Too Many Choices?

A sign of our changing times?

I like to listen to music. Reasonably good sound systems have always been a part of my DNA. One of my very first “big” purchases as a teenager was a moderately high-end receiver, turntable, cassette deck, and high-end speakers. I still have those 50+ year old speakers today (current version).

For decades my source(s) for listening to music were limited to the radio, and the music I purchased — first on vinyl, then CDs, and then digital downloads. Naturally, all of that has changed dramatically in recent years.

I still have the digital files from my CDs and downloads sitting on a Plex media server in my basement, where I can listen to them with ease from wherever I might be, but I find I rarely, if ever, do so. Why?

Too many alternatives.

• A subscription to YouTube Music, a side-effect perk of signing up for YouTube Premium to get rid of YouTube video ads. YouTube Music’s app is less than stellar, but any music you can think of — single or album, popular or obscure — is available.
• A subscription to TuneIn radio, so as to get any radio stations I might care to listen to anywhere I happen to be. Premium also includes several commercial-free music streams.
• A lifetime subscription to Calm Radio (not to be confused with the Calm meditation app) which includes many 24-hour streams. Most reflect the “calm” theme, with outliers like KPOP, Shazam Top 500, Billboard Top 2000’s, and such.
• YouTube Premium deserves a special mention as well. As I type this I’m listening to “Cozy Fall Pie Shop Ambience – Feel Good Autumn Jazz & Rain” — in part because that fits this morning’s mood. YouTube also has (or at least makes easier to find) a plethora of ambient, or now popular “Lo-Fi”, streams that serve as a perfect background for the day’s activities – some even Corgi-themed.
• Almost forgot Amazon Music, as part of Amazon Prime. Not “unlimited”, but still a go-to for “Alexa, play ….”.

And of course, there are the services on which I have free accounts, like Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, and others. Not to mention PocketCasts for podcasts, though I use that mostly for spoken-word episodic content.

I also have eclectic tastes. I’ve often joked that the only music I don’t really like is opera, gospel, and hardcore rap. Even then the boundaries are fuzzy, though, and I’ve certainly enjoyed examples of each from time to time.

I started by listening to some light piano jazz this morning, but I’m equally likely to have fired up Gregorian Chant or other sacred music (even though I no longer practice, the music still appeals), KPOP, Classic Rock, “focus enhancers“, chamber music, pipe organ music, live DJ sets, and who knows whatever else comes across the UI.

One favorite I return to is the Top 100 Songs Netherlands playlist, which, because of The Netherlands broad demographics, runs the gamut from popular songs you’d recognize anywhere, to Dutch favorites, to what we’d probably refer to as “world music” representing the various ethnic groups living in the country. It’s a great smorgasbord of different styles and tastes.

And if I’m looking for something specific? The possibilities are endless. If I can think of it, I can be listening to it in seconds. My favorite performance of my favorite piece of music of all time? Done. An obscure Dutch comedy song that my parents purchased as a 45 RPM record over 50 years ago? No problem. The latest Taylor Swift album? But of course (and playing in the background as I edit this essay).

Which finally brings me to my point.

I have so many choices. More choices than ever before.

This has made “discoverability” more difficult for me than ever before.

Sometimes the most difficult decision I make in the morning is what stream to listen to. The challenge: do I listen to what I’ve already discovered, like the piano jazz stream, or do I go adventuring to discover more that’s new to me? Which service? Which stream? Which genre? Which mood?

Too. Many. Choices.

And in the face of choice fatigue, and with limited time, I’m more often likely to fall back on the familiar: the favorites I’ve saved from the past, and even then the lengthy streams that stay in a particular lane for the duration.

I used to listen to artists & albums. Now I listen to streams.

It’s different. It’s easier, it’s pleasant, but I it feels like I’m missing something and I’m not exactly certain how to recover that — or even if I need to.