When you stream a song, our devices access electronic files that are stored on active, cooled servers sitting inside data centres around the world.

Beyond the large amounts of energy those centres use, the retrieval and transmission of that information, which is transferred via wifi or the internet, also requires energy. The device you're using to listen to music is another factor, and oftentimes streaming drains your battery at a higher rate.

According to research, streaming (of all types of media) is now responsible for three to four per cent of the global carbon footprint.

While few people still download music files today, experts have agreed that one of the most climate-friendly ways to listen to music is to keep a digital file of your favorite song and return to it repeatedly.

When you are downloading a song, the same amount of energy is consumed as if you were streaming it. But, once you’ve downloaded the song, emission of greenhouse gasses is substantially less with each additional play—far less than if you were to repeatedly stream the song from anywhere other than the cloud.

Listeners use twice the amount of their device's battery life when they stream versus downloading.

When you download songs or albums, there is an 80 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions because it will take less energy to replay.

Source: MIT

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/07/17/1095024/music-streaming-climate-friendly-tips/