We have come a long way since mixed tapes. Even a few years ago, I remember spending many evenings sifting through my music collection to make the perfect playlists for my original iPod Nano. Kids nowadays will never know the joy.
Of course, now, technology has taken it up a few octaves. With apps like Apple Music (over 30 million songs for $9.99 per month), Spotify (also 30 million tracks for $9.99 per month) or Pandora (free or ad-free $4.99 per month), we can all be digital DJs. I have Telus TV and internet at home, allowing me to download the Stingray Music App for free. The options are limitless, and, like most music apps, you can choose by activity, mood, theme, genre or era.
My new favourite playlist is called Breezy Yacht Rock, and the description reads, “Experience the smooth, mellow rock of the ’70s and 80’s while sipping champagne on the deck of your luxury yacht….features the sparkling productions and sweet harmonies of studio masters like Steely Dan, Chicago and the Doobie Brothers.” My second favourite playlist? Sunscreen & Cocktails – these tracks sound like the sun on your skin feels!
But how much data does it use up? The theory is if you have 1GB of data and anything faster than DSL, you can listen to up to 787 tracks assuming each song is about 3 minutes. That gives you 2,361 minutes or 39.35 hours of non-stop music. People who listen to music throughout the day (6 – 8 hours) can run more than 15GB per month. But there are ways to reign in your bandwidth, Click-to-Play plugins block flash content such as large advertisements. You can also block your browser from downloading images which is a bit of a drag because you don’t get to see the album covers!
