Music, just like every other medium out there, is prone to going through phases.
Records, cassette tapes, CDs, MP3 players — at this point, it should be clear that music is no stranger to change. Over the past few years, music has been going through one of its biggest changes yet: the switch to streaming.
With sites like Pandora and Spotify popularizing the idea of an online radio, it was only a matter of time before more and more music made the jump to streaming. For many, it's the easiest way to listen to music — with that being said, music streaming isn't perfect. At this point, it's impossible to stream a song at an uncompressed (or "perfect") quality; the bandwidth just isn't there. Unfortunately, some songs take a noticeable hit when it comes to quality, and there isn't much that can be done to fix it.
For some artists, it's just not worth it. Take Neil Young, for instance: instead of letting his music be played at a lower quality, he's decided to simply remove all of his work from online streaming services.
From Neil Young's official Facebook page:
"Streaming has ended for me. I hope this is ok for my fans. It's not because of the money, although my share (like all the other artists) was dramatically reduced by bad deals made without my consent.
It's about sound quality. I don't need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution. I don't feel right allowing this to be sold to my fans. It's bad for my music. For me, It's about making and distributing music people can really hear and feel. I stand for that.
When the quality is back, I'll give it another look. Never say never."
It's harsh, and saying that streaming services offer the worst quality in broadcast history may be a bit much, but Young isn't wrong when he talks about the audio downgrade. As it stands, Young's fans seem somewhat divided: comments on the post range from, "Good job!" to "Shame on you" — though that's to be expected on the Internet today.
As the technology evolves, it's almost guaranteed that the quality will get better — whether or not that'll ever be good enough remains to be seen.
