How To Stream Music Everywhere You Go: A Guide For Older Generations
As someone who is somewhere between Gen X and Baby Boomer age, you are probably aware of all of the ways in which you can listen to music. However, you might not know how music radio streaming works, or how to stream music everywhere you go. For your cross-section of the population, this serves as a guide to how younger generations are listening to music, and how you can partake of streaming music, too.
Satellite Radio
Satellite radio is a form of streaming music. You have to buy a receiver to receive the satellite signals, but then your receiver can get up to two hundred or more "stations." Each "station" plays a specific type of music, and you can tune the receiver to play any station. With some satellite radio devices, you may get a certain number of "stations" for free, but then you have to pay to subscribe to other stations. It is similar to streaming video. There are some shows you can watch for free and other shows you have to pay for.
Streaming Music in Your Hand
If you have a smartphone, you can download streaming radio apps. If you have a music streaming device (e.g., Zune, iPod, etc.), you can tune to some "stations," while you subscribe to others. These devices allow you to stream music everywhere, as long as you have the device with you. If you need to compare it to older technology, think Walkman from when you were a kid. The modern devices even have earphones like you had when you were young.
Streaming Music in Your Car
If your car is fairly new, you have both satellite radio and Bluetooth technology built into the dash. You can listen to music from satellite streams or plug your handheld device into your dash with a USB cable and listen through your device. Either way, you can listen to your music everywhere you go in your vehicle.
Streaming Music to Your Whole House
Interconnected speaker systems that share internet-connected speakers can stream music from a device, or directly from internet sources. Some of these internet sources are provided by top online-only retailers. Your handheld device needs to be compatible with the speakers you choose, but then you have wireless music in any room. This is especially nice if you want to listen to 90's grunge in your basement, 80's pop in your workout room, and 50's soul in your man cave.