Physical vs streaming music: Debate rages on

While some swear by LPs and CDs, others think there’s nothing better than streaming music

It is a divided world out there when it comes to music listening preferences – streaming versus physical media like LPs or CDs.

The debate is pretty heated, whether it is on the internet or among a group of friends. It is very similar to reading news on an app as opposed to reading a newspaper. There are arguments for the convenience of digital as opposed to the experience of reading the physical copy.

LPs (vinyl records) have made a big comeback and music lovers are a thrilled lot, at least those who love this form.

Those who love to listen to music with physical media are largely audiophiles and are very particular about the whole ‘listening session’. They believe there is a huge difference between hearing and listening to music.

Listening to music is an experience. Music playing during working out or doing household chores is just hearing music.

The owner of records and CDs will spend some time selecting the album(s) of choice from the collection, take it over to the audio system rack, load the CD or place the LP on the turntable and get it going.

Besides, collecting LPs is like collecting art. Ask any music lover who collects LPs – the outer sleeve is almost as precious as the record itself. Obviously, quite a bit of effort has gone into the artwork on the cardboard sleeve.

The turntable will also need some special care. The stylus and LPs need to be cleaned, according to the requirment and one has to be careful with the equipment.

Even with a CD, DVD or a Blu-ray disc, one still had some physical connect with the whole experience of listening to music.

There seems to be less resistance to the relegation of DVDs and Blu-rays with the onslaught of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video but a section of music lovers are seen resisting Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, Tidal and the like.

Most believe that streaming is not all that bad. You get to listen to a lot more than the physical collection you possess.

Plus, everything is on one smart phone or tablet and you don’t need space to accommodate all those LPs, CDs and audio equipment. These days, stereo and home theatre receivers are compatible with services like Spotify and the music can be played with big speakers.

There’s also a section that believes streaming does not always give high-quality music because of sampling and compression. That too is probably a thing of the past because some services come with high-resolution track options.

There’s another category that swears by LPs and CDs, but are open to streaming as well. For example, they will probably listen to a bit of streaming music in bed at night.