“The digital revolution in the way we consume recorded music is roaring ahead,” writes Ivan Hewett in Friday’s (5/20) Telegraph (London). “And streaming is rapidly overtaking downloading as the preferred method of accessing music digitally, with revenues up 45 per cent last year. … so far at least, this revolution in the way we listen to music is being shaped by pop. Classical has barely got a look-in. In a way, this is no surprise: classical music makes up just 3.2 per cent of the streaming market, where the three-minute pop song reigns supreme. … So how can classical music find its own home in this brave new digital world? … The biggest problem is that classical music doesn’t come in neat little packages called songs, each with a unique name. It’s bundled into genres, so many pieces have similar names like ‘string quartet’ or ‘sonata.’ … What’s more, many if not most pieces have been recorded multiple times, sometimes by the same artist. … Streaming sites are ill-equipped to deal with this complexity. Fortunately, however, there is light on the horizon. This week an exciting new classical music streaming service launches called Grammofy.com. It joins a burgeoning market of streaming services dedicated to classical music, including Arkiv Music (arkivmusic.com) and Classics Online HD*LL (shop.classicsonlinehd.com).”
Posted May 20, 2016
