Announcement, Our Streaming Journey - Part 1

We launched our new Presto Music streaming service six weeks ago. At first, we trickled it out to a few users of the previous ‘My Library’ app, then increased the pace to update all users, and then started actively marketing it on the website. 

We’ve been hugely encouraged by the response, and as the first customers to try the service reach the end of their one-month free trial, we’re seeing the majority converting to a paid subscription. We hope this means we’ve created something people like, and that is certainly supported by the numerous bits of great feedback we’ve had from customers and press:

Any streaming service will feel insignificant compared to Presto Music’s attention to detail through a genuine love of music. 

G.P on Twitter

I’m on a trial run with Presto and honestly I can’t find a better jazz and classical music catalogue. In addition, the resolution of digital files is optimal: 192 kHz on 24 bits. With a WiFi streaming station and good DAC, that’s happiness.

Luc Fortin on Facebook

The streaming service is very much a new direction for us, and we will have much to learn over the coming months. We thought we’d start a series of regular articles not only to keep you updated on plans and progress, but also learn from you about what you think is working well and what isn’t, as well as discovering what features and improvements you’d particularly value.

I should put a slight caveat in here in that we’re a privately owned business and fund all our developments through trading and (in a good year) profits. Whilst in many ways this gives us a lot of freedom as a business to jump on opportunities and make decisions which we think are the right ones for our customers and the long-term future of the business, it does also limit the pace at which we can go, as we simply don’t have the budgets of the Apples or the Spotifys of this world. All the more reason therefore to make sure we’re working on the right things!

So, in no particular order, our current plans for the next 6-12 months are as follows:

• Playlists - whilst we don’t see our role as being to provide ‘Peaceful Piano’ or ‘Classical Music to study to’ type playlists - (those are well catered for on other services) - we do think that we could create some really engaging curated playlists - things like ‘Handel heroines through the ages’ or ‘English String Quartets of the 1920s’ and also tap into our strong relationships with active musicians and composers to discover what they’re listening to or music which they feel is unjustly neglected. We also plan to add the facility for users to create their own playlists, and even share them with others. 
• Pre-Release albums - Record labels often release a few selected tracks from a new album in the weeks prior to the official full release. We’d like to be able to offer you these, along with the ability to mark an album you particularly like in preparation for its full release.
• Recently Played albums - We’re aware that when you’ve finished listening to an album and moved on to something else there is no record of it, or easy way to find it again, so we’re looking to add that visibility.
• Predictive Search - Whilst words like “Bach” and “Podger” are both relatively short and easy to spell there is no shortage of composers and artists with long and difficult to spell names, and there are also work names which can be a challenge (I was struggling with Handel’s oratorio “La Resurrezione” last weekend!). A predictive search where you type in say the first 3 letters such as ‘TCH’ and ‘Tchaikovsky’ is suggested we feel would make a much quicker and improved experience. 
• Desktop App - We’ve had several requests for a desktop app, which would enhance the desktop experience, and through ‘exclusive mode’ allow users to channel bit-perfect audio to a connected USB Dac. 
• Hi-Fi integrations -  Many of our customers have nice Hi-Fi set-ups at home which they use for CDs and downloads, and one of the challenges with a streaming service is being able to use it seamlessly with an existing Hi-Fi set-up. Whilst Airplay and Bluetooth can sometimes help, they don’t work with all Hi-Fi set-ups and, in any case, are not a perfect solution, so we’ve started work with several different manufacturers to deliver truly integrated compatibility. Realistically, this is going to take some time. However, we do have another solution which we’ve been quietly developing for the last 18 months, and all being well will be revealed very shortly!