Can You Hear Me Now?

I just got my first official billing statement from Apple Music as its service evolved from free trial to paid service. And with that transition, streaming takes a decisive step towards being the primary way we’ll consume music. From vinyl, to 8 tracks, to cassettes, to CDs, to MP3s, the music industry has had to adapt to our listening habits — and, in the process, they’ve figured out how to sell us the same music again and again, ironically (at least in the Alanis Morissette sense) at consistently lower levels of sound quality. As yet another listening mode struts its way to the top of the charts, Grantland’s Steven Hyden takes an interesting look back at how Radiohead’s Kid A kicked off the streaming revolution.