I'm a bit perplexed.

I've seen several occasion where people claim to dislike downloading a mp3 posted in the Songs section of the forum. I've seen people say they simply refuse to listen to a mp3 and ask for a streaming alternative.

I use the Quicktime player plugin and any mp3 that I download automatically streams.

The mp3 ends up in my browser cache and it can be deleted at any moment I choose.

Furthermore my MSE scans the mp3 during the download and will flag any problems.  I've never had a flag or a problem from downloading a mp3.

The only difference that I can see is that the mp3 that is only available for streaming has an auto self delete function so that it does not linger in your cache.

The crazy thing is, if I find that I like one of the streaming songs I am listening too, I simply save the mp3 and put it in a folder with the artists name on it.

Streaming mp3s seem just like regular old mp3s to me, except for the fact that they are usually low resolution and don't sound as nice as they can.

So I am perplexed... when I post a carefully compressed 320kbs mp3 song it seems like a good thing, but I see that many people claim they would would prefer to listen to an automatically compressed, possibly re-rendered, approximately 128kbs mp3 from a corporate website that makes profit off the streams and sells user data to advertisers.

I don't get it.

Can someone explain why some demonstrably voice their preference for streaming so often?

Thanks in advance.


best regards,
mike

so much music , so little time

I'll quote myself: "I use the Quicktime player plugin and any mp3 that I download automatically streams."

It starts playing automatically and it starts playing before the download is finished... it starts playing as quickly as any "streaming" site, often times quicker than the ones that loads a webpage etc. before the "streaming" starts.

Is there a perception that streaming is faster than downloading?

best,
mike

I prefer to download and then listen. It's just a more enjoyable experience, and if I really like the song, I'll keep it. But I can only do that if downloading is an option.

I think anyone who posts songs and invites critiques should make their files downloadable, preferably at a reasonable bitrate of at least 192kb/s. I have a collection of songs that were made by forum acquaintances and brought to my attention via the Songs forum. And they're not just on my hard drive, many have earned a permanent spot in my pocket MP3 player. I may not post many comments on the Songs forum, but I do listen, and usually more than once. 

Wouldn't the correct term be 

an mp3

?

Serious question.

a mp3 sounds funny (language wise) to me

I don't often post songs on the Songs Forum, but I like to use SoundCloud and give people the option to download.  I always upload it at 320kbps and if you download it that's the version you get.  When I send the link to friends or post it to a forum I generally point out that the download version will be a higher quality rendering.

I just downloaded the "play hi-fi" choice of I Am and it was 128kbs.

I was shocked when I downloaded the "play lo-fi" version and learned it was a 24kbs mono mp3... if I had the choice I would not let such a lo res file become a representation of all the hard work you put in to making your music.

Can you choose to not have a lo-fi version on sound click?



I guess the 128kbs streams almost 3 times faster than a 320kbs version.


all the best,
mike

It's simple, although if you have allowed Quicktime access to your browser then any ol' mp3 will play in that after it has loaded it's not always convenient and some don't want Quicktime as the default file player on their browser or even installed on their systems.
 
Streaming starts playing as soon as the the buffer is full enough and you don't have to wait for it to download if it turns out the file sucks and you didn't want to hear anymore.  You get the option to download as well if you like the file you've just played and the author has given permission to download.
 
Seems obvious really.  As somebody said so much music so little time.  Who wants to wait up to 5 minutes to find out something sucked?
 
Streaming is better for .wavs and .flacs even where the wait time is even longer than mp3 so quality isn't the issue. 
 
It's easy enough to put a streaming app on your web server.

mike_mccue


I'm a bit perplexed.

I've seen several occasion where people claim to dislike downloading a mp3 posted in the Songs section of the forum. I've seen people say they simply refuse to listen to a mp3 and ask for a streaming alternative.

I use the Quicktime player plugin and any mp3 that I download automatically streams.

The mp3 ends up in my browser cache and it can be deleted at any moment I choose.

Furthermore my MSE scans the mp3 during the download and will flag any problems.  I've never had a flag or a problem from downloading a mp3.

The only difference that I can see is that the mp3 that is only available for streaming has an auto self delete function so that it does not linger in your cache.

The crazy thing is, if I find that I like one of the streaming songs I am listening too, I simply save the mp3 and put it in a folder with the artists name on it.

Streaming mp3s seem just like regular old mp3s to me, except for the fact that they are usually low resolution and don't sound as nice as they can.

So I am perplexed... when I post a carefully compressed 320kbs mp3 song it seems like a good thing, but I see that many people claim they would would prefer to listen to an automatically compressed, possibly re-rendered, approximately 128kbs mp3 from a corporate website that makes profit off the streams and sells user data to advertisers.

I don't get it.

Can someone explain why some demonstrably voice their preference for streaming so often?

Thanks in advance.


best regards,
mike

I prefer streaming a preview w/ an option to download.


I like a quick preview via streaming. If I like what I hear, I'll download it. My machine is configured that any mp3 I download is automatically imported and copied in my iTunes music folder - which is the desired behavior for me. I then only have one folder to take care of, and it's my default "download" folder.


If I downloaded everything, I'd end up w/ 2 copies of everything I audition. Might not seem like much of a hassle, but sometimes, I hear things which aren't even worth that much of an effort. I'm not referring to the Song forums in particular. I prefer to download only "keepers".

Keepers?

Like THIS?