For many people, music is a necessity. Some need it in the background to sleep, while others can't do work without having a good beat in their ears.

There are plenty of ways to get new music. You can go out and buy a CD, download digital files via a service like iTunes, listen to (and watch the videos for) individual songs on YouTube - the list goes on. Those who don't want to bog down their devices by saving music on their hard drive might instead choose to stream their favourite tunes.

According to a new study from Media Technology Monitor, streaming the latest and greatest songs has become particularly popular in Canada. 

Canadians rocking out at all times
The news source reported that this latest figure is up significantly from past statistics - 61 per cent of Canadians used the Internet to stream music in 2012 and 57 per cent did so the year before.

The most popular way Canadians are indulging is via YouTube, with 52 per cent of those who streamed in 2013 saying this was their method of choice. That being said, other popular strategies included online feeds of radio stations and particular streaming services like Songza and Rdio.

What do you need to do this?
There are a number of particularities individuals will need to be able to stream music on their own devices. For instance, the machine itself - whether it's a laptop, tablet, smartphone or other gadget - must actually have the capability to do so. So, an old desktop from the 1990s that's miraculously still hanging on probably won't be able to stream tunes.

Other than the device itself, individuals are going to want to have a worthwhile Internet package that includes plenty of data and won't break the bank if they go over. Consider this - say you've got Slacker on in the background when you're doing work for a few hours. Your computer isn't going to let you know you've gone over your data plan for the month, and a large Internet service provider is going to start charging massive fees immediately. Without doing some digging into your usage, you'll go on using the Internet as normal for the rest of the month, not knowing that for every click, you're essentially being fined.

So, it's often best to pick an indie ISP - not only do their packages tend to be more comprehensive and flexible, but small providers usually work with customers and don't charge massive fees for overages.