Why Download When You Can Stream?: The Experience of Collecting Music in the Streaming Age

Abstract

Streaming is increasingly becoming the standard method of delivery for digital entertainment content. However, what is the impact of streaming on music collection? Do individuals still desire to own and possess media content? We carried out a multi-stage study with a randomized field-experiment that introduced an on-demand music streaming service to 26 music collectors and later, a survey study with 201 music collectors. We found that despite access to streaming music content, our participants were still inclined to own media files. Our findings highlight that streaming is a poor substitute for the gratifications found in collecting music files. Despite this, streaming services are viewed as an indispensable way to sample music and facilitate the aggregation of one's media collection. We discuss efforts to improve on the collection experience and encourage a holistic transition of downloading to streaming model.