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Offline Music

Streaming Music Alternative

July 17, 2022 -

Music has the universal power to move people. Different rhythms, emotions and vocals enable us to enjoy music very personally. Music is very close to my heart and I don't like anything to get in between. Therefore I don't rely on streaming music services, but manage my own offline music library.

Before the rise of streaming music services like Spotify or Apple Music, people had other ways to listen to music. People bought records, CD-albums and some even pirated music using services like Napster or Kazaa. Listening to digital music took a rise when Apple released iPod, making it very easy to put your music in your pocket.

Original iPod ad: Say hello to iPod. 1000 songs in your pocket
Original iPod ad: Say hello to iPod. 1000 songs in your pocket
Original iPod ad from 2005 - advertising pure emotion, not any technical specification
Original iPod ad from 2005 - advertising pure emotion, not any technical specification

The iPod had a monumental impact on how people listen to music. While early smartphones imitated iPod's behaviour, modern devices use their omnipresent connectivity to enable new ways to discover and listen to music.

Streaming music services are very popular because they offer a convenient way to listen to music: you don't need to manage anything. Just play. Skip songs you don't like and the algorithms adjust automatically to your preferences. Why would anyone not want this kind of magic, one would wonder?

Why manage your own music?

While streaming music services are very convenient, there are good reasons to consider managing your own music library:

Me and my music

People know I love music and sometimes ask me how I find, collect, digitise and listen to music. Let me explain:

Digitising CD's using iTunes running on an old MacBook Air
Digitising CD's using iTunes running on an old MacBook Air
Astell&Kern Ultima SP2000 - it connects to headphones, stereo systems and it can even stream wirelessly using Bluetooth APT(X)
Astell&Kern Ultima SP2000 - it connects to headphones, stereo systems and it can even stream wirelessly using Bluetooth APT(X)
My private concert hall: Shure SE846 earphones on the DreamDuet crystal cable, no need for active noise reduction as these earphones isolate perfectly
My private concert hall: Shure SE846 earphones on the DreamDuet crystal cable, no need for active noise reduction as these earphones isolate perfectly

Conclusion

Considering that I really love music, I really don't mind the little extra effort of managing my own offline music library. It offers me freedom and control, but above all: pure joy!

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