This week, Donald and Jasmine talk up the new iAudio players from Cowon and how they're going to have Apple shaking in its boots (not), and also take an inordinate amount of time to espouse upon something that has very little to do with digital music: a possible monthly subscription plan for online video from iTunes. Plus, some very unsubtle earbuds from Stonedcandy--er, Skullcandy--and some listener feedback on iPod usage.
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Spotify's much-hyped streaming-music service has been given the green light by Apple's iPhone app approval board, according to a report from U.K.'s Paid Content. Though the Spotify app has yet to officially surface in the iTunes App Store, an Apple spokesman made it clear that the app would be available "very soon."
While the news is sure to excite Spotify's current user base in Europe and the U.K., music fans in the U.S. have yet to experience what all the fuss is about, since the service is currently blocked on this side of the pond. Rumors abound that Spotify plans to open its doors to America before the year is though, but until then, the availability of an iPhone app isn't doing us much good.
Beyond fanning the flames of American curiosity over Spotify, news of the app's approval demonstrates an intriguing change of tactics for Apple. ... Read more
Rhapsody's iPhone app will allow users to stream ad-free music and add selections to their playlist queue.
(Credit: Rhapsody)Subscription music service Rhapsody, a division of Real Networks, has announced plans to port its service to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. In a blog post Sunday, the company said it will submit the application (demonstrated on the video below) this week to Apple for review.
Historically, Apple has steered clear of subscription music, making it impossible for services such as Napster or Rhapsody to work with the iPod, fearing competition with its own iTunes music service. But the success of iPhone music applications such as Pandora, Last.fm, and Slacker, may have opened the door for subscription services as well. (Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News.)
Rhapsody's mobile app will require that users hold a Rhapsody-to-Go account, which currently runs $14.95 per month. (Non-subscribers will apparently be offered a limited time free-trial period.) The Rhapsody app allows subscribers to explore and stream Rhapsody's entire online music catalog over EDGE, 3G, or Wi-Fi, as well as create and store playlist queues of their favorite content. The app does not, however, allow users to download and store Rhapsody songs directly on the device, or cache content temporarily to hear offline.
If Rhapsody's application is approved by Apple, it won't likely be alone. Competing services such as Spotify have shown off similar applications, and Napster will surely want to get in on the action as well. The real question is whether people will find subscription music capabilities valuable. With free, ad-supported services such as Pandora already dominating the spotlight, it remains to be seen whether Rhapsody can convince new customers to spend close to $15 a month for unlimited on-demand music streaming.
In the blog post, Rhapsody also revealed plans to develop an Android application. It's not known whether that version would offer greater flexibility (local storage, over-the-air downloads) than the version for the iPhone.
Rhapsody on iPhone from Jamie on Vimeo.
(Via PC World)
Napster has come a long way since its inception as a file-sharing service 10 years ago, and there is little doubt that without it, Rhapsody wouldn't exist--at least not in the form we enjoy today. Now, thanks largely to the fact that most competing services gave up on the game and passed their subscribers over to the two remaining companies, these music subscription companies are rulers of the roost when it comes to paid streaming. But who will come out on top when we pit Napster and Rhapsody against each other in five bone-shaking rounds? Read on for the answer.
Pandora's free, ad-supported Internet radio service has attracted millions of registered users, and spawned one of the more popular iPhone Apps. On Tuesday, May 19, Pandora announced the launch of Pandora One, a premium version of its popular, free, Internet radio service.
For a yearly fee of $36, Pandora's power users can upgrade to the Pandora One service, which offers ad-free playback, higher-quality audio (192Kbps), extended playback time, and a dedicated desktop player. The announcement of Pandora One comes hot on the heels of news that the company will soon add lyrics to its radio feeds using Gracenote technology.
(Via Hypebot)
On the evening of May 18, the online music service Napster (a subsidiary of Best Buy) intends to drop the price of its least-expensive subscription music plan from $12.95 down to $5. The low-cost subscription plan allows users unrestricted streaming from a catalog of over 7 million songs, as well as a new offering of five DRM-free MP3 downloads per month. Although Napster's music service has an international reach, the new subscription plan is currently available only to U.S. customers.
Napster will continue to offer a $14.95 premium plan for users who wish to take subscription content with them on portable devices (although, the service is still not supported on iPods). It is unclear, at this point, whether premium subscribers will also have access to the five free MP3 downloads offered with the $5 plan.
Microsoft's Zune Pass music service adopted a similar subscription model in November of 2008, offering unlimited subscription tracks and 10 free MP3 downloads for a monthly fee of $15. Rhapsody, the most significant subscription music competitor of both Zune and Napster, has yet to announce any tweaks to its pricing model (a $13 basic plan, $15 for portable device support). Time will tell if the demand for Napster's low-cost subscription plan will pressure both Microsoft and Rhapsody into repackaging their subscription plans, as well.
Philips GoGear Aria is made for Rhapsody.
(Credit: CBS Interactive/Corinne Schulze)If subscription music was a drug, I'd be one of its biggest pushers. I'm a huge proponent of paying a flat monthly fee in order to enjoy all the music I want at any time (and in any order...without commercials). It's even better if you can take as much of it as possible with you anywhere on an MP3 player. A handful of services and devices offer this option.
You can pair Zune Marketplace with the Zune player, or choose from a seemingly endless array of other non-iPod MP3 players and sync up with Napster To Go or Rhapsody To Go. Of course, the best devices are going to be the ones gussied up with onboard software specifically made to work with a particular service.
If it's Rhapsody you're interested in, you're going to want a player with DNA, and you can choose from six of them by following the link below.
Funny, I don't remember spending $30,000 to fill my iPod.
Microsoft's latest anti-Apple campaign has set its sights on the iTunes music store. Using a 30-second video and an interactive calculator, Microsoft makes a case that their $15/month subscription music service is an awesome value compared to the $30,000 it would take to fill a 120GB Apple iPod Classic using iTunes.
Microsoft's argument is riddled with fallacies. For starters, it's naive to think that people are filling MP3 players with purchased music. I'm no pirate, but at least half (probably more) of my MP3 music library comes from friends, freebies, CDs, eMusic trials, and God-only-knows--which doesn't account for the movies, photos, and podcasts that make up a healthy chunk of my MP3 players.
Also, how many people completely fill their MP3 player (especially the 120GB iPod Classic used in the example). Or what about the fact that Microsoft's $15 monthly fee adds up to $180 a year? The reality is, the numbers don't matter. History has already played out this fight enough times to show the futility of Microsoft's economic pitch.
To refresh everyone's memory, here's a brief history of products and services that sought to unseat iTunes by appealing to consumers' wallets.
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This week, Jasmine and Donald discuss a variety of music tech that's perfect for helping you motivate into summer swimsuit shape--there are even music gadgets for people who prefer cycling and swimming to jogging and gyming. Also, Donald's got some info that will help any digital audio newcomer understand formats, and Jasmine rants about Rhapsody irritants. Plus, we answer questions about subscription services and explain why they don't play nice with the iPod.
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What can I say: I'm a sucker for constructive feedback. Recently, I posted a piece about why I'm so infatuated with Rhapsody's subscription service, and I was pleased as punch to hear that the unconventional music model has some supporters aside from myself. The article also generated a fair amount of questions about the service and how exactly it works--understandable, what with the fact that the subscription music model is not exactly transparent. This week's MP3 Mailbox Monday addresses two aspects the model that I think will be particularly helpful for subscription music newcomers.
Q: I was told by a friend that once he declined the yearly service offered by Rhapsody, he was no longer able to play his MP3 songs already downloaded to his personal MP3 player. I do not know the maker of the personal player, but I know he had downloaded the files to his computer, and transferred them to the player, free MP3's, which were part of a trial offer from Rhapsody. What I would like to know: how can the player not function and play those MP3's once he no longer had an active account at the Rhapsody site? Thanks for your help. -- Richard, via e-mail.
A: I doubt that they were "free MP3s." If he signed up for a free trial of Rhapsody, he would have been able to download and stream any music from the Rhapsody catalog during that free trial, but after the trial was up, he would no longer be able to play the files (unless he continued the subscription by paying for it). The tracks themselves were not free--the subscription was during that time. Once the subscription is up, you no longer get access to the music.
Also, the files were likely not MP3s at all, but DRM-protected WMAs, which is what Rhapsody uses for its subscription catalog. The reason it uses this type of file is that WMA DRM10 tracks are capable of having a timer built in, which allows them to lock after a certain time period if a person does not continue paying for the subscription. (Likewise, in order for a device to support subscription music, it has to have a hardware clock built in that is compatible with this timer.)
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Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
