Streaming services are becoming consumers' music delivery platform of choice
What happens next to music could shape the internet for decades to come, writes Jamie Carter
In Hong Kong, the tide towards streaming music appears unstoppable, with the likes of Soliton, KKBox, Moov and especially Spotify gradually supplanting digital downloads as the dominant way that we listen to music.
It's the latter that's sealing this trend worldwide, too, with 10 million subscribers and 40 million active users across 56 countries listening to Spotify's 30 million tracks. Its popularity hasn't gone unnoticed.
iTunes is already looking very old hat, and even Spotify is relatively raw
"There's a huge shift in consumer behaviour going on from individual track or playlist downloads to streaming services," says Jeremy Silver, author of Digital Medieval: The First Twenty Years of Music on the Web … and the Next Twenty Years.
Perhaps the biggest hint that Spotify-style, subscription-based online music streaming is destined to become the default way for all of us to consume music is Apple's acquisition of Beats.
Although known mostly for its recognisable Beats by Dr Dre headphones, it's the company's fledgling Beats Music streaming service that Apple wanted, presumably to help lend a complete refresh of its iTunes service.
"Music is quickly evolving; iTunes is relatively new and is already looking very old hat, and even Spotify is relatively raw," says Silver. "There's a lot of work to be done to get them to be mainstream products."