Digital music may not have saved the environment after all

The publicly available data pose some questions. It is not clear that the results account for the savings achieved through reduced transportation costs, packaging and other savings achieved when the music does not have to physically move whatever share. It does not represent multitasking either. If you are listening to music while you are already on your computer, for example, you are not using much more energy than you would have done otherwise.

In the current state of things, researchers do not ask people to go back to the archives. Instead, they want you to think about your energy consumption and choose services that minimize their impact on the planet. They also hope that this could promote more durable solutions without sacrificing the comfort you expect on demand.