Control, curation and musical experience in streaming music services

The growth and popularity of music streaming are generally seen as win for music consumers, giving them greater freedom and virtually limitless access to musical content. This article offers a different view. It examines how four prominent music streaming services position themselves in the marketplace, based on their interfaces, the quality of their curatorial devices, the identity projected for users and the control users have over their music (or, lack thereof). We argue that, ultimately, streaming services are in the business of creating branded musical experiences, which appear to offer fluid and abundant musical content but, in reality, create circumscribed tiers of content access for a variety of scenarios, users and listening environments.