With the rise in the ownership of smartphones, the music industry has extended its platform to these consumer gadgets to allow music lovers more reasons to take their favorite tunes and tracks with them wherever they go. Music can be consumed via mobile devices via mp3 or mp4 files, radio, online apps, and even on video viewing websites like YouTube. Based on eMarketers’s research, more than 99% of mobile device owners maximize their smartphone to listen to saved and online music files. The research also revealed that the growth in music consumption via mobile is expected to grow in 2015 and the coming years.

Here’s a post that will show you how mobile technology revolutionizes the music industry and how it will continue to reshape how music is listen to over the next 5 years.

The rise of music-focused devices

Years ago we saw telecoms companies release cell phones that we predominantly catering for music fans. The devices promised huge memory, external buttons for controlling music, and powerful speakers. During this time, we witnessed the rise of Nokia Xpress phones as well as Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets. Fast forward to the present day and these features a common place on smartphones where users can listen to Daily Playlists via many online music publications.

Today, the aforementioned smartphones have superior memory, more powerful speaker emitting crisper sounds, and more convenient options for music control. Handsets like the HTC One M9 was featured by O2 because it comes with two-front facing speakers and to run the Dolby system which produces clear and terse sounds even when outdoors. The HTC Boom also allows the smartphone to connect with Wi-Fi capable speakers to play music files wirelessly. Although their speakers are not as powerful as HTC, other smartphones are pre-built with music streaming apps, while other network manufacturers offer their monthly plans with a device built with a music app.

Music apps for your smartphone

Apart from the built-in features and apps of smartphones that users can maximize, there are also apps that you can install on your Android and iOS mobile devices to stream and listen to your favorite tunes and albums wherever you go.

1. Pandora – One of the top streaming apps, Pandora allows you to listen to various tracks in a radio style platform with its great curated list of tracks and albums.

2. Rdio – It has more than 30 million on-demand songs. Users love the interface of this app which is simple yet highly intuitive.

3. Spotify – Another popular platform is Spotify, which is known for its exclusive content and reliable music quality. It comes with an offline playback option, too.

4. Beats Music – Among the apps in this list, the Beats Music has the most excellent playlist curation. The latest tracks and albums are featured and added constantly to its list, offering an updated collection all the time.

5. Rhapsody – The Rhapsody app offers users top of the line sound quality, unlimited skips, offline playbacks, and organized lists of tracks and albums. It comes with a radio and offline music streaming options.

For other music streaming apps, click here to view About’s top 14 free music apps.

With the help of technologies, we are provided with more platforms to consume music in the most convenient way. Soon, we should expect wearable devices that can provide music streaming as well, but that is far from happening today as smartwatches and smart headsets are more focused on providing productivity and health assistance to users. What do you expect in the future of the music industry?

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Photo Credit: vintagedept via Compfight cc

Written by AC Myrtle Cherry
Exclusive for Hudson Valley Music