April 10, 2019 – The tradition of purchasable music began with it being sold to listeners by physical media such as vinyl, cassettes, and CDs. As this transformation continues we witness a fall of sales in tangible music over the last several years. With the industry transforming globally and in the Middle East, we witness the forgoing of physical music to modern digital services. The digital platforms and applications are now playing an essential role in this shift into online music services.
Many studies have recognized the weakening of physical sales in the modern world of listening to music on demand. Industry experts used to wonder if users would embrace ongoing trends of monthly subscriptions over the permanent possession of music albums and songs. However today, they wonder how much more will music streaming evolve in the future. With figures from National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (SNPP) reflecting that streaming revenues grew by 23% and now account for 57% (€335 million) of the music industry of France in 2018.
From a user’s perceptive this conversion is logical, as for as little as $5 a month you unlock unlimited music, or even for free in certain cases. For instance, Deezer, a global music streaming service, offers instant access to one of the largest music libraries with 53 million tracks. With music lovers in 180 countries who enjoy unlimited music on mobile and web, and has progressed to serve 14 million monthly active users and 6 million paid subscribers.
Digital music services have also seen a rise for allowing the download of tracks to be heard offline on mobile and computer devices, rather than the hassle of purchasing from music stores. It is also more cost efficient to stream than purchase albums in store or even through digital intermediaries like iTunes Store. Furthermore, music streaming avoids users to interact with pirated or bootlegged downloads that may contaminate devices with malware.
Digital music streaming services usually include offers such as “free subscription option” that grant users a one-month free trial of its premium services. With an addition to the free trails, services offer couriered content for users catering to local populations. Similarly, applications like Deezer provide the MENA residents with locally tailored music content, including playlists by local music editors, such as Shabby Essentials. Since their MENA entry incorporates an exclusive digital distribution agreement with Rotana Group.
Nonetheless, music streaming applications facilitate music fans in expanding their musical horizons, by discovering quality music and artists in a simpler manner. Through special features offered in music platforms like Deezer, such as “Flow” where music recommendations are made based on users’ tastes and locations, aiming to predict what people may want to listen to. “Flow” then creates a recommended personalized list and plays an infinite stream of music, playlists, albums, mixes, and more, chosen just for the app users. Assisting you to broaden your collection, potentially to discover your new favorite artist or genre.
Alternatively, since songs are compressed for MP3s and streaming, bits get removed to make song files smaller. With lower quality streams are typically at 64kbps, mid-range sitting at 96kps, and high-quality ranging streams range from 160kps to 320kbps. Hence, digital-based music streaming services offer effective high-quality audio to ensure the greatest value for your “bang for the buck”. Through HiFi streams at 16-Bit / 44.1 kHz of FLAC quality on Deezer, you can hear all the bits that existed with the original analog audio sources. In simple English, it’s like putting your glasses on, but for your ears. Allowing the region’s residents to stream their preferred music with an optimum quality of sound.