Music streamers: Does music have to be on a local hard drive or on the service?

[Jimmi328]

Can music streamers play music from a playlist stored on an online service (such as Rhapsody or Spotify) or do the music files have to be stored on a local hard drive?

I’ve been reading up on music streamers but not able to figure this out. I find it so much easier to add favorite music to my playlist stored on the service rather than download it to my local hard drive.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

You asked very generic question and shall receive a very generic answer:

It Depends on the model. Afaik Spotify has built in playlists. Some streamers may support this or not.

 

[KenM10759]

Most streaming services don't have a downloading function as the whole point of streaming is to play NOW. What you may store is a playlist locally via that service's app, though it's not the actual files.

I subscribe to Tidal Hi-Fi and they do allow downloading certain files, just the ones artists have approved and just in the common 320kbps form rather than the 16bit/44.1 FLAC files you get with the "Hi-Fi" subscription. Most of my use of the Tidal Hi-Fi service is streamed through my Bluesound Vault, where I also have my own small library of digital files stored. For me that's about 300 CD's and a few FLAC files in 24/96 that I've bought and downloaded.

For me, the Bluesound Vault is ideal because my computer is OFF while I'm listening to music. That's good because it's in a different room (my office) than my system (living room) and the Vault make zero noise. Having both Tidal Hi-Fi and my files under the control of a single app on my tablet is great.

 

[DJWPAR3]

I'm comparing several streaming services now. I have a paid Google and Spotify account. (I got the SPOTIFY for .99 cents a month for 3 months!)...have to try it!
BOTH allow you to "download" for offline play...BUT you will not be able to create CD's or "physical" media from the downloads. As to "where" these files are stored?...no clue...I can't find them after "downloading"...but they do play offline.

You can create playlists with BOTH, very easy to do.
Spotify has a slightly higher quality(for paid membership), but GOOGLE gives you access to YOU TUBE RED with membership.

A BIG PLUS.
I have 2 months left to see which one I'll stay with.

 

[3db]

I prefer owning my music and having it stored to a USB hard drive attached to a media player such as a Western Digital or an Android TV box.

 

[KenM10759]

I certainly agree, and own nearly everything I listen to. What Tidal streaming service does for me though is allow me to explore and discover new favorites. Most are artists I'd never listened to or perhaps even heard of, but if i like it, I go buy it.

In days past I would react that way to...wait for it...the radio. Of course now I realize I was mostly getting what the record companies wanted to promote. Now I'm the one picking from the untold numbers of artists that might never show up in the record store of yore. Remember those?