Can We Fix Music Streaming?

MOST of the complaints about music streaming so far have been about the way the new system leaves musicians out in the cold. But a new story looks at the way they frustrate listeners. as well. Ted Gioia — jazz pianist, music historian, and avid listener of a wide range of music — recently signed up for the Beats streaming service, recently purchased by Apple, and finds it as bad as the rest. “My Beats experience has been just as frustrating as my previous forays into streaming and downloading,” he says. “If Apple has that kind of money to spend, certainly they can do a better job than this. But 15 years after Napster, we are still in the Dark Ages of online music.”

I’ll leave my readers to check out the list themselves, but here is the first item:

Allow me the option of making a cash payment directly to the recording artist.  Many fans feel that streaming services give a raw deal to musicians, and want to make amends for using them. Make it easy for us to do so.

For what it’s worth, I’ve got two streaming stories coming in the next few weeks.