify has some major flaws (its search function is basic at best and discovering new music is a struggle) but it allows you to choose what you listen to which means that it is under your control. Ideally Spotify would take some tips from Last.fm in order to become an interactive community.



Its clear to see why Spotify would be more popular than traditional radio, whatever you listen to chances are you will find something you like on Spotify. In this sense it caters for a much larger potential user base than any commercial radio station could without needing to appeal to everyone. What Spotify really needs in some user interaction so that it is easier to find new artists which are relevant to your tastes and get recommendations from people who like the same things you do.

Is Offline Computing a Thing of the Past?

Microsoft have announced that their Cloud Computing Platform Windows Azure will 'come out of test mode' in January next year and be fully operational by February. This is a big step for Microsoft who know that they need to have a top notch Cloud Computing (simple explanation) offering in order to compete. It also shows that Cloud Computing is where tech is heading. Although this has been known for some time Microsoft's announcement may well speed things up.

While many are ready to write off Microsoft as an declining icon of computing's last generation, Ozzie sees Microsoft positioned to leapfrog some of the companies that tend to be thought of as the leaders of the cloud computing world--names like Amazon, Salesforce and Google. - Cnet

Most of use use Cloud Computing applications for our personal email accounts with providers such as Gmail or Hotmail. Looking to the future more and more computing will be achieved via a web browser without the need for offline software. Consider the following examples you may already use:

1. Spotify

Spotify allows you to stream music over the internet without having an offline copy. It means that you don't need to carry around your music collection on an mp3 player, you can access it from an internet enabled device.



2. Skype

Skype allows you to instant message your contact over the internet and can be downloaded to a range of web enabled devices. If you use the Skype Mobile or the mobile app you can make VOIP (voice over IP) calls and thus bypass the phones traditional call making technology in order to make free calls.



3. Picnik.com

Picnik lets you edit photos via your web browser. It has all the basic functions the average users needs such as cropping, rotating and adjusting contrast. Once you are done editing your photo you simply download it back to your desktop.



As I said in a comment on a recent Independent article on Azure:

Cloud computing is a great idea (I use various online tools such as Gmail, Picnik and Remember The Milk) but it relies on users having a good connection speed so infrastructure improvements will help it to take off.
If you take Cloud computing to it's logical conclusion all we will need in the future is a device that acts as a browser with no need for offline tools of any kind. You can already see this happening on mobile devices with the increasing popularity of apps like Skype for mobile and Windows Live mobile messenger which bypass the normal call making methods in favor of VOIP calls.

Perhaps the future will see us carrying around mobile web devices with cameras and the ability to make traditional calls may be forgotten. If everything you need to do (or more realistically, want to do) can be handled by online apps all you really need is a portable web browser.

Spotify Helps to 'Curb Music Piracy'

A recent survey has shown that those who use Spotify to stream songs for free are less inclined to illegally download music. Of those questioned who admitted to illegally downloading two thirds said that using Spotify had encouraged them to reduce the amount they downloaded.



This makes you wonder if people want to own music or just want access to it? Now that it is possible to download almost any album for free has owning a collection lost its appeal? CD sales continue to fall whilst legal downloads become more and more popular. It will be interesting to see if the popularity of music streaming will have a negative effect on legal mp3 sales.

Whilst users with a free Spotify account cannot own or stream songs offline they can have round the clock access. Those with a premium account can stream offline and on mobile devices such as the iPhone or the HTC Hero for £10 a month. So far the mobile app is only available with a monthly contract rather than on pay as you go phones so bandwidth limits are not an issue.



Legal downloads continue to rise in popularity with Amazon's mp3 store being a positive example. It has become the second most popular provider of mp3s behind iTunes perhaps due to its household name and lack of DRM crippled files. As CD retailers close their doors it is clear that the music industry needs to change its model. Spotify may well be leading the change.

Spotify Comes to the HTC Hero

The Spotify iPhone App was released back in July for premium subscribers. It allows users to stream an unlimited amount of free music via their mobile phone for £9.99 per month and includes the ability to create offline playlists.

The Spotify catalog includes over 5 Million tracks from 375,209 artists. Users can sign up for free although the service is temporarily invite only at the moment. Free users are unable to connect via mobile phone.

Spotify have recently announced that they are now working with Mobile Phone provider 3 to bring the Spotify mobile app to the HTC Hero. So far only customers with a HTC Hero on a 24 month contract will be able to use the app which is being launched next month.

Three also hinted that their deal with Spotify will eventually extend to other products including mobile broadband. Presumably Spotify streams will be excluded from monthly download allowances for mobile broadband customers. Three have previously embraced Skype's VOIP technology so they clearly aren't afraid to move with the times.