Have online streaming services like Spotify reduced our willingness to pay for music?

The answer to this question is most definitely yes and no. Spotify allows users to access an unbelievably wide-ranging cache of music. As well as providing complete discographies for artistes, it also shapes listener preferences by giving the option to create playlists, and even more potently, by suggesting other artists that could be enjoyed based on the original selection. Personally speaking, the latter property is the one I have found to be most fulfilling. It would be impossible to discover new music without streaming sites - there are just so many artistes, in every conceivable genre, releasing music every minute of the day.

The downside with having access to so much music is that it can make the listener less inclined to go out and buy albums, when they can be so effortlessly listened to via the convenience of your web browser. But there will always be a tendency to want to invest more in your truly favourite artiste(s). Unearthing a classic archive album on Spotify, one that passed you by at the time, might well inspire you to go out and actually purchase a copy to add to your record collection. With new music, discovering a new band you really love online might make you want to buy their singles or albums, so that you can really get to know their music, reading the album sleeve notes and lyrics. Much as streaming is excellent for giving maximum exposure to the sonic universe, no digital file will ever match the sound quality of a vinyl recording, so Spotify will never appease the true music fan, lovingly flipping through stacks of 33s and 45s at a secondhand record fair or specialist shop.