How’s your Wednesday been so far dear readers?

Really excellent I hope!

And not bogus either!

It seems that music is on my mind as of late. So many events happening in the music industry and a cacophony of thoughts in my mind just keep this train of sound moving ever forward. Which is why I’ve decided to roll with it and keep the theme going.

For instance, after hearing about David Bowie’s death, I knew it was important to write a review on Blackstar. I was glad I did because a lot of my decisions for the blog last week and now this week have been inspired by him.

I bought tickets to see The Offspring in March for starters! Then I wrote a post about my grandfather the fighter, an incredible stroke survivor, who is getting on in years – which reminded me of my love of Cracked and it’s media.

Then I wrote a post about keeping it real. Again because of that inspiration. I got a lot of positive feedback on that post too, so I now know that you all appreciate a good kick in the ass every now and again.

Conveniently the movie review for this week was about someone who decided to defy death by wirewalking almost 1400 feet above the ground. Or to put it another way, someone who seemed to have a death wish.

So what the heck am I gonna write about today that will keep this trend going?

Remember a while back when I wrote about the value of ambient noise and music? Especially to inspire and focus your creativity? The link is right here in case you forgot, or haven’t had a chance to read it yet.

Well I wanted to make an admission to you.

I am guilty of loving music so much that I would use streaming services daily to get my fix of old, new, and playlists.

Ever heard of Grooveshark?

Grooveshark WAS an online streaming service owned and operated by a small startup. It started in 2006 and experienced it’s share of issues related to copyright enfringement and DRM because of it’s function.

In case you’ve been out of the loop, the music industry has always had concerns about people “pirating” music. From the advent of the cassette, to the introduction of the compact disc, to the development of file-sharing, and eventually the use of file streaming. Music sharing has been the bane of the music industry for decades.

I can sympathize the position of the labels and businesses who sell the music. They are concerned that they will go bankrupt from sale loss.

But the problem with that attitude is the assumption that because people make playlists, mixtapes, and like, that they will never buy music again.

If that were really true, platforms like iTunes, and services like Spotify and Google Play Music wouldn’t exist. And record stores would go the way of the dinosaur. Truthfully, people enjoy collecting just as much as they do sharing.

The point I’m getting at dear readers is that Grooveshark was one of the oldest music streaming services around that still existed as both a free service and a premium subscriber service which allowed users to upload digital audio, create playlists, search the service, listen to radio stations, and had a music recommendation system.

In brief – it was awesome!

It hit all of my bases because it allowed me to make playlists, save albums, highlight my “favourite” songs, and find new music in a few different ways.

But then the service was sued by EMI, Sony, and Warner after winning a battle with Universal. At the end of April 2015, Grooveshark was shutdown as per of their settlement with those major labels. Or to put it another way, it was the day the music died.

So I had to find an alternate service.

I tried Spotify, Google Play Music, Deezer, and Rdio; finally settling on Rdio after months of disappointment.

I did this because it was the closest thing to fit the build that Grooveshark had developed so well. I was doing really well with it too, I could find most of music I wanted to listen to with some rare exceptions. And they wouldn’t let me access everything, because some of it was “premium” content. I had also accepted that the playlist function wouldn’t be part of my life anymore, but the ad system was killing me, so I begrudgingly decided to upgrade to their premium service this fall.

This was literally at the same time that Rdio announced it was closing down and had been acquired by Pandora. WTF.

So I cried a little, but only a little, because I hadn’t been friends with Rdio as long as Grooveshark. And I got back out into the world a second time, hoping this time it would last. And because I felt wiser.

I am currently still in recovery, but I’ve found comfort in a relationship with Deezer, and don’t tell Deezer this, because I think it’s a little early but I’m even warming up to the idea of a commitment.

But what about you dear readers – Do you stream music? Do you pay for songs? I want to know about your dating, I mean, listening preferences. I’ll be impressed if you are keeping it analog and going out into the world to pick up your conquests.

Keep this wisdom on ice and I’ll share something cool with you tomorrow. (I may be making a clever joke about the future)

Tim!