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With new vinyl sales up 61% to a staggering 21-year high last year, it's no surprise that second hand marketplace Discogs has also felt the ripple of a revival.

As Pitchfork report, sales on the site rose 31% to 6.6 million units in 2015, 5.4 million of which were vinyl records. Interestingly, CD sales were the biggest year-on-year winners though, with a 38% jump responsible for 1.1 million sales. The stats for cassette sales, languishing down closer to 90,000, did nothing to dispel the recent revelation that we are currently not in the midst of a tape renaissance.

As well as sales figures, Discogs has also broken down some interesting stats from the shop floor, with Judge's Chung King Can Suck It remaining the most expensive record sold through the site, in 2015 or otherwise, changing hands for $5,958.36.

Particularly revealing was the list of most collected albums on the site, topped by Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Michael Jackson's Thriller (catnip for the Unnecessary Reissues Committee) ahead of contemporary favourites Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and Jack White's Lazaretto.

Several of last year's new releases also made the top 30, including Jamie xx's In Colour, Levon Vincent's self-titled LP, Currents by Tame Impala and Björk's Vulnicura, suggesting that the overall market for new LPs last year was far greater than the official record store figures suggested.

Check out the infographic below and click here to peruse the report in full.

With the Discogs app available from the 29th February, read our interview with the developers here to find out what you can expect.

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Over 6 million records were sold on Discogs last year - The Vinyl Factory

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Fleetwood Mac's Rumours declared most collected record of 2015. With new vinyl sales up 61% to a staggering 21-year high last year, it's no surprise that second hand marketplace Discogs has also felt the ripple of a revival. As Pitchfork report, sales on the site rose 31% to 6.6 million units in 2015, 5.4 million [...]

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When Record Store Day started in 2008, it was conceived as a way to draw attention to independent record stores. But a funny thing happened in the following years: Records - actual LP record albums - mounted a comeback in pop culture.

And as fans of vinyl celebrate the unofficial holiday today, the audience - and reach - of the medium has changed considerably.

Vinyl, initially, saw a resurgence as hipsters in their 20s and early 30s sought a way to differentiate their music listening. Albums were old school, filled with hisses and pops that digital music had erased. But those flaws added a depth and warmth to the music that even people who once owned extensive album collections had forgotten after years of listening to digital music. (Digital is technically cleaner, but the compression technology in MP3s tends to dull the highs and lows.)

Flash forward to 2015. Fueled by that unique sound quality and a nostalgia wave, sales of vinyl records were up 32% to $416 million, their highest level since 1988, according to the RIAA. (CD sales, while much higher in total income, were down 17%.)

Put another way: Revenues from vinyl sales last year were higher than those of on-demand ad supported streaming services, such as YouTube, Vevo and Spotify's free service, which only accounted for $385 million, according to the RIAA. (To be clear, though, paid subscription services and Internet radio services, like Pandora, greatly exceeded LP and EP sales.)

Meanwhile, vinyl is no longer solely the domain of independent record stores. It's quickly becoming ubiquitous in retail stores everywhere. Chains like Barnes & Noble (BKS), Urban Outfitters and even Whole Foods (WFM) now carry albums. It's not cheap, either. While most baby boomers likely remember records as being in the $10-$20 range, a new copy of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA today will run you nearly $40.

Given the increasing number of retail locations for vinyl, it's no surprise that today's biggest artists are embracing it as well. Taylor Swift put out an LP version of her hit "1989" and Justin Bieber will release a 12-inch picture record for his single "Purpose" exclusively for Record Store Day today.

The Biebs is just one of hundreds of artists who will be releasing vinyl albums on Record Store Day. Fans of the recently departed David Bowie will have a chance to get a limited edition pressing of six songs from very early in his career on I Dig Everything - The Pye Singles 1966. (Only 7,500 copies are being made.) There will be a new release of archived material from The Doors, Bob Dylan and a 1977 performance from The Grateful Dead. Even The Monkees are releasing a 10-LP box set of their studio albums and rare tracks.

And experts say don't be surprised if vinyl continues to see noticeable growth in the years to come.

"It would seem that they are bringing the products back to create or capitalize on a nostaglia wave," says Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates. "It also creates a new experience for people who were born during the digital age."

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Vinyl Sales Are Not Just a Hipster Thing Anymore

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When Record Store Day started in 2008, it was conceived as a way to draw attention to independent record stores. But a funny thing happened in the following years: Records - actual LP record albums - mounted a comeback in pop culture.

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Insights, expertise and inspiration for and by digital leaders

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Leading online shopping platforms worldwide

Internet users can choose from various online platforms to browse, compare, and purchase the items or services they need. While some websites specifically target B2B (business-to-business) clients, individual consumers are also presented with a vast number of digital possibilities. As of 2020, online marketplaces account for the largest share of online purchases worldwide. Leading the global ranking of online retail websites in terms of traffic is Amazon. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant that offers e-retail, computing services, consumer electronics, and digital content registered over 5.2 billion unique visitors in June 2020. In terms of gross merchandise value (GMV), however, Amazon ranks third behind Chinese competitors Taobao and Tmall. Both platforms are operated by the Alibaba Group, the leading online commerce provider in Asia.

Mobile is boosting global e-commerce traffic

One of the most visible trends in the world of e-commerce is the unprecedented usage of mobile devices. In 2019, smartphones accounted for over 60 percent of all retail website visits worldwide. As the adoption of mobile devices is progressing at a rapid pace, especially in regions that lack other digital infrastructure, mobile integration will continue to shape the shopping experience of the future. M-commerce is particularly popular across Asia, with countries South Korea generating up to 65 percent of their total online transaction volume via mobile traffic.

Impact of COVID-19 on the online shopping industry

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to have a significant influence on e-commerce and online consumer behavior around the world. As millions of people stayed home in early 2020 to contain the spread of the virus, digital channels have become the most popular alternative to crowded stores and in-person shopping. In June 2020, global retail e-commerce traffic stood at a record 22 billion monthly visits, with demand being exceptionally high for every-day items such as groceries, clothing, but also retail tech items. How online usage, purchasing habits, and the overall future of the e-commerce market will look like in 2021 and beyond will largely depend on the progression of COVID-19.

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Internet users can choose from various online platforms to browse, compare, and purchase the items or services they need. While some websites specifically target B2B (business-to-business) clients, individual consumers are also presented with a vast number of digital possibilities. As of 2020, online marketplaces account for the largest share of online purchases worldwide.

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With a seemingly ever-growing number of streaming music services available via the Web and dedicated mobile and tablet apps, choosing the online player that best fits your need is an increasingly difficult task.

Obviously, there are some big names that you might already be aware of, but there are also some newer services that launched in the last 12 months, and some of the existing ones have changed features, so we thought it well worth putting together a roundup to give you some insight into what each offers before you hand over any hard-earned cash.

Perhaps paying for one that lets you download tracks for offline listening, or upload your entire music library for playback anywhere could be worthwhile in the long run, even if it seems more expensive at first. Or perhaps you don't listen that often, so you prefer a free option. Do you need access via a mobile app for listening while on-the-move? Do you want a radio streaming-style experience or do you decide exactly which song or album you to listen to?

There are lots of options out there, but here are some of the biggest and most notable online music players that are worth checking out.

Spotify

Spotify is one of the best-known music services available, and as such it has a 20 million strong catalogue of tracks available to listen to - it also means there's a thriving hub of third-party apps too, like the BBC's Playlister service among many other, with which to extend your listening.

Most people will probably use it to listen to individual artists or bands, to create playlists of tracks or to listen to individual albums. However, there's also a 'radio' option that plays music it deems related to your original artist of choice. In reality, this isn't the smartest radio out there, so if what you want is automatically created radio stations, there are better options.

At it's most basic, access to streaming is free on all platforms - although depending on which device you're using, you might get either only the option to play music on 'Shuffle' mode, and/or the occasional audio ad between tracks.

Spotify used to charge for mobile access, so its recent changes for Android and iOS are for the better if it wants to stay competitive with rivals' offerings. In December last year, it also removed the 10-hour listening limit for free account holders in some parts of Europe - making it all the more useful for the cost-conscious tech aficionado. The caps were never in place in the US, but used to be in full effect for the UK and Europe. A full list of countries where Spotify is available can be found here.

Nonetheless, there's still a paid-for Spotify Premium plan available for $9.99/£9.99 per month, which removes all advertising, offers higher quality audio tracks (320kbps vs 160kbps) and opens up the option of downloading specific tracks, albums or playlists for offline listening. The slightly perplexing offline sync limit of 3,333 tracks is still the most you can download, though.

While Spotify might be seen as the industry standard of mainstream music streaming services nowadays, its mobile apps lack some of the more sophisticated features of other platforms. The desktop isn't coming on in leaps and bounds either, and has maintained many of the same features of the same service since it launched years ago, albeit with newer discovery options. For example, it still only lets you listen back to your locally stored library via the desktop app, rather than uploading them to some sort of cloud storage for access from any device.

However, the single biggest missing feature from Spotify is a better way to manage your listening, other than an almost endless ream of playlists.

One of the strong points for Spotify is its sheer ubiquity. As one of the largest services, there's a good chance that your friends are using it too, and thanks to the social integration with Facebook you can keep an eye on what you friends are listening to (or share directly) for new inspiration.
For: People who don't mind paying for offline access. People that want to listen to what their friends are listening to.
Pandora

Although Pandora is still only available to users in the US, Australia and New Zealand, it's a veritable granddaddy of online music streaming, but walks a different line to Spotify.

Rather than providing tracks on-demand, Pandora users pick an song and let it create a radio station of similar and related music. Thankfully, and as you might expect given its the primary function, this actually works pretty well and keeps recommendations sensible.

As with others, there's a free account tier that lets you get going without handing over any cash, but there's a limit to the number of tracks you can skip per hour, per station, as well as how many skips you are allowed to perform per day. Free account holders are able to create up to 100 personalized radio stations of new and old, well-known or obscure, music and comedy.

For a yearly payment of $36 or a monthly payment of $3.99, Pandora listeners can, however, upgrade to a Pandora One account, which removes all the advertising, and provides access to the service through the standalone Pandora One Desktop app.

Similarly to Spotify, Pandora reserves its highest quality audio for paying users, although it won't please audiophiles as much as Spotify.

On the Web, tracks are played at 64k AAC+ for free listeners and 192kbps for Pandora One subscribers, the Desktop app also streams at the same rate. In-home devices play 128kbps audio, and (slightly unhelpfully) mobile devices run different rates depending on the capability of the device and the network, but never more than 64k AAC+.

It also lets you perform more skips per day than a free user, although the six skips per hour, per station limit remains. If you're the kind of person who likes to customize everything you can, you'll probably like the custom skins that are available too.

Mobile access follows these same restrictions too, and there are apps available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices.
For: People who want to stream radio stations rather than on-demand tracks across a variety of platforms for free, in the US.
➤ Pandora | Google Play | App Store | Windows Phone Store

Google Play Music All Access

OK, so it has an unwieldy and cumbersome name that we wish Google would change, and we've already given you a pretty deep dive into Google's music service, but here are several good reasons it deserves consideration in your short list.

Google Play Music All Access is another $10 per month option that allows users to stream whichever of the more than 20 million catalog tracks that are available, but it offers a radio-style listening experience too, for users to create a station (with unlimited skips!) based on any artist, album or song that they want to choose.

As well as beating Pandora to the unlimited skipping game, it's also a step ahead of Spotify in a few ways too: mobile users can access all of the music they've uploaded locally via the iOS or Android apps (as well as on the desktop, of course), rather than just being restricted to the available streaming catalog. Currently, there's a 20,000 track limit on the number of songs you can upload, but this should be enough for a modest music collection.

Naturally, given that Google has its own mobile OS, there's no problem with accessing Google Play from an Android device through the dedicated app, but Apple owners are in luck too, as there's also an iOS app. Thankfully, offline sync is also an option, so you can keep listening to your music while you're on the go, even if you drop offline.

Google Play Music All Access is available in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

Its solid and simple UI, availability across many platforms and devices, and blend of on-demand tracks with optional radio-style listening makes Google Play Music All Access a compelling option.
For: Android users; people who want to access their entire catalog of music from any device; iOS users disenchanted with iTunes.
Sony Music Unlimited

Sony's music streaming service, like many others, touts a catalog of more than 25 million tracks ("from indies to superstars") available to play on demand, however, it's a little different to some of the options here, in that there's no free streaming plan available.

Instead, to entice you to dip a toe into the water, there is a free 30 day trial so you can take it for a test run before deciding to carry on with monthly payments, or not. If you do decide to go ahead and pay for it, the service has two tiers: an Access Plan and a Premium Plan. It's probably also worth mentioning that at the time of writing, there's also a 3-month offer for $3/£3.

The Access Plan is the cheaper of the two - $4.99/£4.99/€4.99 - and allows users to access premium Channels, chart listings and editorial playlists curated by the team. Naturally, it also includes unfettered streaming access to the entire catalogue of tracks, or there's the option to download playlists to your library for offline access - but only up to a limit of 1,000 tracks.

Given the breadth of Sony's business, it's little surprise that Music Unlimited is accessible from a range of different devices, and the Access Plan will qualify you for access via a Sony games console or via the Web.

However, notably, what's NOT included in the Access Plan is access from a smartphone or tablet app. For that, you'll need a Premium Plan, which costs £9.99/€9.99/$9.99 per month.

As well as providing access to the service via Android smartphones or tablets, iPod Touch and the iPhone, the Premium Plan also opens up the option of listening via Blu-ray players and Bravia/Sony Internet-connected TVs, which is worth bearing in mind if you have a decent TV and sound system set up in your lounge.

Whichever plan you opt for, tracks are delivered in 320kbps AAC format, which means they're of a higher quality than some of the other services. Sony used to offer a MusicSync feature too, which scanned your hard drive to add details about existing non-DRM protected music tracks. However, now Sony offers its similar functionality via its Walkman app for select Xperia models.

The major weakness of the Music Unlimited service is the recommendation and discovery aspect, which is far less sophisticated than some of the rivals' services, although there are pre-populated playlists and Channels.

Sony Music Unlimited is currently available in: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the USA and UK.
For: Sony fans (Xperia/Brava/PlayStation owners), who can benefit from tight integration of Music Unlimited on TVs, smartphones, consoles and tablets.
Mixcloud

Mixcloud touts itself as the place for long form audio. In real terms, this means that it's a great repository for DJ mixes, radio shows, podcasts and any other longer audio formats. The company says that the average length of an upload on its platform is in excess of 40 minutes, and that the average listener stays tuned in for more than 20 minutes, and its long form format means it's great at just running unattended in the background for hours at a time.

While it's certainly not the place to head if you want to listen to one specific track or a whole album, if you want to listen to a whole mix or radio show it should definitely be on your short list. And there's another good reason, too - it's completely free for end users.

However, just because it's free doesn't mean it's lacking features. You'll find all the usual things like favoriting tracks and creating playlists, and thanks to a recent revamp and relaunch of Mixcloud X, it now includes more streamlined playback options and branded profile pages for partners.

There are also dedicated Android (below) and iOS apps too - which, again, are free to download and use, although you will need to create an account to start listening. On the Web, you don't even need to do this.

While it doesn't boast the same kind of track figures as on-demand platforms like Spotify or Google Play All Access Music, it doesn't really need to. Instead, what it does have is more than 500,000 partners on board that have uploaded more than 3 million mixes - most of which are between 20 minutes and several hours long.

There's a general music selection and nothing is excluded, but the company said that the most of the catalog "has strengths" in curated music, focused on Electronic Dance Music (EDM), hip-hop, jazz, funk and world music.
For: People who want access to radio shows, podcasts and DJ mixes from a mobile or the Web, but never want to pay a penny; fans of EDM.
Rdio

Rdio is an ad-free music subscription service that allows users to listen to music on-demand, as well as to stream pre-made stations and playlists of tracks created by other users.

Like many of the others, Rdio claims to have that magic 20 million song catalog and offers mobile access for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices (via a Web app). Although you'll need to pay a monthly subscription fee for access from a mobile.

On the desktop, the service will give you six months of uninterrupted ad-free listening. After this, users get a limited number of tracks per month which can be played - once this has been used up, you'll need to subscribe to carry on listening.

For $4.99/£4.99 per month, you can get access to unlimited streaming on the Web, shown above. Increasing this to $9.99/£9.99 broadens access to include mobile devices (Windows Phone shown below) and streaming via devices like a Roku media player. There's also a family plan which includes two (by default, although more can be added) unlimited subscriptions starting from $17.99/£17.99 per month.

Audiophiles might be left pondering over the fact that Rdio doesn't offer the same level of audio quality in its music as some of the rival options, but 192kbps should be good enough for most people. If it's going to be the main source of music for a serious sound system though, you might want to aim for 320kbps tracks, at least.

What's particularly good about Rdio is the clean and crisp UI and - whether this is a good or a bad thing is up to you - the integration with social media, should you wish to track your friends or share what you're listening to. Rdio is currently available in these 51 countries.
For: People who want cheap access to unlimited streaming on the Web, people who want multiple accounts/a family subscription.
iTunes Radio

iTunes Radio is obviously, by its very nature of being tied to the largest digital music store, a big player in this list.

Offering access from a range of [mostly Apple] devices, iTunes Radio can be used on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, or Apple TV and allows seamless syncing of playlists between them.

Rather than focus on user-created playlists at its core, iTunes Radio offers users a choice of more than 250 human-curated and genre-focused radio stations [Note: link opens in iTunes] to tune in to. Naturally, buying recently played tracks is as easy as a click of a button directly from the recently played list (shown above).

If none of those 250 or so take your fancy, you can always create your own personalized iTunes Radio station based around any song, artist or genre that you like.

Like Amazon and Google's music services, Apple also offers users the option of storing all your locally stored music in iCloud via the iTunes Match service, so you can play it back from any compatible device.

To use this feature, you'll need a premium subscription to iTunes Match costing $24.99 per year.

Alternatively, if you don't mind the occasional advert and can live without the iTunes Match service, then you can use Apple's iTunes Radio service gratis.

There's one big and very large drawback to using iTunes Radio though, and that's its limited reach. It launched in the US in September last year, and for now, there it remains.
For: People in the US who own multiple Apple devices and are happy listening to radio format streaming.
➤ iTunes Radio

Deezer

The French company Deezer has been offering music streaming since way back in 2006, although back then it was called Blogmusik. It became a fully fledged business in August 2007.

With many years under its belt already, Deezer is now a mature service with a catalogue of 30 million tracks available for playback. Like the others, at its most basic it offers playlists, music discovery, favorites and integrated social features but it also offers a wide range of different mobile clients including iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry. It's also available on Mac/PCs too, as well as via a dedicated Windows 8 app. Failing all that, you could of course just fire up a browser and use the Web player (below).

The free listening option provides unlimited music for the first month, but after this you'll have just two hours per month. If that doesn't cut the mustard, Deezer has Premium and Premium+ plans available for $4.99 and $9.99 per month respectively.

Upgrading doesn't only remove the listening restrictions, it also unlocks access to higher quality tracks (320kbps) and allows access via mobile apps too.

Like Spotify, Deezer also gives you the option to import your local library of MP3's for playback through the desktop client, but it stops short of actually cloud syncing your library so you can play them back from anywhere.

Users that sign up for a free trial of Deezer Premium+ via Facebook are given 15 days to test out the service, before needing to enter card details to carry on using it. Happily, it'll work in a lot of different countries too, a full list can be found here.
For: People who are happy to pay for access to one of the largest digital music catalogues available to stream and want most of their use to be via the desktop client. It's also one of the few services that offers a native app for BlackBerry device owners.
Xbox Music

Xbox Music is Microsoft's music streaming service that ties together its desktop, gaming, mobile and tablet devices for true multi-platform access, and a replacement for Zune.

Microsoft clearly has ambitions in the space, as Xbox Music already offers more than 30 million songs - more than most others here. Streaming is free and you can create radio stations based on a particular artist, but the music is ad-supported. Free streaming then becomes limited to 10 hours per month after six months, so if you want to carry on using it, realistically you'll end up paying.

As well as providing all the usual sort of playlist and playback functionality, it also scans locally stored files and matches tracks with those in existing playlists on its services.

There are benefits and drawbacks to Xbox Music. While it offers multi-platform access, using it on a mobile or console requires an Xbox Music Pass ($9.99/£8.99 per month), this does open up the option of offline listening too, though.

Xbox Music listeners using a Microsoft console that do pay for the service will also get access to more than 70,000 music videos available to stream. A full list of available countries where the service is active is available here.
For: Microsoft/Windows device owners, people who want to stream videos as well as music.
➤ Xbox Music | Google Play | App Store | Windows Phone

SoundCloud

If you're looking for a huge repository of music, but one that also lets you upload your own mixes and tracks too, then you're probably looking for SoundCloud .

Primarily intended platform for people to share their own musical creations and mixes, as it has grown in popularity and size, big artists and labels have also signed up, allowing for some of their music to be available through the platform.

It's been around since 2007, but SoundCloud got a revamp in 2013 that was intended to make it easier to use and attract even more listeners. However, this move also attracted some criticism that it was heading more towards the mainstream, and was less about artists.

Nonetheless, with a Web player and native mobile apps for Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 smartphones and tablets (Android tablet shown below), there's plenty of ways to listen to tracks on SoundCloud.

Like Spotify and Deezer too, there's also a third-party app ecosystem built around SoundCloud, in which you'll find more than 100 more apps designed to extend the reach and usefulness of it.

SoundCloud offers three pricing tiers:

Free - Offers two upload hours, 100 downloads, unlimited playlists and access to some stats, like number of plays, downloads, comments and favorites of tracks.

Pro (€3 per month/€29 per year) - Allows four hours of uploads, access to posting tracks in 'Quiet Mode' (allowing you to control comments) and Spotlight (allowing you to pin up to five tracks to the top of your profile to receive more attention). It also includes more detailed stats, with reports on who is playing your tracks and where they're located.

Pro Unlimited (€9 per month/€99 per year) - Allows you to upload unlimited single sound file sizes up to 2GB each and within an upload time limit of 30 hours per week.

For: People who want to share their own music with the world, as well as listen to others' creations.
Grooveshark

Grooveshark is an online music streaming service for playing back individual tracks, artists or albums since back in 2007.

The free tier allows ad-supported listening of tracks across a wide range of genres, but it's really the hassle-free listening and good selection of electronic dance music that scored it a place on this list.

Without even creating an account, you can start queuing up tracks in a playlist - although to save a playlist you'll need to at least create a free account - simply by searching. If, when you get to the end of the list you've created (or before that point, in fact), you run out of tracks, there's the option to start a radio station based on the tracks you've been listening to. Handily, if the station then throws up some unknown tracks that you rather like, then you can choose to save the whole tracklist to a new or existing playlist.

If you fancy yourself as having a pretty good taste in music, you can also choose to broadcasts your listening sessions for others to listen along with.

However, while it has an easy to use interface in some areas, free users won't be able to access the service via anything but the browser. For $50 per year/$5 per month, users can subscribe to the Anywhere premium subscription plan that allows usage via Android or iOS apps (on a jailbroken device). It also brings the option of a desktop download for Mac (OS X 10.7+) and Windows machines.
For: Web listeners. While it lacks some of the finesse or more advanced integrations of rival platforms, if you're a Web-first listener and would rather not spend any cash, Grooveshark could be well worth a look.
➤ Grooveshark

Slacker Radio

Slacker is another radio-style streaming service that's available across a range of platforms, but unlike, say, Pandora, listeners aren't restricted to only being able to listen to radio stations.

At its most basic, users can access the service on the Web and via mobile apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone (shown below) to access hundreds of playlists curated by Slacker's music experts and while it doesn't shout about the exact number of tracks it has to offer you, it does boast about having "more than 10x the music of Pandora".

On the free tier, listeners get to listen to as much free radio as they can take, but also endure adverts. Skips are also limited to six per hour.

Paying $3.99 per month gives users access to the Premium plan, which allows for unlimited ad-free streaming, unlimited skips, song lyrics and the option to store your favorite stations on your smartphone memory card.

Bumping this up to $9.99 per month turns it into a fully fledged music on-demand platform, with individual artists, tracks and albums available to stream or sync for offline play. It also unlocks the ability to create playlists.

Slacker suffers from the same problem (from an international perspective) as iTunes Radio and some of the other services in this list, as it's only available to users in the US and Canada, and there's no word on if or when it might expand beyond these horizons.
For: People who like Pandora, but want more music and a slicker design.
TuneIn Radio

TuneIn Radio is a little different to the other radio streaming services in this list as it focuses on acting as a hub and player for commercially available radio shows. In total, there are more than 100,000 live stations available, and more than 2 million podcasts.

Radio stations can be filtered by location or by genre, but there's an obvious drawback to listening to regular radio in this way: the adverts remain, no matter what you do.
For: People who like listening to traditional radio stations, but want to do so from one single platform.
Myspace (Music)

MySpace might seem like an odd one in this list, but since it relaunched, it has re-angled itself as a music and video platform, rather than as a social network.

As such, you'll find a massive library of music on there - but beware of raw numbers, a huge amount of MySpace's usage before the relaunch was for bands and musicians and so it follows that a huge amount of the music available to listen to on the platform is from little-known artists.

On the positive side, if you're just looking for a free way to listening to signed and unsigned artists alike on the Web, then this is one way to do that. It'll particularly appeal to iPhone owners too, who can use the MySpace app to stream personalized radio stations or to listen to stations curated by your connections.
For: People who want a (sort of) social network and a music service rolled into one. People who like discovering unsigned artists.
Beats Music

Beats Music is easily the newest service on this list, so new in fact that it hasn't even quite started up yet anywhere, but it will on January 21. However, only for users in the US - although further expansion is to be expected, judging from the signup page for people outside the States.

Backed by Dr Dre and boasting a catalogue of more than 20 million tracks, Beats Music will launch with iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps, as well as being available via the Web.

Rather than choose specific tracks, it seems Beats Music users will generate a playlist by using cues in the real-world, like people, locations, activities and genre. So, if context-smart music streaming is what you're looking for, then this might be worth checking out - although, it should be noted that most if not all of the services in this list offer some form of music discovery or recommendation service.

Once it's up and running, the service will cost a straight $10 per month, that's it, there are no other options and no freemium business model. You will be able to take it for a test drive with a 30-day free trial, though.
For: People who want some human recommendation and curation, as well as access from a smartphone or tablet.
➤ Beats Music

Amazon

Amazon is clearly the elephant in the room when it comes to this, as it doesn't offer a music streaming service. Yet.

However, we'd be surprised if it didn't offer one in the future.

What it does have right now is the Amazon MP3 store and the Cloud Player. The former lets you buy MP3s and the latter lets you upload them (and any other locally stored music) into Amazon's cloud for playback across a range of devices.

With a company like Amazon, one of the most ambitious and diverse around, it's really only a small step, rather than a huge leap, to see it launch an on-demand streaming music service. For now though, it doesn't.

Round up

As you can see, there are plenty of online streaming options available, with some being more suited to radio listening and others focusing purely on providing individual tracks and albums on-demand.

Most of those included in this list offer an algorithm or human curation aspect to discovery of new music, but you'll likely need to spend some time using any of them before it accurately learns what you like.

For true multi-device, multi-functional, streaming with the additional benefits of being able to upload your own music collection too - Google Play Music All Access gets a shout out. If you're looking for the best all-rounder, Google's is pretty high in the list. Slacker is similar, but US-only and has no provisions for uploading your own music collection to the cloud. And Rdio is a company that's getting a lot of traction at the moment for its six months of ad-free listening and simple design.

Ultimately, this list should be enough for you to narrow it down to two or three that you'd like to try out, and handily most offer a free trial so you can try them on for size. Get to it.
Featured Image Credit - Shutterstock

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15 of the best online music players. Which music streaming platforms is best for you?

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With a seemingly ever-growing number of streaming music services available via the Web and dedicated mobile and tablet apps, choosing the online player that best fits your need is an increasingly difficult task.

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A life without music is truly unimaginable. Whether on the web, mobile phones or tablets, the options for music access are unlimited and so are the streaming music services that are growing at a lightening fast speed. This makes it very complicated to choose one or two from them and decide the most appropriate one. The following list of 15 best free online music streaming platforms will help you out of the complicated state and make it easier for you to decide as to which ones are the best to get a space in your devices without burning a hole in your pockets.

With about 20 million options placed in its catalog, Spotify is one of the most popular names in the music streaming service industry. Providing a streaming quality of about 320 kbps, Spotify has access from all major platforms such as windows, blackberry, iOS and Android. From individual artists to albums to bands and even creating a playlist, Spotify equips the user with every feature to enhance their listening experience.

Another widely used name in the music streaming service industry is Google Play. Google Play, unlike Spotify, enables the user to access their entire music catalog and not just the available streaming ones. Also, with a high quality music streaming ability of 320kbps, Google Play is much easier to access as it is compatible in all leading platforms including iOS.

iHeart Radio is probably the only one music streaming service provider with absolutely no charges included for the access. Equipped with a catalog of more than 18 million songs, 4,500 artists and 1,500 live radio stations, this app can be easily found in all platforms such as Android, Blackberry, Windows, iOS and also Xbox. The user can search, personalize and customize their music needs with the help of this service provider.

With Mixclouds, a user can have an access to long length audios, radio shows, music mixes, create and favorite playlist, all for absolutely free of cost. Also, the users do not need to pay a single penny for downloading the app and is available in all the platforms including android and iOS. Though it does not provide single music or album, its catalog of more than 3 million mixes is the compensation.

Grooveshark is another considerable music streaming service platform where the user can choose from a large list of music and has an easy search and listen format, uploading the user choice Mp3s and also keeping track of friends' music lists, even subscribing to it. Grooveshark is free with ads for the users; however you may have to pay a considerate amount if you intend to benefit more from the site.

Deezer is one of the more mature and experienced music streaming service providers, having started in 2006. The site has as many as 30 million music options in its catalog and is compatible in almost all the platforms, from Android to Blackberry, PC to Windows. The company offers unlimited free music access to the user for one month and then restricts the access to two hours. Deezer is one of the companies with the largest catalog and provides all the basic features. By paying for upgrades, the users can also remove the access restriction and listen to higher quality tracks.

One of the oldest free music streaming service providers, Last.fm is a company with a wide catalog of tracks, albums, artists and many more. The company keeps track of everything the user plays and provides personalized recommendations based on the lists. Apart from this, the user can access the service from Android, web, Linux, Windows and iOS. Though the basic service is free to use, however extra payment has to be made for extra benefits.

Another popular name in the music streaming service industry is the Slacker Radio. Slacker Radio has equipped around 13 million tracks and in its catalog with a streaming quality of 128 kbps and professional DJs creating music stations. It is free with ads, but has a subscription for without ad and on-demand streaming.

Xbox music is a video and music streaming service from Microsoft and has the most expansive catalog with 30 million tracks. It provides free music streaming with ads and has artist-based radio stations. This service is ideal for those having a Microsoft Windows device.

Sound Cloud is a streaming service company that is mainly popular due to its unique feature that allows the user to share their on music creation to the world apart from enjoying someone else's creations. With an expansive music library, sound cloud provides all the basic functionality and free streaming that offers several functions including access to unlimited playlists and few statistics.

MySpace can be considered an amalgamation of a music service and a kind of social networking site. Re-launching itself as a free music and video streaming platform, my space has a huge music library focused especially unknown artists?

8 tracks can be considered a blend of a social networking site and an Internet radio. Here, you can create your own playlist by mixing a minimum of 8 tracks, search other mixes from artists or people and share their creation with the world. It's a free streaming service provider with a radio style format.

The Sixty One is one of the free streaming services with a unique feature which enables the user to access less popular and undiscovered tracks. All the songs can be played online for free and some can be downloaded from the site too.

With Rdio, a user can perform all the basic functionalities starting from creating own playlist, listening particular track, artist or album, personalizing the playlist and creating customizing the radio stations. The streaming is free with ads and it is available on web, Android, Windows and iOS.
STREAMING AUDIO RECORDER
Wondershare streaming audio recorder is an innovative approach whereby a user can record audios from any detected online audio source such as online radio, you tube or music sources. This digital recorder records the audio from these sources with the help of high quality software that not only maintains the original quality of the audios but also automatically discards the commercials in between the tracks. Further more, it allows the user to personalize the recordings and create ringtones. It is simple to use and goes well with all leading music sites and radio stations.

Featured photo credit: music in my life/zeeque via flickr.com

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15 World's Best Free Online Music Streaming Platforms

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A life without music is truly unimaginable. Whether on the web, mobile phones or tablets, the options for music access are unlimited and so are the streaming music services that are growing at a lightening fast speed. This makes it very complicated to choose one or two from them and decide the most appropriate one.

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Trends: Five key digital challenges for the music industry in 2016 | Complete Music Update

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Few industries understand the need to evolve more than music. From vinyl to Tidal, the tune has completely changed in the last few decades. In less than half a lifetime, we went from mind-numbingly slow dial-up to being tapped into the Internet constantly, across a variety of devices and mediums. This has brought about a groundswell of entrepreneurial explorers, keen to pioneer and plant their flag in the fertile and untamed digital music landscape. Sure, the methods may be different, but the soul is still there. So how do you promote music through digital marketing?
What is Music Marketing ?
Besides talent and production, marketing is the key component in turning an artist into a star. It amplifies your hard work and talent to millions of potential fans. Before the Internet Age, this would have just included DJs, radio stations, television and industry press. Today, it consists of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and getting onto major digital music platforms like Tidal, iTunes, Soundcloud and Spotify.
Living In a Social Media World
According to Raffi Keuhnelian, CEO of MusicPromoToday, "Social media has allowed musical talents from around the world to become global superstars. Just think of Justin Bieber, Adele or The Weekend--they all 'made it' online. It also offers music fans the ability to interact and engage with their favourite musicians."

He continues, "Fans feel like they have a voice with social media and that they are being heard. Artists use it to communicate with their fans by keeping them in the know-how of the latest news and upcoming releases. Successful artists are those that excel with their digital marketing strategy and reap the rewards of their creative approach."

Social media marketing also offers a cost-effective solution for bands and their managers to build buzz. For all up-and-coming bands still playing concerts in mom's basement, this has been a real game-changer. With the potential to reach an audience of millions through a retweet by an influencer, artists can launch their career before it even starts.

Don't count out a more traditional promotional strategy like word-of-mouth out though--if anything, it's become even more important with the internet and social media. Think: when you like something, you share it with your friends. Before, this meant waiting to see them or picking up the phone. Now, everybody is a quick text, direct message or click of the "Share" button away.
Mobile Marketing is Key
Let's face it: everyone owns a mobile device. And they always have it on them. Chances are yours is less than five feet away from you at this moment, right? This offers a unique ability for music pioneers and bands to engage fans at times they may have previously been unreachable. When they are at work, they can check their mobile device and suddenly discover an artist or song they've never heard of before.

Before digital, they had to be listening to the right radio station at the right time to hear a new track. Nowadays, they can be online at any point during the day and find a new band that catches their eye--or ear, as the case may be.
Video Marketing
Video marketing has also emerged as one of the best tools the music industry has for digital marketing. Sites like YouTube and Vimeo allow bands to create visual content and post it for millions to see. This has helped launch many aspiring artists. Look at teenage star Avery, who has created a successful career almost entirely thanks to YouTube. Times have never been more exciting.
Conclusion
Digital marketing has undoubtedly changed the terrain of the music industry. The key is to not view it as an unfamiliar threat, but instead a huge opportunity waiting for pioneering artists and their teams. From social media to word of mouth to video market, new talents have never had so many tools --or competition-- in front of them. Those who will not only survive, but thrive in this new world of music are the ones who use the Internet to make themselves known to huge new audiences.

With the rise of Gen Z, the world's first true digital natives, younger generations are learning about older songs through social media and video sites, creating a new wave of fans for the music industry.

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How Digital Marketing Is Changing the Music Industry

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Few industries understand the need to evolve more than music. From vinyl to Tidal, the tune has completely changed in the last few decades. In less than half a lifetime, we went from mind-numbingly slow dial-up to being tapped into the Internet constantly, across a variety of devices and mediums. This has brought about a groundswell of entrepreneurial explorers, keen to pioneer and plant their flag in the fertile and untamed digital music landscape.

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Bullying is behaviour that hurts someone else - such as name calling, hitting, pushing, spreading rumours, threatening or undermining someone.

It can happen anywhere - at school, at home or online. It's usually repeated over a long period of time and can hurt a child both physically and emotionally.

Bullying that happens online, using social networks, games and mobile phones, is often called cyberbullying. A child can feel like there's no escape because it can happen wherever they are, at any time of day or night.

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Bullying is behaviour that hurts someone else - such as name calling, hitting, pushing, spreading rumours, threatening or undermining someone. It can happen anywhere - at school, at home or online. It's usually repeated over a long period of time and can hurt a child both physically and emotionally.

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Most of the apps and social networking sites are for people aged 13 and over. They also state that bullying, abusive behaviours which includes harassment, impersonation and identity theft are banned and not allowed. However, results from our national bullying survey, shows 91% of people who reported cyber bullying said that no action was taken. This can leave users feeling disbelieved, vulnerable and knock their self-esteem.

A general rule when making a complaint about being bullied online is to copy the terms and conditions which have been breached and take a screenshot of the comment or photo as evidence. This may prompt any of these sites and apps to take action as you have shown them their obligation to investigate and take appropriate action.

How to report bullying or abuse on social media

Facebook

Facebook does not tolerate bullying and say they will remove bullying content when they become aware of it and may disable the account of anyone who bullies or attacks another. They have a set of community standards that they adhere to and it states that they will not tolerate:

Pages that identify and shame private individuals,

Images altered to degrade private individuals,

Photos or videos of physical bullying posted to shame the victim,

Sharing personal information to blackmail or harass people and

Repeatedly targeting other people with unwanted friend requests or messages.

You can report bullying on Facebook using the report links which appear near the content itself, normally on a drop down arrow which gives you menu option to report the image, post or comment.

Twitter

If you receive a tweet or reply that you don't like, you can unfollow that person. If they continue to contact you, you can block the user (just click on the head icon on their profile and select block user). You may find that as they are unable to get through to you, they will lose interest. However, if this is not the case and you continue to receive unwanted replies, abuse or threats, you can report it here straight to Twitter directly. If you know a friend or family member is being abused on Twitter, they have advice pages that can help with step by step help.

YouTube

You have every right to use YouTube without fear of being subjected to bullying or harassment. Bullying can be reported and action taken when things cross a line. To flag a video you think is inappropriate (click on the little flag bottom right of the video) and YouTube will take a look at it to see whether it breaks their terms of use. If it does then they will remove it. YouTube rules say you can't upload videos with hate content, nudity or graphic violence and if you find one on someone else's space, click on the video to flag it as inappropriate. If under comments, you are being bullied, harassed or threats are being made, they have a reporting tool page where you can report the bullying and they will investigate.

How to report bullying or abuse on messaging apps

Instagram

Bullying or abuse on Instagram can happen in many ways. It can be either negative comments, fake profiles or hacking of accounts. Instagram take all of these violations very seriously and have plenty of advice on their pages if you or someone you know is being bullied or abused on Instagram. Their advice initially is to block and unfollow the person who is being abusive. However, if it continues or it has gotten worse, you can use their in-app reporting tool. This page has details on how to report the abuse directly to them.

Snapchat

Snapchat is an app that allows users to send pictures to each other that disappear off screen within a set amount of time. Unfortunately, there is bullying on Snapchat in the form of screenshots, sending pics without permission, negative comments and more. If this is the case for you or someone you know they can block a user, tap the Menu icon, select "My Friends," locate their name in the list and swipe right across their name. If you would like to delete a friend from your contacts, press "Delete." Even if you haven't added the user as a friend, their name will still appear in the "My Friends" list under "Recent" if they have sent you a message recently. If you receive an inappropriate photo or someone's harassing or bullying you, report it by filling out their online form.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp Messenger lets people sends instant messages, videos, photos, and short audio messages to either one person or within a group chat. Messages can only be sent to other smartphone users who also have WhatsApp. Once you install the app, it checks your address book to see if anyone else you know is already using WhatsApp, and connects you automatically. You have to be over 16 to use WhatsApp legally. Bullying can take many forms as it is a messaging service and we often hear of abusive group chats. You can block and delete the contact. You can find out more by emailing them at support@whatsapp.com.

General safety tips

Keep it private

Don't post anything on a social networking site which gives your real name, address, school, phone number or which will allow a stranger to contact you in real life. Make sure you don't ID your friends either.

Don't upload anything that might embarrass you at a later date. You might not realise it but things you post on the internet now could come back to cause problems for you later on, for instance when you go for an interview for college or a job. So if you are not happy for it to be shown to the world then do not hit send. Remember once you send it you have lost control of that image or comment.

If you have a webcam or smartphone never be pressured into taking pictures of yourself that you wouldn't want other people to see. Trust your gut instinct over this. Once again, once you hit send, you have lost control over that picture and this can cause anxiety and stress.

If you're using a shared computer at school, in an internet cafe or library then you'll stay logged on even when you close the browser. So don't forget to log off when you've finished the session. Read more tips about staying safe online.

Protecting your tweets

On Twitter you can choose to protect your tweets so that people can only follow you if you approve them first. You can select this by going into the 'settings menu' then 'security and privacy' and ticking the box for 'protect my tweets'. Find out more about the difference on Twitter between public and protected tweets.

Location settings

Many social networks like Facebook and Twitter allow you to post your location or check in each time you tweet or post a status update. This might seem like fun for your friends to know where you are, but it can also mean that people you don't know will see where you are, especially if you're tweeting from your mobile on a profile that is public. To turn off the location settings, go into the 'Settings' menu, scroll down 'Security and privacy' then to 'Tweet location' and untick the checkbox that says 'Add a location to my tweets'. You can also press the button that says 'Delete all location data', to clear information about where you've been in the past.

Snapchat has developed a new feature called Snap Map which can show your location. It is very important to turn this feature off so you are able to keep safe. Snap Map tracks your current location and places your avatar on a map like a pin. This can allow others to zoom in and find exactly where you are. It doesn't take effect until you update the app, and it has an opt-out option. If you're opening the app for the first time after the update, Snapchat will walk you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the Snap Map. First, it'll show you how to pinch and zoom in the camera tool to access the map. Then, it'll ask who you want to see your location. You get three choices: all your friends, select friends, or only me. Choosing 'only me' activates what it calls 'ghost mode' meaning you can see others but they can't see you. To turn off location data altogether, you'll need to visit your phone's settings where you can scroll down to Snapchat, click on 'location', and choose to never share.

Hashtags

Be wary of using hashtags as that can open up your post to be visible on that particular hashtag thread on any social network or app. It can open up your post and your account to a wider audience than you originally intended.

Inappropriate behaviour

If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed online then please tell your parents or someone that can help. If they're doing it to you then they might also be doing it to other people. It's particularly important never to meet up with anyone you meet online in real life, if anyone suggests that to you and particularly if they suggest you keep it secret that's a real danger sign. Read more about recognising dangerous websites.

When you go into a social networking site people might approach you to be a friend but remember that no matter how much they tell you about themselves, they are still strangers and they might not be telling you the truth about themselves. There have been cases of adults pretending to be young people to chat to them online and try and involve you in inappropriate activities. This is called grooming and is a criminal offence. CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) investigates cases of sex abuse and grooming on the internet. Incidents can be reported by clicking the red button on the top right hand corner of the CEOP website.

Although the police can get information from your computer's hard drive, it's helpful if you don't delete anything you think is dodgy until the police have decided whether they need it as evidence.

Removing or blocking friends

Facebook - click on their profile, then on the 'message' button dropdown and you will see the option to 'unfriend'. You can also block a person this way.

Twitter - to remove or block someone on Twitter, click on the button with a head icon on it next to the 'Follow' button on a user's profile. If you click on this you will see a menu with the options to BLOCK the user to prevent them from seeing your profile, and vice versa, and you can also REPORT FOR SPAM, which will alert Twitter to any users who are abusing the service. Read our article about Twitter safety.

YouTube - go to your account page and click on "All Contacts" link in the "Friends and Contacts" section. Choose which person you want to unfriend and the click on "Remove Contacts". From then on the person won't be on your "Share Video" list.

WhatsApp - You can click on the name and then you will be taken to a dropdown menu and you can then choose to block the person.

Snapchat - to block a user who added you follow the steps below. Tap 'Added Me' on the Profile Screen. Then tap their name, and tap the wheel icon next to their name. Press 'Block' to prevent them from sending you Snaps, Chats, or from viewing your Stories.

Instagram - when you block someone, they can't see your profile or posts. People aren't notified when you block them. To block or unblock someone, tap their username to open their profile and then tap the three dots and press the option to block user.

Closing your account

Facebook - to deactivate your Facebook account go to the "settings" tab on the Account page. That will remove your profile and content and nobody will be able to see your details or search for you. But if you decide to reinstate the account later then the whole lot will be restored, including your friends and photos. If you would like to permanently delete your Facebook account, log in to your account, click 'Privacy and Settings', 'See More Settings' and select 'Delete my account'. Once you have confirmed your wish to delete your Facebook account it can take up to fourteen days for it to happen.

Twitter - on the settings tab on your profile, you will see 'deactivate my account' at the bottom. Click on this to delete your account. You have 30 days to change your mind otherwise your profile, all of your tweets and data will be permanently deleted.

YouTube - click on "My Account" in the top right hand corner and under "Account Settings" click on "Delete Account". Give the reason you're quitting the site and your password and then click "Delete My Account". Log out by clicking the link in the top right hand corner. Your videos will be removed from the site immediately and the thumbnails will disappear as soon as YouTube is updated. Your profile is removed permanently.

WhatsApp - you can remove the app from your smartphone either through app management in settings or by going into the settings of WhatsApp.

Snapchat - Open the Snapchat app, login and tap the Settings icon in the upper right corner. Navigate to Support and then Learning the Basics and then click on delete an account.

Instagram - Log into Instagram from a mobile browser or computer. You can't temporarily disable your account from within the Instagram app. Click your username in the top right and then select Edit Profile. Click temporarily disable my account in the bottom right and follow the on-screen instructions. If you want to delete your account permanently, go to the Delete Your Account page. If you're not logged into Instagram on the web, you'll be asked to log in first. Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? And re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you've selected a reason from the menu. Click or tap permanently delete my account.

Don't get into an argument or post offensive material

Don't get into arguments online, this is called flaming and it can get nasty. If you break the rules of whichever site you're on then the content is likely to be removed and you might have your membership terminated. You're not allowed to upload anything which is offensive or racist and which promotes physical harm so don't make threats to anyone. Neither are you allowed to harass people or to encourage other people to harass them. You're not supposed to ask for personal information from anyone under 18 either so if you are under 18 and anyone asks you, for instance, where you go to school, make sure you report them.

Spreading rumours

Don't spread rumours or make up false things about a friend you have fallen out with. You are not allowed to upload anything which is threatening, abusive or which is defamatory. It's defamatory if you say untrue things about someone which give them a bad reputation they don't deserve. It can also be harassment which is a criminal offence in the UK.

You're not supposed to upload a picture or video of anyone without their permission either. So never set up a social networking website account in the names of other people or upload false information about them.

Further advice

West Mercia Police have produced informative advice sheets on what to do if you are being bullied online. The advice sheets are for young people and adults.

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Bullying on social networks - Family Lives

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Most of the apps and social networking sites are for people aged 13 and over. They also state that bullying, abusive behaviours which includes harassment, impersonation and identity theft are banned and not allowed. However, results from our national bullying survey, shows 91% of people who reported cyber bullying said that no action was taken.

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Top 15 Facebook Statistics for 2020 - The Year in Review

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Facebook represents a huge potential market for your social media efforts, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. The following statistics highlight some relevant Facebook facts and can ultimately help you to navigate it better, increasing your return on investment (R…

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As Waterstones and Foyles announce strong sales figures and predictions about the death of the Kindle, Harry Wallop examines the statistics.

The book is back. Actual, physical books, made out of sheets of paper, covered in inky words, have risen phoenix-like from the ashes of some burnt Kindles, if we believe the sales data published this week and some comments from Britain's most important booksellers.

James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones, the country's biggest chain of bookshops, said the Kindle "has disappeared to all intents and purposes". Sales of the electronic device made by Amazon have not just fallen off the edge of the cliff, they've hit the bottom.

His comments came after the retailer said sales of physical books has increased by 5 per cent during December, compared with the same month in 2013.

He told the Telegraph that the jump in sales were not a blip. "We've had month after month now of modest sales growth in books. But on the basis of fairly savage declines, that's very positive for us. And we do a quarter of our sales in December, so it's a really a bellwether month."

Hot on his heels was Sam Husain, the chief executive of Foyles, who said sales at his chain of bookshops had jumped by 8.1 per cent, compared with December the year before.

"We are looking forward to another good year for the physical book in 2015," he said. Even Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook boss, has a New Year's resolution to read a book every fortnight and has started a book club.

The sound of rejoicing could be heard from a legion of book lovers, who only a few years ago fretted that the Kindle, the Nook, the Kobo and a variety of other e-readers were going to kill off physical books. Libraries and shelves of lovingly-arranged paperbacks would become relics of a pre-digital age.

The figures from Waterstones and Foyles are undoubtedly heartening. But It is worth examining whether this is a genuine resurgence in physical books and, if it is, whether it matters.

As Daunt himself points out, any recovery is on the back of some very severe declines.

The physical book market has suffered from a pretty terrible few years - not just from readers shifting to electronic devices, but drifting away from the high street.

According to the Local Data Company, the number of bookshops has fallen by 9.5 per cent over the last five years to 2,547, and there are now more car dealerships in the UK than bookshops.

However, the decline last year, a fall of 1.6 per cent, was more modest than in previous years. Matthew Hopkinson, director of the Local Data Company, also points out that some of the declines have come from WH Smith shutting a few of its dedicated bookshops.

James Daunt, head of Waterstones, says the high street is "savagely tough"

Daunt says: "It is still really savagely tough if you are either not quite good enough or if you're unlucky. The vagaries of the property market remain, and if you are in place on the high street where other retailers close down, you're in trouble. What happens to your neighbours - the toy shop, the butcher, the baker - matters just as much as yourself. I really wouldn't overestimate the health of the high street. London and the south east is a bubble. My Lord, it is tough."

But despite his caution, Waterstones is planning to open new shops this year, so too Foyles. And there are flickering signs of a revival in the independent sector.

Robert Topping owns bookshops in the pretty cathedral towns of Ely and Bath, with a large number of titles crammed into fairly small spaces. Just before Christmas he added a third in St Andrews, the largest independent book shop in Britain for 20 years, he claims.

It offers free coffee - even to browsers - and a wood-burning stove.

He says: "I'm utterly confident that there is life in books. E-books were hyped up nonsense. It could be the zeitgeist, I don't know, but people are talking more about supporting community businesses rather than sucking money out of the community and giving it to American tax dodgers."

He adds: "I don't know about you, but I spend all day staring at a computer screen, I don't want to go home in the evening and stare at another one."

But, like Waterstones and Foyles, his strong sales of physical books in recent months do not reflect the wider market - which, of course, includes online and supermarkets.

According to Nielsen Bookscan, we bought 237 million books back in 2008. In 2013, this had fallen to 184 million, a pretty drastic fall of 22 per cent.

Last year the market continued to decline, though at a far slower rate, with 181 million books bought (an annual decline of 1.7 per cent).

For some, this slow down in the rate of decline, is encouraging, especially as there was no mega bestsellers in 2014 to boost sales, as 50 Shades of Grey, a Harry Potter or a new Dan Brown novel has done in previous years.

Topping said one his shops' surprise hits was Schubert's Winter Journey, written by the tenor Ian Bostridge, an account of his obsession with the song cycle.

Of course, when Daunt talked about e-books disappearing, he was talking about the device you read books on, not the books. He admits that there may be a very good reason for this - most people who wants a Kindle now has one. "They don't break. There are plenty of people who have one of the original ones who still use them. Short of dropping them in the bath, there is a very limited replacement market," he says.

Also, there are many who now read Kindle or Nook books, not on the machines themselves but on Kindle or Nook apps on iPads or other tablets. For many consumers it makes perfect sense to do it this way - saving on the need to have two separate machines.

Nielsen Bookscan does not track the e-book market in the way it monitors the physical market. But it does undertake a detailed survey of consumers. It estimates there were 64 million e-book purchases between January and September 2014, up from 57 million purchases in the same time frame last year.

The rate of e-book growth is slowing substantially, but it is still growing a bit.

It would appear the books market has reached an equilibrium of sorts, with about one in three books being a digital one, and the rest being physical books. In short, the e-book has not killed off the physical book and is unlikely to do so any time soon. There is no Spotify or Netflix equivalent in the books market - streaming and subscription services that have played havoc with the sales of physical music and DVDs.

Kate Wilson is managing director of Nosy Crow, a relatively new publishing house that produces children's books - not just physical lift the flap books and e-books, but also apps for phones and tablets.

A scene from Cinderella for the iPad, published by Nosy Crow

She says that, for young readers in particular, e-books often backfire, especially if they are just scans of book pages on a screen. "Reading should not be the most boring thing they can do on an iPad."

However, highly interactive stories, involving music, and some animation tend to go down very well, and sales of these book apps, designed to be read on iPads, have shot up.

For her, this is the future for reading.

"How do you create things that continue to stimulate children, that makes them think that reading is something they want to spend time doing? That battle for time is more interesting than battle over which medium they chose to experience that reading on."

Other people in publishing world agree, even unequivocal fans of the physical book. Whether consumers are reading - rather than watching TV on their tablet or playing a video game on their TV - is what really matters.

Richard Mollet, the chief executive of the Publishers Association, says; "Nobody is breathing a sigh of relief and saying the book is back. There is still a very competitive market out there for other content."

The battle to persuade consumers to come into bookshops and pick up a paperback will continue to rage, but for now the books world can breathe a sigh of relief that at least people are still reading.

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The Kindle is dead, the book is back. Or is it?

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As Waterstones and Foyles announce strong sales figures and predictions about the death of the Kindle, Harry Wallop examines the statistics. The book is back. Actual, physical books, made out of sheets of paper, covered in inky words, have risen phoenix-like from the ashes of some burnt Kindles , if we believe the sales data published this week and some comments from Britain's most important booksellers.

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Encyclopaedia Britannica stops printing after more than 200 years

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Encyclopaedia Britannica is to stop publishing its print edition after more than 200 years.

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The Independent is to become the first national newspaper title to move to a digital-only future, owners ESI Media have announced.

The move will capitalise on The Independent's position as the fastest growing UK quality newspaper website, and will ensure a sustainable and profitable future.

Rapid digital growth in the past three years has made independent.co.uk the UK's fastest-growing quality newspaper site. Its monthly audience has grown 33.3% in the last 12 months to nearly 70 million global unique users. The site is profitable and is expected to see revenue growth of 50% this year.

Evgeny Lebedev, owner of The Independent, said: "The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They're showing us that the future is digital. This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high-quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.

"My family bought and invested heavily in The Independent because we believe in world-class quality journalism, and this move secures the future of these vitally important editorial values."

Steve Auckland, Group CEO, ESI Media, said: "The unique editorial proposition of The Independent is perfectly suited to the global digital landscape. Following this decisive move to digital, we will be as focused and uncompromised as any start-up, but with all the authority and trust of an established newsbrand - a truly unique proposition. We now have a clear and secure future path for our businesses. It's also a further opportunity for our advertisers to capitalise on our growing, smart, affluent and digitally savvy audience."

The i100.co.uk site, the hugely successful quality news source for millennials, will become indy100.com as part of ESI Media's drive to champion truly independent and innovative journalism worldwide.

The Independent's last paper edition is expected to be published in March.

ESI Media has also confirmed that it will sell i newspaper to Johnston Press, subject to Johnston Press shareholder approval.

The Independent has always been a pioneering newspaper with a track record of innovation. It has a proud heritage as Britain's first truly independent national quality title.

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The Independent will become the first national newspaper to go digital-only

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The Independent is to become the first national newspaper title to move to a digital-only future, owners ESI Media have announced. The move will capitalise on The Independent's position as the fastest growing UK quality newspaper website, and will ensure a sustainable and profitable future.

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The internet is awash with news and comment about North Korea, from its nuclear tests to speculation about the health of its leader, Kim Jong-un. But its own contribution to the world wide web is tiny, according to a leak that revealed the country has just 28 registered domains.

The revelation came after one of North Korea's top-level nameservers was incorrectly configured to reveal a list of all the domain names under the domain .kp.

Many of the sites belonged to official bodies such as the committee for cultural relations and the maritime agency, as well as official state news organisations the Pyongyang Broadcasting Service and Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers' party.

Recent Rodong Sinmun headlines include "Kim Jong-un sends birthday spreads to veteran scholars", and "Narcotic-related crimes increase among South Korean youngsters".

The leak also revealed the homepage of the state-owned airline, Air Koryo, and sites specialising in North Korean movies and cuisine.

Several websites, including Gizmodo, carried screen grabs, and a list of the sites, a few of which were still accessible, was posted on Reddit.

An apparent error by one of the regime's tech administrators briefly gave the world a rare glimpse into the few online sources of information sanctioned by the North Korean regime.

The discovery was made on Tuesday by the security engineer Matt Bryant who posted the data on GitHub.

It said on GitHub that "one of North Korea's top-level name servers was accidentally configured to allow global [domain name system] transfers. This allows anyone who performs [a zone transfer request] to the country's ns2.kptc.kp name server to get a copy of the nation's top-level DNS data."

Bryant told Motherboard: "Now we have a complete list of domain names for the country and it's surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, very small."

Martyn Williams, who runs the North Korea Tech blog, said the list contained no significant revelations about the country's online presence, and noted that other, potentially more sensitive material remained off limits to all but a few privileged North Koreans on the country's own version of the internet.

"It's important to note this isn't the domain name system for the internal intranet," Williams wrote. "That isn't accessible from the internet in any way."

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North Korea only has 28 websites, according to leak of official data

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The internet is awash with news and comment about North Korea, from its nuclear tests to speculation about the health of its leader, Kim Jong-un. But its own contribution to the world wide web is tiny, according to a leak that revealed the country has just 28 registered domains.