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August 5, 2011 Free Music From the Internet A vast selection of music is available from the Internet for your listening pleasure, and much of it is free. Music services such as Pandora, or the newest on the scene, Spotify, provide the music content. Some details:
Spotify (www.spotify.com) was previously available only in Europe but recently launched, by invitation only, in the United States. You can request an invite to join Spotify by going to their web site, which we did. About three days later, we received an email invite. We installed their software, searched for a favorite artist, selected a song from a list of tracks featuring the artist, and instantly had streaming music. That easy--no CDs to rip, no copying files. And, more than 15 million songs to choose from. Logging in to Spotify, gives you several choices: What’s New details newly-released music, complete with album art, and listing of tracks. Choose a track to check it out. Top Lists show the hottest tracks or albums chosen by other users. Feed connects you to other users to share your new finds or playlists and has the latest news from Spotify. Or, use the provided free software to build your own playlists by dragging and dropping tracks. Use for your enjoyment, share with friends using Facebook, or sync the playlists with your iPod, iPhone, Android or (soon) iPad. The free version of Spotify includes ads and a time limit to accessing your account from outside your home network. The Premium version ($9.99/month) has no ads, unlimited access, enhanced sound quality and lets you stream music from the Internet to your mobile device.
Pandora (www.pandora.com) takes a different approach to providing music. Custom "radio stations" are created just for you, based on your entering an artist, song or genre. Personalization is based on more than 100 characteristics of your initial input, matched and prioritized against the growing collection of hundreds of thousands of recordings to create a playlist just for you. You can further refine the selections by indicating those you like or don’t like. Unlike Spotify, you don’t see the playlist, and selections are randomized. When we used Pandora, more often than not we were pleasantly surprised with their selections. The free version allows you to set up your radio stations and stream music, although there’s a 40-hour time limit per month, and you’re subject to ads. If you reach your limit for the month you can wait for the next month, pay $0.99 for unlimited listening for the rest of the month or upgrade to Pandora One, which costs $36/yr for unlimited time, no ads and improved quality sound. Mobile versions are available for iPhone, iPad and iPod. Spotify and Pandora both provide free, easy and exciting options for enjoying music at home or on the go. |
