The publicly available data leaves some questions. It's not clear that the findings account for savings from reduced transportation costs, packaging and other savings that come when the music doesn't have to physically travel somewhere. This also doesn't account for multitasking. If you're listening to music while you're already at your computer, for instance, you're not really using significantly more power than you would otherwise.

As it stands, the researchers aren't calling for people to go back to spinning records. Rather, they want you to think about your power use and choose services that minimize their effect on the planet. They also hope this could foster alternatives that are more sustainable without sacrificing the convenience you expect from on-demand tunes.