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Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

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Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#21

Post by runarberg »

systemvoltage wrote: post #4

I can't remember the last time I sat down and spent dedicated time just listening to music. It is the same restlessness that I have when I try to medidate. Songs are just boring and I need to have an excuse to listen to music - like driving so I can optimize the time. "I am driving, might as well take advantage of some music". The internet has ruined peace, fun, and everything that I remember growing up. :-(

My advice, go for a walk. Download VLC on your phone (or any alternative that is ad-free), upload a CD or two you like to it, find some headphones (any headphones will do), start your CD and walk out the door. Walk as long as you feel like, stop for a soda pop if you feel like it and pause your CD while you are disturbed. If you arrive back before the CD finishes, that’s fine, try again for a longer walk (or a shorter CD) next time. If the CD finishes before your walk is over, great! You successfully listened to music. Start your second CD and walk home.

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#23

Post by lamp_book »

wolco2 wrote: post #10
systemvoltage wrote: post #4

I can't remember the last time I sat down and spent dedicated time just listening to music. It is the same restlessness that I have when I try to medidate. Songs are just boring and I need to have an excuse to listen to music - like driving so I can optimize the time. "I am driving, might as well take advantage of some music". The internet has ruined peace, fun, and everything that I remember growing up. :-(

Try listening to older music. It's less boring and tries to bring out an emotion. A lot of the newer music has proshopped out any real emotion.

This is the sort of comment that I don't think belongs on HN. You can't trash something you don't understand and claim it a curious and contrarian view.

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#24

Post by matt-attack »

dvlsg wrote: post #15
wolco2 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try listening to older music. It's less boring and tries to bring out an emotion. A lot of the newer music has proshopped out any real emotion.

I can't say I agree with that. There is a lot of really good new music, just like there is a lot of bad old music. The difference is the bad old music has already been forgotten, but the bad new music is recent enough to still be somewhat memorable. For now.

So you’re saying the world is going to forget “Who let the dogs out?”

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#26

Post by mym1990 »

systemvoltage wrote: post #4

I can't remember the last time I sat down and spent dedicated time just listening to music. It is the same restlessness that I have when I try to medidate. Songs are just boring and I need to have an excuse to listen to music - like driving so I can optimize the time. "I am driving, might as well take advantage of some music". The internet has ruined peace, fun, and everything that I remember growing up. :-(

The internet has ruined none of those things, you've just let yourself believe that it has. Just because you are unable to sit down and focus for 5 minutes does not mean something other than yourself is at fault.

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#27

Post by jasonv »

systemvoltage wrote: post #4

I can't remember the last time I sat down and spent dedicated time just listening to music. It is the same restlessness that I have when I try to medidate. Songs are just boring and I need to have an excuse to listen to music - like driving so I can optimize the time. "I am driving, might as well take advantage of some music". The internet has ruined peace, fun, and everything that I remember growing up. :-(

I listen to almost every new album each week in the broad areas of music I like.

I just can’t find time for albums, and it makes me a bit sad. The latest “album” that I listen to regularly would be Thousand Suns by Linkin Park and the instrumental version of the Dalai Lama’s last album.

I have music on all the time, mostly Radio Paradise and genre playlists.

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#28

Post by dragonwriter »

systemvoltage wrote: post #4

I can't remember the last time I sat down and spent dedicated time just listening to music. It is the same restlessness that I have when I try to medidate. Songs are just boring and I need to have an excuse to listen to music - like driving so I can optimize the time. "I am driving, might as well take advantage of some music". The internet has ruined peace, fun, and everything that I remember growing up. :-(

> Songs are just boring and I need to have an excuse to listen to music - like driving so I can optimize the time. "I am driving, might as well take advantage of some music". The internet has ruined peace, fun, and everything that I remember growing up. :-(

Why do you think the problem you are experiencing is the internet's fault?

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#29

Post by runarberg »

denimnerd42 wrote: post #5
shadowofneptune wrote: post #3

Simple answer might just be that there's only so much that can differentiate one streaming service from another. If we're making comparisons to the traditional music industry, the streaming services might not be the labels -- they could be the recording formats. Just as with buying a CD player vs buying a Minidisc player, very few people with go through the cost or effort to use many different forms of media.

I still think automated playlist creation has a ways to go. That would be the differentiator to me. I hate spending time creating playlists because I have horrible memory of bands and song names. For some reason there isn't enough feedback on the app I use though. For example there's no "I love this song, but you've played this song too much for me lately"

I’m one of the people that still tune in to the radio and listen music programmed by professionals. I don’t subscribe to any streaming service, so I can’t speak for the decline, but perhaps during the pandemic more people spending more time at home find robotic programing on the streaming services inferior to human curated music on the radio.

Re: Streaming Is Stalling: Can Music Keep Up in the Attention Economy?

#30

Post by Lammy »

lamp_book wrote: post #23
wolco2 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try listening to older music. It's less boring and tries to bring out an emotion. A lot of the newer music has proshopped out any real emotion.

This is the sort of comment that I don't think belongs on HN. You can't trash something you don't understand and claim it a curious and contrarian view.

I’d be willing to believe there’s a kernel of truth in there despite the harsh wording. Maybe the songs that become hits today do sound different than songs that became hits in past eras due to the different ways people tend to listen to music in those eras, like what sounds catchy through an iPhone versus what sounded nice on FM on an old Hi-Fi?
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