It has never been easier to access the creative media which we consume day to day; videos, articles and music can be obtained by the click of a button. With Spotify Wrapped coming out today, it brings to bear the question of whether ‘traditional’ methods of music consumption could ever compare with the speed, accessibility, and endless choice that can be found on the world’s biggest music streaming platform. What is the point of buying a record or a CD or tuning into a live radio show, when all of it is accessible right at your fingertips?
Spotify’s dominance in the music streaming market is unrivalled, even by significant competitors like Apple Music and Amazon Music. Spotify’s accessible and almost universal library of music has a resounding 240 million paying monthly subscribers. Not only that, but their algorithms can tailor the song choices to your music preferences, knowing exactly what you want to hear, even before you do.
The times when you get your new favourite song by tuning into your favourite disk jockey, or combing through reams of vinyl sleeves, would logically seem to be dead and buried. They simply cannot keep up with the immense speed and efficiency of digital streaming. Yet, oddly enough, the Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR) statistics for the third quarter of 2024 show a record breaking 50.9 million adults reached by radio in the UK, increasing by 100,000 from the second quarter. Similarly, the market for vinyl records is at its highest peak since 1990. It is a clear resurgence that is unprecedented in the last three decades.
But surely that doesn’t make sense. Pit digital streaming against listening to a vinyl record or tuning into a radio station, the versatility and personalisation of a Spotify playlist wins out every time. A radio station chooses the music for you, you can’t skip or pause, you might not enjoy listening to the presenter, or want to get involved in a quiz or a game; a Spotify playlist is just your music, no adverts or disruptions, you can skip or pause or rewind at any time you choose (if you’re paying that £5.99 a month). A vinyl record is clunky, it takes up space, they can be expensive, they need cleaning and care, you need a record player, and you can only listen to one artist for the entirety of an album. Spotify takes up only a maximum of 1GB of storage on your device, and you can listen to that exact same album – alongside billions of others. So, again, it begs the question: why on earth have those numbers gone up?
On a personal level, the answer is clear. It just isn’t human. Music is an expression of the human experience on a fundamental level, it has been a way for us to express complex emotions, and to tell stories that invoke powerful feelings. The knowledge that behind a disk on the radio is a host who is passionate about what they’re playing to you, cannot be replaced by the AI Spotify DJ function. An example that comes to mind is Jack Saunders, and his New Music Show on BBC Radio 1. You can hear in his interviews, his links, in the songs that he plays, that he eats, sleeps, and breathes the music. There is an excitement and joy that brings listeners coming back for more, not only to discover new music, but to go on that journey with him.
That same passion is the same reason why vinyl music is on the rise. There is something unique about being able to hold, touch, smell and hear the music you love all within one experience. It brings in so many more different sensations, as well as being able to own your own piece of art. Not only that, you can tell a lot about a person, how they grew up, how they live their life, their attitudes and opinions, by the music they listen to. A pile of vinyl records is a physical manifestation of that, and it is irreplaceable by any picture on any screen, however big or varied a playlist may be.
There is also another benefit to Spotify, that, to many, has become a factor in their reliance on ‘traditional’ music: there is simply too much choice. Almost endless choices and possibilities can be incredibly overwhelming, and the ability to hyperniche tastes has meant that, for me at least, I end up skipping half my playlist a week after I make it. Radio, vinyl and CD listening takes that option away. Often, a song I would skip on a playlist, when I hear it on the radio, feels that bit more special – and of course, I can phone in to the station and say a song was rubbish, but who has the time or effort for that. Similarly, the ritual of switching on the vinyl player, gently removing the sleeve, carefully positioning the needle, and hitting spin, makes skipping or removing the record feel pointless, and makes listening much more satisfying.
Of course, there are other more practical reasons why radio listenership in particular is on the rise. Radio does not require any need for the curation of a playlist, especially for those who find themselves indifferent to certain genres of music; it is much easier to whack on the radio in the car than to dig through Spotify playlists to find ‘the right one’. The work is done for you. Many stations also run competitions and games that can have cash prizes, which are always going to draw in the listeners. Celebrity presenters are bound to bring in many listeners, with big names like Jamie Lang from Made In Chelsea on BBC Radio 1, and comedians like Rob Beckett and Tom Allen bringing some star appeal to their respective broadcasting.
With that being said, it is undeniable that Spotify and other streaming platforms have completely engulfed other mediums of music consumption, and the industry is having to adapt and reform in order to survive. Radio stations are having to focus more on their music specialisation, and vinyl stores are undergoing a massive rebranding to emphasise the importance of the money going directly to artists, rather than to streaming platforms. However, the statistics show that radio and vinyl in particular may be overshadowed by the colossal numbers of streams Spotify can pull in, but they certainly aren’t dead. In fact, they’re growing, and thriving – as they should be.