Captain Crunch Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Just wondering if you think that downloads are already past their use by date? I'm thinking that in the near future if you wish to purchase an individual title for keeps, that you'll purchase the rights from a music streaming service that will entitle you to play it for ever and also stream it from the Cloud to any of your portable devices anytime anywhere. But what I'm really getting at is that the music will be hi-res 24/192 quality and not the low bit rates currently on offer which will remain for the 'all you can eat' streaming services. So people who want quality sound will get it this way. Discuss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr X Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I don't think music downloads are outdated yet, but will certinaly will be sometime in the future (10-20 years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emesbee Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I'm sure that the music distributors would prefer a model like that, except that they would want you to pay every time you access a title from the 'cloud'. There will also be problems with bandwidth, and availability of the source. It doesn't appeal to me though. I prefer the idea of hi-res music on blu-ray, but I don't know if that will ever take off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proftournesol Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 As emesbee says, bandwidth is the real issue here, 'subscription services' will be the cheap part of the service especially if you end up downloading hi-res! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockandorRoll Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I think massive hardware upgrades are needed to our current communications infrastructure before we can think of that kind of system. The current 3G/4G is already running over capacity, if the population relied on it even more to take music on the go from the cloud, then we would be in big trouble Am i right to be worried with the future of music? We you old buggers worried when the CD started coming out and 'revolutionising' the way we bought and listened to music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fordgtlover Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Geeezz, I can't even get reliable wireless performance across 20 meters for my squeezebox. Technology has some way to go before the delivery model described by the OP is viable for anything other than MP3s, which is already available and in use. I still use CDs in addition to computer based, but either way, I like the idea of the music that I have paid for being under my control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly0071 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Amazon sells a song for 99 US cents in MP3 format. That's the future. I hope everyone loves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Crunch Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 But I'm assuming that given the rate of technological advancement, it may be not that far in the future for bandwidth requirements to be a non issue. Remember dial up Internet? 40mb hard drives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly0071 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I don't disagree with you. As long as people are using torrent sites to download music illegally (it is still illegal despite people claiming otherwise) and there are not enough people willing to pay, all you will get is the non 24 bit quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brumby Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I think massive hardware upgrades are needed to our current communications infrastructure before we can think of that kind of system. The current 3G/4G is already running over capacity, if the population relied on it even more to take music on the go from the cloud, then we would be in big troubleAm i right to be worried with the future of music? We you old buggers worried when the CD started coming out and 'revolutionising' the way we bought and listened to music? Can't say that I was. But when LP vinyl started to take over from 45s, we were shaking in our boots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Crunch Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 I don't disagree with you.As long as people are using torrent sites to download music illegally (it is still illegal despite people claiming otherwise) and there are not enough people willing to pay, all you will get is the non 24 bit quality. The music industry may not be able to prevent mp3 illegal downloads but hi-res that takes much longer to download, well they just may be able to get people to willingly pay for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob.cob Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The music industry may not be able to prevent mp3 illegal downloads but hi-res that takes much longer to download, well they just may be able to get people to willingly pay for that. Hardly. Downloading full Blu Ray rips is now common place. Downloading Hi Res audio is trivial and has been for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I can already access anything in my computer from almost anywhere in the world if I choose to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proftournesol Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Hardly. Downloading full Blu Ray rips is now common place. Downloading Hi Res audio is trivial and has been for years. I think that the difference is that whilst there are people that download many movies, they are downloaded and often only watched once. Music is listened to many times, if many people are streaming a particular new release in hi-res many times a day for many weeks as is common then there will be huge strain on bandwidth and download limits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff65 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I might pay a very small fee for a streaming subscription as a substitute for hearing new music on the radio, but I will never buy individual pieces of music on a medium I don't fully control. Are you listening record companies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krispy Audio Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think if the quality is right, and a good player is available, then sure this is definitely part of the future. Why store things locally when you can access them online. I know the downsides, but I've been using Rhapsody for 6 months now and am happy with the reliability. The only two issues with this setup for me at the moment is the lack of music quality, and the time lag with navigation. I also agree with Jeff that if this is the future, I wouldn't be paying for ownership (ie 'buying' a track), I'd rather do as I do now and just pay the subscription. I wonder myself about formats, and that as popularity of CDs wane in favour of online, if the popularity of LPs will increase because it's so vastly different and can offer a totally different experience.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emesbee Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I like the idea of the music that I have paid for being under my control. Me too. I want to be able to play the music I like whenever I want. I'll be sticking with CDs for quite a while yet (probably forever, given the size of my collection). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly0071 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I will keep on buying SACD/vinyl/CD and 24 bit downloads. Whatever suits and hte best quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emesbee Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I may well buy downloads in the future, but don't like the idea of having to stream from an external site every time I want to play music. If the site goes offline, then so does the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I may never buy a download. Whether I do or not probably depends on how long I live. I'm not keen to do it but will we be forced to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gainphile Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Even now it's more pleasurable to listen to Grooveshark than browsing folders !! I'd say yes. Download is so 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr X Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Even now it's more pleasurable to listen to Grooveshark than browsing folders !! Can you use an IR Media Center remote using Groveshark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdoot Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Streaming high res music on demand from the cloud is probably going to be an option once bandwidth increases and somebody seeks to meet the audiophile market. I'm not confident that we'll ever get the majority of music in high res formats though. More likely just to be niche labels as it is today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I could upload all my music to the cloud but they check on the content of your private spaces and shut you down, even though you are the only one using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Even now it's more pleasurable to listen to Grooveshark than browsing folders !!I'd say yes. Download is so 2011. Why do you think this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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