
"It is with a heavy heart that we report that Tidal is good now" - MilnerRoute
https://www.avclub.com/it-is-with-a-heavy-heart-that-we-report-that-tidal-is-g-1829329262
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peatmoss
> There are clear-cut numbers here—Apple Music’s streams tap out around 256
> kbps, whereas Spotify and Tidal both stream “hi-fi” audio at 320 kbps—but
> you can also just listen to it.

As I understand it, Apple’s 256 kbps AAC is probably higher quality than
Spotify’s 320 kbps OGG. And most of us probably lack the audio equipment (DAC
of sufficient quality) and auditory sensitivity to hear the difference between
either Spotify’s or Apple’s lossy compressed audio and Tidal’s lossless FLAC.
But it still grates on me that it’s so hard to buy access to a service that’ll
steam CD-quality audio to me when I can get HD Bluray quality video streamed
at me.

But the sins that I cannot forgive music streaming:

\- Most don’t allow me to augment their catalog with stuff I own, and stream
it back to me via a unified interface.

\- Most don’t support gapless playback (no, crossfade very much does not
count).

\- Most don’t let me browse by genre according to any categorization remotely
half as good as any small-town CD shop in the 90s

\- Most will quietly remove albums, artists, and (most maddeningly) tracks
from albums according to the whims of some capricious and malevolent spirit.

\- Most have a UI on streaming devices that continually screams, “LOOK AT YOUR
TV!” Rather than unobtrusively showing the track title or offering a “I just
want to listen to music without distractions.”

~~~
GW150914
I buy my music, then I pirate a copy for archival and portable use. The artist
and publishers get their money, and I get my fair use. I’m not willing to
steal stuff, but I’m also not willing to jump through arbitrary hoops once
I’ve paid. It isn’t strictly legal, but it is moral.

~~~
peatmoss
How is it piracy if you buy the music? Do you live in a country that forbids
format shifting?

~~~
LocalH
Legally, it's "piracy" (infringement) if you acquire copyrighted material from
those who aren't licensed to distribute it, even if you already own a legit
copy.

Morally and practically speaking, there is no harm, and it's almost
indistinguishable from a non-infringing self-made backup copy (unless there
are tags indicative of being a pirated copy), but legally there is
_technically_ a difference.

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JoshuaScript
If only they didn't use flash for their web app

