It is so hard to know what these services are actually for when they start out as a replacement for physical media. Products like Spotify are just an iteration of technology that started with records and evolved into tapes, CDs, IPods etc. But is that actually what we want? Do we want our tape player to recommend music, and have a social network?

I have had accounts on at least a dozen different streaming/download services, but the place I go back to time and time again is YouTube. Not only does it have the "official" music but also live recordings and endless amateur stuff. I have offline media, but I only really use it when I have to suffer extended time without internet.