Streaming media
The word streaming first appeared in the 1970s to describe tape drives made by Data Electronics Inc. These machines needed to ramp up slowly and run continuously across an entire track. Slower ramp times helped lower the cost of manufacturing these storage devices. By the early 1990s, engineers applied this term to video on demand systems running over IP networks. Starlight Networks pioneered live video streaming while Real Networks handled audio streaming for the same era. Before this shift, people called such content store and forward video, a label that did not capture real-time delivery needs. The Telephone Music Service began operations in 1929 as a live jukebox system serving bars in Pittsburgh. Customers deposited money into a machine and used a telephone to request songs from a library containing over 100,000 records. Operators would find the record in their studio and play it on turntables before piping the sound through telephone lines. This business model survived until 1997 despite rising costs for city permits and line installation. Revenue splits favored the music service with 60 percent while tavern owners kept 40 percent.
Raw digital audio encoded with pulse-code modulation requires a bandwidth of 1.4Mbit/s for uncompressed CD quality. Video demands even more, needing over 1000Mbit/s for FHD resolution without compression. Practical streaming only became possible after advances in data compression reduced these massive requirements. In 1990 Kalpana introduced the first commercial Ethernet switch enabling powerful computer networks for schools and corporations. The band Severe Tire Damage performed live on the Internet on the 24th of June 1993 at Xerox PARC. Their video was pixelated and updated eight to twelve times per second with audio quality resembling a bad telephone connection. Band member Russ Haines later stated they consumed half of the total internet bandwidth available at that time. RealNetworks broadcast a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners over the Internet in 1995. A symphonic concert featuring Slash and Matt Cameron took place at the Paramount Theater in Seattle on the 10th of November 1995. TCP/IP and HTTP became standard protocols as the internet commercialized during the late 1990s. UDP sends media streams as small packets but offers no guarantee of delivery if data is lost.
Napster launched in early 1999 in Hull Massachusetts as a peer-to-peer file sharing network for MP3 files. Developers Shawn Fanning, John Fanning, and Sean Parker created a platform where users could upload and download music freely. At its peak the service boasted about 80 million users globally before shutting down in 2001. College campuses blocked access because student file sharing caused severe network congestion. The Recording Industry Association of America filed lawsuits against Napster claiming unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material. Judge Beezer ruled on the 12th of February 2001 that the court found eighty-seven percent of files were copyrighted and more than seventy percent belonged to plaintiffs. The injunction ended the brief period when music functioned as a public good accessible without payment. Gary Stiffelman represented artists like Eminem and Aerosmith stating he opposed revenue not being shared with creators. Other P2P networks including LimeWire in 2000 and BitTorrent in 2001 followed similar legal fates after facing copyright challenges. The A&M Records Inc v Napster Inc case fundamentally changed how consumers interact with digital music forever.
Netflix launched its streaming service in 2007 offering no original content initially. Six years later they began producing shows like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. Legacy broadcasters moved online creating competition from Disney+ which leveraged franchises like Star Wars and Marvel. By August 2022 CNN declared the streaming wars over as audience growth stalled following pandemic restrictions. Services shifted focus toward profitability by cutting production budgets and introducing ad-supported tiers. A December 2022 article in The Verge echoed this sentiment declaring an end to the golden age of streaming competition. In September 2023 several services formed the Streaming Innovation Alliance spearheaded by Charles Rivkin of the Motion Picture Association. Founding members included Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV, and The Walt Disney Company while Apple and Amazon remained absent. Global subscriptions surpassed 1 billion during the first three months of 2020 alone. Nearly 15.7 million people signed up for Netflix within those initial three months of the pandemic year.
By August 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic had made streaming services busier than ever before. In the UK alone 12 million people joined a new streaming service they had not previously owned. Global subscriptions skyrocketed passing 1 billion as lockdowns forced audiences indoors. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry recorded that global recorded music market grew by 7.4 percent in 2022. This growth was driven mostly by paid subscription revenues which increased by 18.5 percent. By the end of 2020 there were 443 million users holding subscription accounts worldwide. Remuneration from digital streaming of music rose 16.6 percent to EUR 2.4 billion according to CISAC analysis. However this increase could not compensate for overall income losses authors suffered from cancelled concerts and public performances. Streaming platforms like YouTube and podcasts saw an increase in misinformation and disinformation during these years. Digital marketing expenditures reached 65 percent of total spending while traditional advertising continued to decline.
A 2019 study estimated net greenhouse gas emissions from streaming music at between 0.2 and 0.35 million metric tons CO2eq per year in the United States. This figure represented an increase from pre-digital periods where emissions stood at 0.136 million metric tons in 1988. One hour of streaming or videoconferencing emits carbon dioxide equivalent to driving a gasoline-fuelled car for about 1 mile according to another study. A 2021 claim suggested that turning off cameras during calls reduces greenhouse gas footprints by 96 percent. Using standard definition instead of high definition allows for an 86 percent reduction in energy use when streaming on apps like Netflix. Data centers can become carbon neutral by converting to electricity produced from renewable sources. An individual purchase of a physical CD may be more environmentally friendly if played more than 27 times. Spotify includes a built-in local cache feature designed to reduce the necessity of repeating song streams over distance.
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Common questions
When did the word streaming first appear in history?
The word streaming first appeared in the 1970s to describe tape drives made by Data Electronics Inc. These machines needed to ramp up slowly and run continuously across an entire track.
What was the Telephone Music Service launched in 1929?
The Telephone Music Service began operations in 1929 as a live jukebox system serving bars in Pittsburgh. Customers deposited money into a machine and used a telephone to request songs from a library containing over 100,000 records.
Who created the peer-to-peer file sharing network Napster in early 1999?
Developers Shawn Fanning, John Fanning, and Sean Parker created a platform where users could upload and download music freely. At its peak the service boasted about 80 million users globally before shutting down in 2001.
Which companies formed the Streaming Innovation Alliance in September 2023?
Founding members included Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV, and The Walt Disney Company while Apple and Amazon remained absent. Global subscriptions surpassed 1 billion during the first three months of 2020 alone.
How much carbon dioxide does one hour of streaming emit compared to driving?
One hour of streaming or videoconferencing emits carbon dioxide equivalent to driving a gasoline-fuelled car for about 1 mile according to another study. A 2021 claim suggested that turning off cameras during calls reduces greenhouse gas footprints by 96 percent.