
Why not stick to streaming if it’s virtually the same data usage? downloading (assuming the same file/playback quality) is virtually the same. To make things slightly more confusing, the data usage in streaming vs. There are various factors at play, most notably the quality of the file, which we’ll go into more shortly. What we do need to focus on is the difference in data usage between streaming and downloading. This post isn’t a tech article, so we don’t need to go into the specifics of existing data plans (phew!). The last thing you want to do is go over your allowance and find you have a phone bill that’s over double the cost you expected. If you’re streaming or downloading music on a mobile device, which many of us do, you might have a monthly data allowance to consider. Let’s look at a few factors that should contribute to your decision. It’s more about choosing the right option for your current needs or situation. Well, it’s not exactly a straight choice between downloading or streaming, so you don’t have to pick a team and stick with it. Why Should I Download Rather Than Stream? No matter how many ways and times you try to kill it, it just won’t go away easily. So, in summary, downloading music is not dead you could think of it like the character Boris The Blade in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch. On the other hand, it’s still a high enough number to make you wonder why people are still doing it.Īnd, believe it or not, there are still a few valid reasons to download music. With that in mind, 200+ million downloads across all artists seem like nothing in comparison. On the one hand, we now have artists who can amass billions of streams on their own relatively quickly, like Lewis Capaldi. There are a few ways to look at that number, which will undoubtedly divide opinions.

In 2021, consumers downloaded 209.3 million music singles in the United States. In 2016, the drop got steeper, with single downloads reducing by almost 250 million to 743 million. That number signifies the peak of music downloading, which fell consistently over the next few years. In 2012, consumers downloaded almost one and a half billion music singles in the United States alone. Downloading music is not dead, nor is it what it once was before the streaming platforms came along.
