 |
 |
 |
           |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
MP3 Music Subscription Services. A Good Deal?
There's a reason Apple Computer dominates the legal 99-cents-a-download digital music scene: It does it right. Apple's iPods set the style and ease-of-use standards that other portable music players must try (so far unsuccessfully) to match. Its iTunes Music Store and iTunes software are equally unparalleled. Still, as I wrote in a column on the Napster To Go subscription service, Apple's path isn't the only one that makes sense. I remain an unabashed iTunes junkie. But an alternative model - the "portable" music subscription - is growing on me. Now, with the addition of RealNetworks Rhapsody To Go service - and especially with the debut this month of Yahoo Music Unlimited - I imagine it'll grow on others, too. I did encounter some sour notes with the two services. Yahoo Music is still in "beta" testing, though the more serious snags actually occurred inside Rhapsody. But overall, both Yahoo and Real left a melodious impression. Each claims more than 1 million songs in its catalogs - though they're light on classical. (Apple says iTunes exceeds 1.5 million tracks.) I'm guessing that Apple will eventually introduce a subscription service of its own. Why? Under a subscription or rent-a-tune model, you can listen to a boatload of music for a lot less loot than on a buy-only download site. And you can carry those tunes in your pocket, via compatible portable digital music players. Buying 2,000 songs on iTunes would cost nearly 2 grand. Under Yahoo, you could rent those same tracks for a fraction of that sum. And you can't beat Yahoo's introductory price of $59.88 a year, equal to $4.99 a month. If you prefer to go month to month, you'll fork over $6.99. Subscribers who wish to buy, instead of rent, certain tracks will pay 79 cents each, non-subscribers 99 cents. At $14.99 a month, Rhapsody To Go is costlier than Yahoo but still a bargain, on a per-song rental basis, compared with iTunes. RealNetworks subscribers can buy downloadable songs for 89 cents a pop. Nice touch: Those who don't subscribe can still listen to 25 full-length "streams" and 25 radio stations a month. (Napster To Go fetches $14.95 a month and 99 cents a track.) As with Napster, there's a catch to Real's and Yahoo's rental plans: You must remain a paying subscriber, or the songs you've rented will no longer be playable. And forget about transferring Yahoo or Real rental tracks to an iPod. (You can still transfer to an iPod songs ripped from CDs and, in Real's case, songs you buy.) Why rent when you can buy? Aside from the cost savings, you may want to listen to something on a whim. Maybe you're just curious about an emerging artist. Renting can be complex, though, reflecting conflicts over digital rights. You'll have to buy tunes to burn them to a CD. But some songs can't be bought. Others can be streamed but not downloaded. Some can be downloaded but must stay tethered to a PC. And some can be downloaded and moved to a portable device. Got it? I prefer Yahoo to Real, and not just because of the lower prices. Yahoo jukebox software (called Yahoo Music Engine) also worked more seamlessly than its Real counterpart. Using both services, I synchronized music with iRiver H10 and RCA Lyra RD2762 devices, though not all tracks ended up on the Lyra. That's because, for now, this model can receive only purchased music, not rented tracks. When I downloaded or transferred tracks to a portable device, Yahoo displayed a helpful status bar on the Music Engine screen to show the download progress. On Rhapsody, you must visit a separate screen. Yahoo boasts other sweet touches. Yahoo Music is integrated with Yahoo Messenger. So you can see the music your IM pals are listening to and legally listen along. You can also search for members who have similar tastes. Members can control who gets to see their collections. People you follow are called "influencers"; their highly rated songs will play on your personalized "LAUNCHcast" radio station. Those who seek your recommendations are deemed "followers." There were a few annoyances. Yahoo lets you search by album, artist, song or member, though not all at the same time. When I searched Yahoo for certain albums - the soundtrack to the movie Fever Pitch, for example - Yahoo showed a picture of the album cover and listed the songs. But there was no way to stream any of the album tracks. It happens that Yahoo lacks the rights to play those songs or to make them available for sale. Still, I felt teased. I ran into bigger trouble with Rhapsody, at least at first. Real's software kept freezing and crashing on an HP Pavilion notebook computer. I called Real for help. Disabling a feature in which Rhapsody is supposed to automatically search for and import new tracks into your music library fixed the problem. But that feature is one that many users will want. Real says a fix will be included in the next release. What's more, if you decide to buy a track as a Rhapsody subscriber, good luck figuring out how. I had to call the company to determine one way: I right-clicked on a song title and then clicked on the menu item "buy track(s)." Though Rhapsody doesn't have an instant-messaging component as Yahoo does, there are ways to share and discover free MP3 music. You can press a share button to publish a playlist on Rhapsody, e-mail that list to friends or write a blog about the contents. Rhapsody can show an instant playlist based on songs you've been listening to. Microsoft's digital rights software underpins both Rhapsody and Yahoo Music. So when something goes wrong with the software, it affects all the music services at once. When "licenses" on my machine somehow became corrupted, rental tracks on Rhapsody and Yahoo failed to play. I had to reinstall Microsoft's software. I don't expect Apple to slip off the online music throne anytime soon. But Yahoo and Real are at least giving digital music fans plenty to think about. Mary works in US for a media company, occasionally writing for the biggest MP3 music news portal, and drinking too much coffee.
MORE RESOURCES:
Music - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How I Learned How To Play The Guitar After Giving Up In Disgust I was 17 at the time (the Beatles era), and it was considered cool to play the guitar. I had a little training in music in elementary school where I had learned how to play the trumpet. New Age Music - What Is It Good For? Let's face it. The world will not end if there isn't another new age music CD on the market. A Brief History of Fender Guitars Perhaps no other guitar maker has touched the hearts of so many players and collectors as Fender. By producing excellent guitars at reasonable prices, Fender has been the instrument of choice for many guitarists throughout the world. Music and Emotion The Age-old Puzzle of Human ResponseIf you've listened to more than a little music, you've most likely received an emotional reaction from some of it. You've probably noticed that whenever that happens, the effect is initially unexpected and varies in its intensity. Celtic Music: The Japanese Connection My friend, guitarist Brian Hughes, toured with the Chieftain's in Japan as an opening act with Loreena McKennitt. He then went on to perform with the Chieftains in North America and Europe when they were promoting their album Santiago. Inspiration Wanted - Apply Within! One of the biggest stumbling blocks for music students is knowing what to practice. In the early years students listened to their teachers and did what they told them to do, which is still of course perfectly valid. How Can You Make A Rock Vocal Sound Better? Admit it.. Form - Giving Shape to Your Music Do you ramble on endlessly with your improvisations? If so, good. This has its place in music making and in new age piano playing in particularly. Copyright Basics for Songwriters Should you copyright your song? If you're a songwriter, sooner or later you will probably have some questions about getting your material copyrighted. Since I've already been down this road before, you might be able to benefit from my experience. The Flower Garden and New Age Piano Music If you've ever looked at a flower garden, not only its beauty may have captivated you, but also its overall arrangement.There may have been some tulips or roses combined with other flowers or plants. They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano... but When I Started to Play... Remember the old ad that used to run endlessly in magazines and newspapers:"They laughed when I sat down at the piano.. How to Create Hip, Mature, and Lush Harmonies [correction] Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in a single octave, the root on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the fifth on the top.Usually chords are "voiced!"This basically means that the positions of a chord's tones are scattered over the keyboard. Is the Mainstream Ready Once Again for Dance Music? Not since the heyday of Dance/Pop Artists like Taylor Dayne and Paula Abdul has Dance Music been a mainstream category. Today, "Dance Music" as defined by Billboard's Dance Club Chart represents only a very small segment of the music market. What is Piano GHD Syndrome? Do you remember the movie, Groundhog Day? In this wonderful movie, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) relives the same day - Groundhog Day, over and over and over again. No matter what he does, he wakes up the next morning and it is once again Groundhog Day. Rickenbacker 4003 Electric Bass Guitar The Rickenbacker 4003 electric bass guitar is one of the few electric basses to have earned the accolade "classic" as a title for itself. The Rickenbacker 4000 Series guitar is attributed for creating new dimensions of bass playing capabilities. Win Friends & Influence People Through Music -- Is It Possible? The idea that studying music improves the social development of a child is not a new one, but at last there is incontrovertible evidence from a study conducted out of the University of Toronto.The study, published in the August issue of Psychological Science was led by Dr. Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records Introduced in 1982, the compact disc was intended to provide better sound than the 40-year-old long-play record album, popularly known as the LP. Using a laser rather than a diamond needle for playback the compact disc was smaller, more convenient to use, and less susceptible to damage than the LP. Learn to Fiddle the Orange Blossom Special, the Most Popular Fiddle Tune in the World Learning to fiddle the Orange Blossom Special is not easy, but it's truly worth the effort. The Orange Blossom Special is unequaled in popularity. How I Compose a Piece of Music A number of people have asked about my own methodology for creating a complete piece of music at the piano. At the risk of oversimplification, the steps are as follows:1. Performance and Gigs "For optimum amp tone onstage, plug your amp into your own AC outlet..
|
 |