To Spotify or Not?

[Dogen]

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AFAIK, volume normalization does not mean dynamic range compression. It merely turns the volume up or down on a track-by-track basis to keep volume levels similar during playback. At least on Apple Music, if you’re playing an album, it will not change the volume of the individual tracks, to preserve the relative volume of the tracks on the album. For albums, the entire album is adjusted to some standard.

 

[PristineSound]

Spotify pays out .003 to .005 cents per stream, this does not take into account whether the majority of the money, up to 95% goes to the record label or others before the artist gets a cut.

Spotify sees itself as a media company publishing podcasts (paying rogan $300m to spout off bullshit to dumb f***s) or more recently audiobooks, the music side is an inconvenience as Daniel Ek has talked about.

Explain the $10b USD royalties paid.

Sorry about Joe Rogan, I didn't fact check if that number is accurate, but supply/demand. That's how free market works. I don't listen to him, I think very lowly of him, but he is offered that much because he is worth that much from a business perspective.

 

[ejr]

There may indeed be something wrong with the A6 (and I have been posting on their forum as well). It sometimes skips tracks when playing an album or playlist. Other times, it clips the first second or so of a track (when you are playing a single track from an album or playlist). But with Amazon this happens when I play the same tracks on their with Amazon's Roku app on my TV.

Also, I found this on Qobuz (and I suspect it's going to be the same deal on whichever streaming service I use): "Qobuz's gapless playback support is inconsistent and depends heavily on the specific device, app, and method used for playback."

 

[Subob]

There may indeed be something wrong with the A6 (and I have been posting on their forum as well). It sometimes skips tracks when playing an album or playlist. Other times, it clips the first second or so of a track (when you are playing a single track from an album or playlist). But with Amazon this happens when I play the same tracks on their with Amazon's Roku app on my TV.

Also, I found this on Qobuz (and I suspect it's going to be the same deal on whichever streaming service I use): "Qobuz's gapless playback support is inconsistent and depends heavily on the specific device, app, and method used for playback."

I think the only way you're going to nail this gapless issue is to select a few albums where you know exactly what you're listening for. Then check each streaming service via the Eversolo to see which service consistently gives you gapless and which ones don't.
It's annoying that gapless support isn't given as part of all device specs upfront. I'd like to see it written on the box, something like.... This device supports gapless playback on the following streaming services.....

 

[ejr]

I think the only way you're going to nail this gapless issue is to select a few albums where you know exactly what you're listening for. Then check each streaming service via the Eversolo to see which service consistently gives you gapless and which ones don't.
It's annoying that gapless support isn't given as part of all device specs upfront. I'd like to see it written on the box, something like.... This device supports gapless playback on the following streaming services.....

That's what I have been doing. There are many more that I can tell aren't gapless because the breaks are senseless. For example, I was listening to an opera. The track ended while the soprano was holding a note. There was about a one second gap before the second track started and it began with the tail end of that same held note. Takes you right out of the moment and does a diservice to the artists. No excuse for this, in my view.

I think the only reason they are getting away with this is because apparently all the streaming services do it and nobody has any interest in fixing it. If all users were to cancel their subscriptions at the same time and refuse to resubscribe until the issue had been fixed, they'd have to do something, but I don't see that happening. However, if one were to take a stand on this (a new service or an existing one) they would clearly have an edge on their competition. Especially if there were some real consequences for streamers who say their content is gapless and you find out that not all of it is.

 

[Subob]

That's what I have been doing. There are many more that I can tell aren't gapless because the breaks are senseless. For example, I was listening to an opera. The track ended while the soprano was holding a note. There was about a one second gap before the second track started and it began with the tail end of that same held note. Takes you right out of the moment and does a diservice to the artists. No excuse for this, in my view.

I think the only reason they are getting away with this is because apparently all the streaming services do it and nobody has any interest in fixing it. If all users were to cancel their subscriptions at the same time and refuse to resubscribe until the issue had been fixed, they'd have to do something, but I don't see that happening. However, if one were to take a stand on this (a new service or an existing one) they would clearly have an edge on their competition. Especially if there were some real consequences for streamers who say their content is gapless and you find out that not all of it is.

I agree with you about taking you right out of the moment and it being a diservice to the artists.

If Spotify are able to falsely promise lossless for years on end, never deliver, and still have it not adversely affect their subscription numbers!, I'm pretty sure they don't care about gapless either.

Gapless streaming audience is perhaps a minority of a minority, so I very much doubt any streaming service will lose sleep over it, unfortunately.

 

[Sal1950]

I agree with you about taking you right out of the moment and it being a diservice to the artists.

If Spotify are able to falsely promise lossless for years on end, never deliver, and still have it not adversely affect their subscription numbers!, I'm pretty sure they don't care about gapless either.

Gapless streaming audience is perhaps a minority of a minority, so I very much doubt any streaming service will lose sleep over it, unfortunately.

Exactly. The only music I listen to that I know/remember being gapless is a couple of Pink Floyds. And yea since I'm so used to the progression of the music that way, a break between cuts would be very disturbing but ???.
I stayed with Spotify for many years and admit to not hearing any major differences when I started sampling the new ones going lossless, the Spotify UI was the best.. That is until Apple started streaming in Atmo's, Multichannel, and lossless 2ch, then it became a no-brainer, for the same money even! To hell with the UI. LOL
BTW, Spotify should be roasted everywhere and LOUDLY for their years long promises of lossless being just around the corner. For shame on them for being an outright LIAR to consumers for so long, with the only goal being to continually string along folks for whom it may be important.
Spotify Screw You!

 

[chelgrian]

There are always gaps between movements in classical concerts. Why does it have to be gapless?

Not everything is an orchestral concert it’s frequently the case, especially in choral music that movements attacca. Anything which cannot achieve gapless playback is completely and inexcusably broken.

 

[xanalog]

I think at this point, regarding the OP getting gapless or not, it's clear that what's important is the player they're using ( in their case Eversolo) and not the streaming service.

TL&DR from a non-streamer:
Q1 >> Has there ever been an instrumented testing of any audio hardware's network input connection (for streaming) to its analog outputs?
Q2 >> What would be the needed memory requirements for such a streamer; for buffering network streams+processing?
Q3 >> How do streaming audio hardware compare with a well qualified Windows11 PC system with decent motherboard audio design.

In the background, I am listening to amazonMusic using a Win11P, feeding USB to some SMSL

 

[ejr]

The A6 has a Gapless Playback setting on its setup screen. I have always had it checked. Yet, I still have gapless issues, regarless of the streaming services that I have tried.

 

[Subob]

TL&DR from a non-streamer:
Q1 >> Has there ever been an instrumented testing of any audio hardware's network input connection (for streaming) to its analog outputs?
Q2 >> What would be the needed memory requirements for such a streamer; for buffering network streams+processing?
Q3 >> How do streaming audio hardware compare with a well qualified Windows11 PC system with decent motherboard audio design.

In the background, I am listening to amazonMusic using a Win11P, feeding USB to some SMSL

TL&DR from a non-Windoze and Amazon user.

 

[Subob]

The A6 has a Gapless Playback setting on its setup screen. I have always had it checked. Yet, I still have gapless issues, regarless of the streaming services that I have tried.

Is this with all the streaming services, including Deezer?

 

[Multicore]

Spotify pays out .003 to .005 cents per stream, this does not take into account whether the majority of the money, up to 95% goes to the record label or others before the artist gets a cut.

And you have to pay rent to Spotify to have your stuff there.

And even if you own or have license to music rights, you aren't allowed to put that music in podcasts and have them listed in Spotify, even podcasts hosted elsewhere. Can you guess why?

And apart from that, given Spotify's dominance as app listeners use for podcasts this rather limits the audience for anyone who produces a music podcast.

And and and...

Back to your point @Somafunk , something you can do with a WiiM and probably other equipment is have it pay your favorite artists all the time regardless even when you aren't listening.

 

[ejr]

Is this with all the streaming services, including Deezer?

It is with the streaming services I have tried. Deezer wasn't one of them.

 

[Axo1989]

Explain the $10b USD royalties paid.

Sorry about Joe Rogan, I didn't fact check if that number is accurate, but supply/demand. That's how free market works. I don't listen to him, I think very lowly of him, but he is offered that much because he is worth that much from a business perspective.

You'll have to be more specific on your royalties question.

Crekey, I thought their deal with Bogan was 'only' $200 million but I may be out of date, not that the precise number of millions makes the difference. Whatever the number, i just bailed out when the news broke.

Their inability to stream lossless—four years after promising same—and complicity with AI slop-sellers and now investments in killing just ice the festering, rancid cake. What a shit-show. Why make excuses for them?

 

[Subob]

It is with the streaming services I have tried. Deezer wasn't one of them.

I suppose it shouldn't surprise that Deezer isn't the most popular streaming service. It has nothing to do with their service, just their marketing reach. I've lost count of the number of music articles I've read where only the big streaming players get a mention. So either these big players are paying to have their name front and centre of such articles, or the vast malory of article writers, and video makers for that matter, are just lazy. I suspect it's a bit of both.

 

[Subob]

You'll have to be more specific on your royalties question.

Crekey, I thought their deal with Bogan was 'only' $200 million but I may be out of date, not that the precise number of millions makes the difference. Whatever the number, i just bailed out when the news broke.

Their inability to stream lossless—four years after promising same—and complicity with AI slop-sellers and now investments in killing just ice the festering, rancid cake. What a shit-show. Why make excuses for them?

Well I'm pleased to say I've never subscribed to Spotify, and have no intention of ever doing so. I did try its free version in the very early days, but it didn't impress then, and it certainly doesn't now!

 

[xanalog]

TL&DR from a non-Windoze and Amazon user.

My 'Like' button is InOp but I thank you for your informative answer!
But if I get rid of my 'Windoze' and my [trial] AmazonMusic, how will we be able to access our 2TB local NAS library, within our home's three audio systems?

 

[-dsr-]

Not only is Spotify bad for subscribers, it's bad for musicians, too:

Angry Metal Guy Speaks: On Spotify

Who's using Spotify now and who's not? And why?

www.angrymetalguy.com

 

[Somafunk]

Anthony Fantano of the needle drop music discussion/review site highlights the Spotify issues