Is Streaming a Good Idea for Music?

Hi guys!

This may be a bit controversial so bear with me but is streaming really a good idea for music? Back in 2014, it was announced that music streaming would count as part of the UK charts. Since then, I feel that there is not much variety in the UK music charts, notably in the singles charts.

It's not that I don't like the artists that are around these days. I like many different artists, such as Ed Sheeran, Clean Bandit, Zara Larson etc. However, I also like artists who may not necessarily get a fair chance in the singles charts, such as Blossoms. Okay, yes, often a lot of the singles off an album are released after the album is released, so that could play a part of it.  However, the situation still seems different to 10 years ago...

In 2007, the charts were definitely more varied. We had the usual suspects in the charts, such as Girls Aloud, Robbie Williams, Will Young and other pop acts who set the charts alight at the time. However, we also had indie acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and The Killers. Nowadays, we hardly hear a peep of them in the top 20. For example, when Blossoms, a fairly new indie act, released Charlemagne, it only just entered the chart at number 98.

However, if you think about it, the reason why different artists have different successes on the UK chart is down to various factors. Firstly, I think it is down to how popular an artist is. Take One Direction for example. They have millions of fans compared to other musicians. That means millions of downloads, streams and purchases of their songs and albums. It also could be down to how often the musicians are played. For example, Ed Sheeran is played constantly and he managed to get all 16 of his songs on his new album, ÷ (Divide), into the top 20.  Furthermore, it also depends which radio station people listen to. People who listen to a radio station like Radio 1 or Capital FM are more likely to stream musicians like Drake and Little Mix, compared to those who may listen to Radio X, who are more likely to listen to Blossoms. 

So, what can we conclude from all this? Well, music taste is subjective and if everyone liked the same thing, life would be boring. Yes, it is a bit boring that Ed Sheeran's whole album is in the top 20 but hey! If you like Ed, go for it. Also, often on streaming services (I definitely know Spotify does this), they create a playlist of songs by bands that are similar to musicians you already listen to. You never know, in these lists you might find your new favourite band. So, yep some people may think streaming is not good, due to the lack of variety in the charts. However, bearing what I have just said in mind, I believe that streaming is good and that you should listen to what you would like to listen to. 

Em x