Largely on the back of paid streaming subscriptions, the music industry is having a revival. According to the IFPI Global Music Report, 112 million users subscribed to paid streaming services in 2016 for a revenue growth of 60 percent that helped offset a decline in digital downloads and physical purchases. Both the recording and audio manufacturing industries are looking to capitalize on this growth by offering greater streaming catalogs and creating better music streaming solutions.
In this blog, we help you find the best way to join the streaming music bandwagon in your New York City or Long Island home. Keep reading to find out which streaming services offer the best quality and how you can upgrade to streaming music services. This way you’re not relegated to listening on your phone or computer.
SEE MORE: Elevate Your Music Listening Experience with Whole Home Audio
Best Music Streaming Services
Deciding on the right streaming service to use can depend greatly on what your priorities are. Below we highlight the ones we like to use most—though if you’re an avid fan of a specific band or artist, you should always make sure they don’t have exclusive deals with a particular service.
Spotify: The streaming giant has the most subscribers for a reason. With most services offering similar catalogs, Spotify stands out for its usability. It's easy for you to find and store the artists and playlists that interest you. If you want to expand your repertoire, it also creates Discover Weekly playlists for you based on what you listen to. Spotify also lets you listen to podcasts directly on their platform, so you don't have to switch apps to pull up your favorites.
Tidal: For the true audiophiles, Tidal's paid tier is still the way to go. They offer files in FLAC format, which are of a CD-level and studio master quality, both far superior to other streaming services. To take advantage of their hi-fi settings, you’ll need the right equipment (which we’ll discuss later in this blog). Tidal also boasts exclusive deals with some of the biggest artists in the recording industry including Beyoncé and most of Prince’s discography.
Apple Music: The rising star in the streaming world is ideal for users looking to discover new artists. From the moment you sign in, Apple Music works with you to create playlists that will appeal to you. Due to its deep ties to the music industry, it's also great for new releases which sometimes debut on the service before expanding to other platforms.
Best Streaming Sound Systems
Now that you know which streaming services you want to use, it’s time to figure out how you want to listen to them. Luckily, there are now a variety of wireless sound systems you can install that let you pull up Spotify or Apple Music on a mobile app then play it on the speakers of your choice. There are two ways that you can do this: install standalone wireless speakers or add streaming capabilities to your existing whole home audio system.
We can help you install one of Sonos' wireless speakers; then using their intuitive app, you can pull up the streaming services you want to listen to or even pull up your own library. To enhance your streaming experience, we strengthen your home network to make sure there's no lagging involved when you're listening to your favorite music.
For the best audio quality, we recommend using network enabled amplifiers or AV receivers –like the Sonos Connect—to add streaming capabilities to your existing speakers. This way you can stick to your high-end speakers while still taking advantage of the convenience of streaming. This is especially important if you’re using services like Tidal. Otherwise, you may not be able to enjoy the differences between low-quality and high-resolution streams.
Depending on your preferences, we can design a streaming music solution that makes the most sense for your New York or Long Island home. To learn more, you can call us at 516-997-5800 or contact us online.