The History of Streaming Music
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| Photo: Devices used to enjoy music throughout time |
By: Jose Mendez
Published May, 2018
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Before there was Spotify and Pandora, there was CD players, MP3s and Ipods a time many of us can remember but even before there was CD's and Vinyls there was the Phonograph. History of music playing started with the phonograph where music would be engraved into a plastic tube then used to play on the device. After that invention, a music company saw the opportunity to grow, creating the vinyl records we know now. The vinyls could hold more than one song and it was easy to include a variety of genres.
The video to the right gives the history of the music industry and how much music production has advanced from vinyls and CD's to online music streaming platforms such as Pandora and Spotify in particular. The video also brings up the question as to what will be the next big thing after online streaming platforms.
If we conduct a SWOT analysis for the current online streaming platforms as a way to deliver music we can analyze that this form of music delivery is can be improved.
Strengths: The strengths of online music streaming is that music can be played anywhere without having to use a music player, just easily accessed through your smart device.
Weakness: As online music streaming becomes more predominant, there is a lot of space for piracy or illegally downloading the music, taking away from the possible customers.
Opportunity: Many music platforms have a opportunity to grow like their competitor Spotify, which offers any kind of music at the tip of your fingers and with premium users, this music can be accessed anytime and anywhere
Threats: The technology age will continue to grow and along with this growth there is new forms of media and access. I predict that just like CDs and Vinyls sales dropping drastically online music platforms will too.
The question is what will push this industry further, will new technologies hurt it or propel it further?
Strengths: The strengths of online music streaming is that music can be played anywhere without having to use a music player, just easily accessed through your smart device.
Weakness: As online music streaming becomes more predominant, there is a lot of space for piracy or illegally downloading the music, taking away from the possible customers.
Opportunity: Many music platforms have a opportunity to grow like their competitor Spotify, which offers any kind of music at the tip of your fingers and with premium users, this music can be accessed anytime and anywhere
Threats: The technology age will continue to grow and along with this growth there is new forms of media and access. I predict that just like CDs and Vinyls sales dropping drastically online music platforms will too.
The question is what will push this industry further, will new technologies hurt it or propel it further?
Great use of a SWOT analysis! However, I'd argue that the availability of streaming platforms has cut back on piracy in a significant way. The trend of illegally downloading music has been steadily decreasing for the last 5 years. A weakness of streaming services worth noting is the relatively low reimbursement rates for artists. However, as more companies just on the streaming bandwagon, I suspect artists will be able to pick which streaming service works best for them!
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