5 ms·

They're simply not built for it. Most streaming music services are built for people that want to listen to deadmau5, g-funk or top 40 while they put on their p

by na85 11y ago

They're simply not built for it. Most streaming music services are built for people that want to listen to deadmau5, g-funk or top 40 while they put on their party dresses and pre-drink. A lot of us also use them to stream random tracks while we work: stuff with no lyrics, etc. But a bespoke solution for streaming classical music should ideally have metadata fields for all those things: conductor, soloists, orchestra, recording venue, date, etc. etc. I'd be willing to bet that internally most of those services are using nothing more sophisticated than the id3 tags I remember mucking with in winamp back when Napster was still a thing.

dogma1138 11y ago
Never had issues listening to classical music on Spotify, on Ultra the sound quality isn't an issue, neither is finding what exactly you wan't since you can find specific performances by an orchestra or even a specific conductor.
- rspeer 11y ago
  The problem isn't listening to it once you can find it, the problem is finding it. If you're looking for a particular work to listen to, not just the most popular thing by that composer, Spotify gives you no way to browse by work. You can either try to guess which translation of the title they used, or you can type the number the piece is identified by, and in both cases it will usually autocorrect you to something more popular. There used to be a way around this, where you could type, say, :spotify:search:"BWV 588" into the search box and it would show you only exact matches for BWV 588. Doesn't work anymore. There are lots more problems. But you could read the article.
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    Again personally i never had issues finding classical music on Spotify if that particular performance is available. I might not be a classical music connoisseur but merely a peasant that enjoy's common recordings and yo yo ma but i never had issues. I've also never had issues searching Spotify using an Opus catalog number, e.g. your example of Bach which seems to work just fine for me... http://i.imgur.com/VGHCcH3.png http://i.imgur.com/VGHCcH3.png
    - rspeer 11y ago
      They've gotten a little better at exact matches, but in the "BWV 588" example, you still have to scroll past a screenful of the Goldberg Variations. Sure, the Goldberg Variations are great, but that's not what I asked for. That screenshot also highlights the problem that shitty performances rank highly in the search. Kevin Bowyer will probably play an organ piece with much more skill and subtlety than "Mutant Orchestra" on "Classical Halloween Bach from the Dead", but guess which one ranks higher.
      - dogma1138 11y ago
        Don't search by a pure opus or a BWV number then if you search Canzona in D + Insert Performance Details you'll find it. Never had an issue finding what i wanted, i didn't mind to have to scroll and i treat Spotify's search just as i treat Google's search, the secret to finding stuff on Google is to figure out what the 100000 idiots that searched for the same thing before you actually searched for before ending up clicking on what you really want. The 1st several results will be SEO's then couple of promoted ones then you'll find something that you can actually use, and Spotify isn't any different I'm pretty sure that record companies pay directly or by accepting lower fees in exchange for Spotify to promote their records, so yep Classical Halloween Bach from the Dead might be promoted, or it might be there because more people actually enjoy listening to it just as most people would probably enjoy TSO's version of Mozart's and Beethoven's works with a nice jam more than some dreadful orchestra from the Soviet days of eastern Europe. Streaming providers aren't the Library of Congress don't expect them to give you exactly what you look for since they assume like any other search engine that you don't know what you are looking for and they also need to make some money on the side, but if you don't give up and are willing to waste 10 seconds you'll find what you want and then well just hit the bookmark button. P.S. If you want to listen to a specific performance why are you searching the work and not the "artist"? For the most part there will be more performances for a given work than all the recordings a single orchestra can record in it's life time. Want to listen to a recording by Sydney's symphony orchestra? Search for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, click it scroll down till you find it not the other way around :)
        11y ago
  - brerlapn 11y ago
    Rhapsody allows search by composer. Search "Gustav Mahler" and you get all of the recordings of his work, regardless of the orchestra or if it's in a compilation with other composers. Looks like Google All Music does the same; no experience with Spotify, though. I share one of the higher-level commenter's concerns--the degradation of the sound quality. Being able to hear the valves on the instruments and the full range of music gives a much more immersive experience. I had a recording of Count Basie opening for Frank Sinatra (it's basically the hour before they recorded Sinatra at the Sands), and you can hear the audience's glasses like you were sitting in the venue. I love streaming for my DeadMau5 and background music as much as the next monkey, but I still buy the classical and jazz recordings on CD for those extra effects.

by na85 11y ago

dogma1138 11y ago

Never had issues listening to classical music on Spotify, on Ultra the sound quality isn't an issue, neither is finding what exactly you wan't since you can find specific performances by an orchestra or even a specific conductor.

rspeer 11y ago
The problem isn't listening to it once you can find it, the problem is finding it. If you're looking for a particular work to listen to, not just the most popular thing by that composer, Spotify gives you no way to browse by work. You can either try to guess which translation of the title they used, or you can type the number the piece is identified by, and in both cases it will usually autocorrect you to something more popular. There used to be a way around this, where you could type, say, :spotify:search:"BWV 588" into the search box and it would show you only exact matches for BWV 588. Doesn't work anymore. There are lots more problems. But you could read the article.
- dogma1138 11y ago
  Again personally i never had issues finding classical music on Spotify if that particular performance is available. I might not be a classical music connoisseur but merely a peasant that enjoy's common recordings and yo yo ma but i never had issues. I've also never had issues searching Spotify using an Opus catalog number, e.g. your example of Bach which seems to work just fine for me... http://i.imgur.com/VGHCcH3.png http://i.imgur.com/VGHCcH3.png
  - rspeer 11y ago
    They've gotten a little better at exact matches, but in the "BWV 588" example, you still have to scroll past a screenful of the Goldberg Variations. Sure, the Goldberg Variations are great, but that's not what I asked for. That screenshot also highlights the problem that shitty performances rank highly in the search. Kevin Bowyer will probably play an organ piece with much more skill and subtlety than "Mutant Orchestra" on "Classical Halloween Bach from the Dead", but guess which one ranks higher.
    - dogma1138 11y ago
      Don't search by a pure opus or a BWV number then if you search Canzona in D + Insert Performance Details you'll find it. Never had an issue finding what i wanted, i didn't mind to have to scroll and i treat Spotify's search just as i treat Google's search, the secret to finding stuff on Google is to figure out what the 100000 idiots that searched for the same thing before you actually searched for before ending up clicking on what you really want. The 1st several results will be SEO's then couple of promoted ones then you'll find something that you can actually use, and Spotify isn't any different I'm pretty sure that record companies pay directly or by accepting lower fees in exchange for Spotify to promote their records, so yep Classical Halloween Bach from the Dead might be promoted, or it might be there because more people actually enjoy listening to it just as most people would probably enjoy TSO's version of Mozart's and Beethoven's works with a nice jam more than some dreadful orchestra from the Soviet days of eastern Europe. Streaming providers aren't the Library of Congress don't expect them to give you exactly what you look for since they assume like any other search engine that you don't know what you are looking for and they also need to make some money on the side, but if you don't give up and are willing to waste 10 seconds you'll find what you want and then well just hit the bookmark button. P.S. If you want to listen to a specific performance why are you searching the work and not the "artist"? For the most part there will be more performances for a given work than all the recordings a single orchestra can record in it's life time. Want to listen to a recording by Sydney's symphony orchestra? Search for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, click it scroll down till you find it not the other way around :)
      - 11y ago
- brerlapn 11y ago
  Rhapsody allows search by composer. Search "Gustav Mahler" and you get all of the recordings of his work, regardless of the orchestra or if it's in a compilation with other composers. Looks like Google All Music does the same; no experience with Spotify, though. I share one of the higher-level commenter's concerns--the degradation of the sound quality. Being able to hear the valves on the instruments and the full range of music gives a much more immersive experience. I had a recording of Count Basie opening for Frank Sinatra (it's basically the hour before they recorded Sinatra at the Sands), and you can hear the audience's glasses like you were sitting in the venue. I love streaming for my DeadMau5 and background music as much as the next monkey, but I still buy the classical and jazz recordings on CD for those extra effects.