My Timeline with Music Streaming Services

I am a dedicated and passionate music enthusiast. My life is centered on listening to music, reading about the industry, and talking about new songs and artists with my friends. My day starts with my morning alarm waking me up with a new song, and my day ends with music accompanying my teeth brushing - an almost literal 24 hour/7 day a week music cycle. To summarize, music is a critical part of my life.

I have always loved music. My passion began at a young age (I can vividly remember the first CD I bought - Usher's "Confessions" when I was about eight years old) but it was not until my later high school years when my interest morphed into an obsession. During high school I consumed music by listening to the sound while travelling in a car on FM radio and Sirius XM, as well as on my computer via iTunes. When I entered my junior year in high school, I discovered SoundCloud. SoundCloud changed my life as this newly developing format of music consumption exposed me to diverse genres. SoundCloud was simple to navigate and I found a new interesting sound, electronic dance music (EDM) which at the time was just starting to attract a loyal following and generate buzz. Radio offered some musical choices as did iTunes, but neither medium provided access to EDM music. SoundCloud offered access and immediate gratification to a whole new listening experience (Babin, 2016, p. 29). SoundCloud was the first streaming service that I had ever used and the convenience the platform offered transformed the way I listened to music. Not only was I able to find both new artists and styles of music, but I was also able to listen to music whenever and wherever I choose for FREE! SoundCloud transformed the way I listened to songs, and I stayed loyal to the company even as new players including Spotify entered the field, until that is, Apple Music entered the fray. 

As a loyal SoundCloud consumer, I remained a dedicated user of the service, even after Spotify launched, as I loved the platform the company offered and of equal importance, I did not have to pay for the service. Although Spotify had a free option, and even went so far as to offer a student discount price option, I did not want to switch services. My main hesitation with Spotify was that the service did not allow me to transfer my already saved music from iTunes to Spotify. Additionally, a large proportion of the music I enjoyed on SoundCloud was not featured on Spotify. However, I did begin to distance myself from SoundCloud when Apple Music launched. Apple Music's streaming platform offered a free, 3-month trial program that was free from any advertisements as a way to test out the service the company offered. I enjoyed using Apple Music, but when the free three-month trial elapsed, I chose to continue using SoundCloud. A few months later, my decision to remain loyal to SoundCloud changed and I made the full-time shift to Apple Music. The reason behind my transfer was simple - Drake was going to premier his new surprise mixtape "What a Time to Be Alive" with Future exclusively through Apple Music. Apple literally forced me to use the company’s platform by partnering with a superstar (Babin, 2016, p. 148); a musician who also happens to be my favorite artist.

Currently, Spotify is my main source for music streaming services. My current preference centers on my priority, which is the discovery of new musical sounds and artists. This past summer I worked in Los Angeles at a music talent agency that required me to know the latest information on new music and up-in-coming artists. Although, I loved using Apple Music, the platform does not prioritize artist discovery and as such I could no longer utilize the service to help me meet the demands of my job. Spotify, on the other hand, enables customers to easily discover new music. Every Monday, Spotify creates a playlist of music the company anticipates each consumer will like based on the individual’s previous listens. Also, Spotify has playlists such as "Fresh Finds" and "Release Radar" all centered on rising new music which have not yet become radio hits, just yet. Finally, Spotify, at least at the time I signed up, had a cheaper student rate, while Apple Music only offered one non-discounted plan. Currently, I am really enjoying everything Spotify has to offer and plan on remaining a loyal customer for years to come. Of course, the music streaming business is evolving and there is always the possibility that either Apple will offer greater access to new artists at a cheaper price point, or a new player will emerge.

Citations:
Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (7th ed., pp. 29 & pp. 148). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Babb, F. (2015, September 20). Apple Music is exclusively premiering Drake and Future’s surprise album on Beats 1 Radio. Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/20/apple-music-is-exclusively-premiering-the-new-album-from-drake-and-future-on-beats-1-radio/.