CDs, Streaming and AI.
I’ve always been suspicious of music streaming because I knew they couldn’t adopt the performance and neighbouring rights of radio because it would make their operations unprofitable but could adopt radio’s vetting, which would cause artists to not only get almost nothing but for some to get shoved aside for recordings that have already garnered mass interest.
Now AI is flooding streaming services and resulting in no royalty payments as recordings are entirely removed because they were popular enough in the states or the United Kingdom, causing people to wonder where their favourite tracks went.
I have always recommended the purchase of film on a physical format because of how fickle the streaming services are and now the situation has worsened in music, causing compact disc sales to resurge upwards as people see other industries go digital, like Sony’s Playstation game console.
Gamers have learned that discs will no longer be produced for this console in 2028 and that the games they purchased online could suddenly disappear from their consoles, some releases having already been delisted. And this resulted in a notable consumer backlash, including a petition that reached over 360,000 signatures in less than two months.
It has become quite clear that these companies are no longer catering to their customers demands but pandering to upper middle class urbanite and sub-urbanite with high speed internet, that accept the opinions of what’s popular according to the companies.
The promise that we would have access to everything and for a reasonable cost, is now gone. And that physical media is the only way to go whilst streaming is simply a means to preview popular films, television programs and music.
For example, when New Zealand actor Sam Neill passed away last month one could easily find the vast majority of his most popular films, including Jurassic Park and my favourite of his films, The Hunt For Red October. But Australian thriller Dead Calm is not available for streaming or purchase for download in Canada, anywhere.
This film got a high ranking at Rotten Tomatoes whilst Bicentennial Man got very low rankings, yet the later is available on Apple TV for purchase because people know it and still like it, like yours truly. And this means our personal preferences are all subject to arbitrary judgements by these corporations.
Multiple generations that have grown up with VHS, DVD and blu-ray rentals are noticing the films of their childhood were either available only for a short time on the streaming services or were never on them in the first place. And they have been purchasing them on whatever physical format is available, causing them to expand their purchases to compact discs en masse since 2025.
I, for one, will probably purchase Godzilla Minus Zero after this film’s initial release in November 2026 because foreign sequels in a language other than English tend to only remain online when it has matched or surpassed the original release‘s popularity. And I will continue encouraging everyone to at least consider purchasing greatest hits compilations on compact disc, so that fans still have their very favourite singles if the streaming services decide to slim down their catalogs and replace recordings with similar sounding tracks made with artificial intelligence.
I am not discouraging the use of streaming services, which are great if you already have the recordings that you listen to on vinyl and/or compact disc and when you want to preview recordings. But if you truly love an album, consider getting it on vinyl and/or, just in case.
What is my Spotify Age?
Those that don’t use Spotify often will probably notice that they are not provided a “Spotify Age”. And some will wonder what the point of it is anyway, questioning whether it is simply flattery based attempts to promote use of the service.
I like Spotify for it’s convenience when I have forgotten to add songs I had ripped from my compact disc collection to my cell phone’s library but I don’t use it often because I’d rather use my limited bandwidth with other apps. And this is why I have no assessment.
I also use Amazon Music more often so this trend does not apply to me, although I am somewhat curious as to what the results would be. But not enough to favour the service over the upcoming year to get an answer in late 2026.
Quite frankly I’d rather rip music from vinyl and listen to that because I know the artists actually got a fair royalty rate. And greatest hits albums are a great way to get the artists their dues, if you don’t want to buy their most popular albums.
I’m presuming my age is pretty much up there anyway because I tend to listen to classic rock from the 70s to the early 2000s. And can’t say that I like even five singles on the Billboard 100 now.
Oh well…
Apple Gift Card Offer
Participating Real Canadian Superstores are offering 5000 bonus Optimum points on purchases of $50 Apple Gift Cards until Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022. Consult pcoptimum.ca for details.
Bye Bye iPod
Apple has decided to discontinue the iPod Touch and re-direct its customer to other products that provide access to Apple Music according to a press release that was released today.
The first iPod had been introduced on October 23rd, 2001 whilst the first iPod Touch was introduced on September 2007 but most consumers have recently shifted to listening to music via other Apple products, like the Apple Watch and iPad so they decided to stop manufacturing them.
The remaining stock will we sold at Apple stores and online, including on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.
Roku Update
Apple Music is now available on Roku devices and Smart TVs. And will soon offer access to your iTunes library ; I’ve tried accessing my iTunes library but I haven’t been able to so I guess it’s a feature they’re working on.
Click here for today’s press release from Roku.
How I save money on Streaming/Downloads
You can save money on the music, television and film streaming and downloading services in Canada by purchasing discounted gift cards to pay for downloads or subscriptions in advance.
I’ve personally obtained discounts and bonus loyalty points on gift cards for Amazon.ca (Amazon Music/Prime Video), Cineplex, iTunes, Google Play and Netflix. And have seen similar offers on gift cards for SiriusXM and Spotify on occasion at some retailers. But you’ve got to know where to look to find them:
Amazon.ca – Amazon occasionally has targeted promotions that are sent by email to their customers and occasionally pop up on banners on their site, most of which include promotional credits when one reloads their gift cards or adds funds to their Amazon Cash accounts. At the moment there is an offer for a $5 promotional credit for first-time users that add $20 to their Amazon Cash account before September 30th, 2020.
Best Buy Canada – iTunes gift cards are usually discounted at this electronics chain in the Christmas shopping season but offers do occasionally pop up from time to time.
Esso/Mobile Canada – Esso Extra points can be redeemed in store for Cineplex gift cards and online for Amazon.ca, Cineplex and iTunes gift cards. Click here for details.
Guardian/IDA – Both these pharmacies have rare offers on gift cards, also mostly in the Christmas shopping season. Their flyers might be worth a browse then.
Jean Coutu – Mostly located in Quebec, New Brunswick and Eastern Ontario, this pharmacy occasionally offers a discount on gift cards. And although you can’t collect or redeem Air Miles for gift cards at the stores themselves, you can redeem “Cash Miles” for Cineplex eVouchers from Air Miles collected at participating retailers.
Loblaws – This grocery chain and its affiliated stores (Your Independent Grocer, Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore) mostly offer bonus Optimum points with the purchase of the above-mentioned gift cards but do occasionally offer discounts on these gift cards. Look at the bottom of the flyer pages for their weekly offers and/or occasional graphic showing the gift cards associated with the week’s offers.
London Drugs – Although I haven’t personally shopped at a London Drugs pharmacy, I’ve heard they occasionally have discounts and offers on their gift card selection. I’ve seen a flyer or two with some rather interesting offers that I couldn’t take advantage of because they don’t have a store in my community. They do ship gift cards by mail though.
Petro Canada – Although I haven’t seen discounts being offered on gift cards by this gas station chain, it is one of the few retailers that allow people to redeem their loyalty points on physical and electronic gift cards, specifically from Best Buy, Cineplex and iTunes.
Pharmasave – Another pharmacy that has discounts on gift cards, mainly in the Christmas shopping season.
Rexall – This chain of pharmacies used to offer bonus Air Miles for gift cards but have just introduced their own loyalty program, whose terms & conditions state points cannot be collected or redeemed on gift cards. But I suspect they may discount specific gift cards on occasion, like during the Christmas shopping season, so you may consider browsing the weekly flyers.
Shell – These gas stations rarely have flyers but they and Air Miles occasionally send out promotions that contain offers for bonus Air Miles, by mail, email and on their respective web sites. But the selection of cards may be limited in the smaller locations.
Shoppers Drug Mart – This pharmacy also offers bonus Optimum points and also occasionally offers discounts on specific gift cards, mostly posting these offers along the bottom of their flyer pages, among other information. They also occasionally add pictures of the gift cards that are eligible for an offer that week.
Sobeys – This grocery chain occasionally offers discounts and bonus Air Miles on gift cards, including a few of the gift cards listed above.
I haven’t yet tried Rakuten to get money back from my Cineplex and Cineplex gift card purchases but I’ll consider it in the future. And if I can think of some more discounts and loyalty point offers I’ll update this blog entry, as soon as possible. I’m sure I’m forgetting one or two.
Meanwhile, I hope you’ll be able to find some deals.