Is it correct that to create a new collection in the new Music Connect web app individual albums need to be added one by one either by referring to the Core or manually? I have so many albums that are NOT in core and too many to add individually. Can I not just point the app to the hard disk where my music is kept and scan like before?
I don’t use the scanning from hard drive or any other feature of the desktop to do something with files on the harddrive. But I can share an idea I picked up at a different software supplier.
It is technically feasible to make an integration from Web to the filesystem. I have seen it in action where an software supplier made an integration from the web application with the OS to have access to the local printer.
The solution was very straightforward. They created a very small Windows application with some REST endpoints running on http://localhost:portnumber
Then you are able to make calls from your web client to that rest endpoint that is running on your computer.
So it is technically possible to access your harddrive from an web client.
Just sharing this idea with you because I almost never see this approach in action so you don’t think about it. Even Thuisbezorgd doesn’t use this solution (yet) but some other large companies do (SendCloud).
That solution has been on our ideas list for about 15 years. But we never created it because
we felt it would be too much of a hassle for users, not a really simple out-of-the-box solution
would probably be a support nightmare
and in the end, very few of our audience are still into music files.
I feel that music as digital files on your computer was kind of a temporary “phase”, between the CD phase and the streaming phase. We are hesitant to invest in tech for such a small and decreasing audience.
Also, I have no idea how this would apply to Thuisbezorgd…
I read in the Movies section people had similar requests with access to their OS.
Don’t think it is a nightmare when you put all the configuration on the web client.
Thuitbezorgd has a similar problem. As a restaurant owner you receive orders. The orders need to be printed (for most restaurants). They are switching from a desktop app (which works perfect) with easy access to receipt printers to a web based order system. However this order system has no direct access to printers. So browser printer dialogs, all kinds of problems with printing the receipt. Their move to the web is a nightmare.
I agree, if the user base is small it is not worth the effort.
@CLZ_Alwin This raises an interesting question: if you think that music files were just a transition from cd to streaming, what is the future of CLZ Music at all if the future is just streaming? Are streamers your target audience? CLZ is for collectors (it used to be in the name), and you can’t “collect” streamed music. The audiophiles I know collect vinyl, CDs, tapes and downloaded files. Many rip their CDs to servers, so all their digital is in files. While download purchases may be declining, that doesn’t mean that niche collectors don’t still have and acquire music files either through purchase or ripping, and isn’t CLZ Music for niche collectors? I have a relatively small collection and I have 1300 vinyl albums, 1200 CDs and 800 albums in downloaded files.
It would be very interesting, and perhaps worth your time, to conduct a poll of your music subscribers to see how many have meaningful music file collections, and what percent of their collections are cd, vinyl, and files. The poll would have to be done as a direct email to your subscribers, since I’m guessing those that participate in the forum are a minority. If file ownership is a small percent of your base, then your point is made.
For what it’s worth, I belong to an audio group, and while all our members collect music, most of those who collect digital have converted to server-based systems. Yes, some still collect cds, but most of us (about 80%) rip to music servers. Most of us collect vinyl, and a few collect R2R tapes. All of us use streaming services (most use Qobuz, a couple use Tidal), but those of us who stream will buy the music we really like, since streaming services can’t be depended on to always maintain access. There are several audio equipment manufacturers specializing in music servers, one of the best of which is in your back yard (www.grimmaudio.com) and they are thriving. So who’s supporting this industry? Music collectors. You are absolutely right, the vast majority of music listeners are converting to streaming, but not the vast majority of serious collectors - most of them are still maintaining files along with their CDs and vinyl. Go to any audio show and you will see this for yourself.
I also see the music industry published sales data, as I’m sure you do, showing the decline in downloads and the ascendance of vinyl, but I’m not sure this data is representative of the subset of serious collectors. After all, Taylor Swift accounted for a significant bump in vinyl sales last year, and I doubt most of those albums went to serious collectors.
I love CLZ and recognize it’s the best music database out there, I only argue this point because I think it’s worth a deeper dive. If you have relevant data I’d love to see it, and if not, it may be worth your while to do the research. If you’re correct and only small percentage of your users maintain file systems, then I’m sure we’ll merrily go on our way manually entering what isn’t in Core and you can dismiss us.