A lot less streaming, more downloading is better for the environment

For those about to rock, we request that you do so sustainably…. well, not really. However, there is a new Earth Day feature. Rolling StoneIt is suggested that downloading music to your phone will reduce carbon emissions as compared to streaming.

The theory goes something like this: Downloading a song consumes the same amount of energy as streaming it. However, once you have downloaded the song, your emission of greenhouse gases is significantly less than if it were streamed from another location. Therefore, songs that are downloaded would have a 80% reduction of CO2 emissions compared to streaming. The Spotify 2020 Sustainability Report was mentioned throughout the piece.

The article also states that if you plan to listen to an album more than 27 times, it is more environmentally responsible to purchase a CD. This assumes that people still own CD players and don’t have to drive to Radio Shack in order to buy one. (Disclaimer, this writer does not own one. America has a clutter problem.

You might also be able to download songs to help artists financially. A Spotify algorithm jump-start can allow you to listen more to your favorite artists (which should be music). They ears. Headphonesty reported that Spotify paid artists $0.0033 for each stream. This seems awful, and it is likely to be for 99 percent. However, if you do the math, it’s not a bad deal. Metallica, KornOr AC/DCFor example,

As of this writing, “Enter Sandman”, has recorded nearly one million Spotify streams. AC/DCThey were late to the stream scene and slow to make their catalog accessible via DSP. They have accumulated almost three billion streams for their three most popular songs on Spotify. It’s a large payday that undoubtedly underscores wider schism of streaming era, where surface optics may show either another classic case in which the rich get wealthier or a more nuanced one in which music equity is in existential upheaval.

One thing is certain, however: The debate will continue long past the next tech breakthrough that sends the DSP the direction of the dinosaur. However, we can probably improve the environmental state in the meantime. Much fasterFocusing on bigger issues, like less dependence of oil and gas, as well as a reasonable plan for Broadband for All will help. But, that’s a topic I will save for another time.