Parsing through all these music subscription services

[RavenSword]

Does anyone else hate that there's so many of these music on demand services right now? I believe that competition is the best thing , but really thinking about all these services we have my gives me a headache.

Seriously, how are we supposed to parse through all this and decide on one to use ?

Spotify has the most music , probaly, but one of the worst interfaces .

I've always seem to run into playback issues "songs restarting from pause, shuffle not being persistent or not working being two examples) but I really like their interface and collection feature to save full albums instead of playlists

Google music I've had problems with the shuffle option and (at least on android) it's a big data hog . Not sure if ios version is like that too. but I really like have my own music accessible alongside the on demand stuff

And I am trying out vests music right now. I like their interface look a whole lot, and audio sounds really good, but I don't know if I like that this service was created by beats, who make terrible headphones that are somehow mega popular. It seems like a cash grab .

And I haven't tried deeper or rhapsody or the other ones.

The point is, there is such a thing as TOO much choice. And it's rather overwhelming when your trying to pick one. There isn't really one that's head and shoulders better, they all have faults.

Which one did you decide to use? Did the choice seem hard due to all the choices available?

 

[pr1nce]

I really just use a few, iTunes Radio, Pandora and Tunein Radio. I do have a Spotify account, but I never use it because I hate the interface.


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[RavenSword]

I really just use a few, iTunes Radio, Pandora and Tunein Radio. I do have a Spotify account, but I never use it because I hate the interface.


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Which do you find to be better; iTunes Radio or pandora?

 

[Danny8200]

I've tried several music services, being a paid member to each service on and off. I've tried Pandora, Slacker Radio, Rhapsody, Google Play All Access, Rdio, Spotify, and Songza. And now Beats Music.

I've decided on keeping Songza because it's only a few bucks a month for the ad-free experience, and it's really good for music discovery and random playlists. And of course iTunes Radio since it's free.

I also have Spotify Premium with all my favorite songs in a playlist. Now I'm trying to decide if I should switch to Beats Music...it's growing on me.

Most of these services are basically all the same and serve the same purpose. With some larger music libraries than others. I guess it's all about personal preference.


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[Speedygi]

I like the diversity, as it gives a chance for users to filter away the services they never used because they didn't like them. It forces the developers to aim for true quality in order to win over the masses.

I have said this and will say it again, competition is always good.

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[acerace113]

I don't use cloud services to listen to music cause a) I wound use too much data and b) sound quality.


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[pr1nce]

Which do you find to be better; iTunes Radio or pandora?

I like them both. Maybe iTunes Radio slightly better. But, I've been listening to Pandora a little more lately.


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[Speedygi]

I like them both. Maybe iTunes Radio slightly better. But, I've been listening to Pandora a little more lately.


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What is it that you like Pandora more than ITunes radio? At least lately..

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[RavenSword]

Really im having trouble deciding. I like the way beats looks, but there pretty late to this game. There also isn't a iPad app yet and I'm unsure how reliable there streaming is yet.

Spotify I don't like the way everything's a playlist.

Rdio I've always had some annoy issues with, like the song restarted if left on pause for more than a few minutes, and I don't think there nitrates are as good as others.

Google music I like, but the ios integration isn't as good as it can be. And again, no iPad app.

 

[pr1nce]

What is it that you like Pandora more than ITunes radio? At least lately..

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The alarm clock/sleep timer function and music selection on some of my stations. Personal preference. I still listen to both


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[cardfan]

I have a massive library on itunes match. For streaming there's itunes radio. With these two, my music needs are more than met.

 

[Speedygi]

The alarm clock/sleep timer function and music selection on some of my stations. Personal preference. I still listen to both


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Ah, great point. Glad you are loving iTunes Radio too. It really is all about enjoying your music, no matter what app you are on, as long as you enjoy the experience right there.

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[tigerinexile]

If you hate thinking about music, probably Beats Music is the way to go. The app learns your taste pretty darned well and suggests things.

I may even pay for them.

But yeah, it totally depends on your wants for these services. Songza's lists are pretty great. But I like how Beats is choosing stuff for me. And Spotify is great for when I know exactly what I want to listen to.

So I have all three. Not sure which I'll pay for tho.

 

[RavenSword]

If you hate thinking about music, probably Beats Music is the way to go. The app learns your taste pretty darned well and suggests things.

I may even pay for them.

But yeah, it totally depends on your wants for these services. Songza's lists are pretty great. But I like how Beats is choosing stuff for me. And Spotify is great for when I know exactly what I want to listen to.

So I have all three. Not sure which I'll pay for tho.

We'll, I mostly just look up particular songs and artists, but I do want something for music discovery .

 

[RavenSword]

Has anyone given Slacker a try?

 

[mulasien]

I think that the online streaming music marketplace is getting a bit over saturated lately. I must disagree with Speedygi in that it is actually possible to have too many choices (look up the 'paradox of choice' if you're so keen). I don't full agree with the theory, but I do believe that the more saturated a market is, the more difficult it is to separate the good choices from the crappy ones. The more choices available, the higher percentage of crap probably exists.

The upside is that when a marketplace of anything is over saturated, it tends to eventually correct itself. The better choices will establish themselves and stick around, and the lesser options will eventually fade away.

For my own music tastes, 99% of the time I listen to what I have locally. The odd occasion that I do use a streaming service, I've been fine with either iTunes or Pandora since I've had it around forever. It's not often, though.

 

[Speedygi]

I think that the online streaming music marketplace is getting a bit over saturated lately. I must disagree with Speedygi in that it is actually possible to have too many choices (look up the 'paradox of choice' if you're so keen). I don't full agree with the theory, but I do believe that the more saturated a market is, the more difficult it is to separate the good choices from the crappy ones. The more choices available, the higher percentage of crap probably exists.

The upside is that when a marketplace of anything is over saturated, it tends to eventually correct itself. The better choices will establish themselves and stick around, and the lesser options will eventually fade away.

For my own music tastes, 99% of the time I listen to what I have locally. The odd occasion that I do use a streaming service, I've been fine with either iTunes or Pandora since I've had it around forever. It's not often, though.

This is why choices are available, so that the market can CHOOSE between the good and the bad, being the sophisticated users they are. There is no such thing as having too many choices in a market. The nature of the market (economics) dictates that.

I have never seen any consumer market tbat hasn't had major players go out of business without their product being a failure in the sense of poor market share and/or poor sales. Failure and on the flip side, success determine whether good products and the companies that make them stay or go.

 

[RavenSword]

This is why choices are available, so that the market can CHOOSE between the good and the bad, being the sophisticated users they are. There is no such thing as having too many choices in a market. The nature of the market (economics) dictates that.

I have never seen any consumer market tbat hasn't had major players go out of business without their product being a failure in the sense of poor market share and/or poor sales. Failure and on the flip side, success determine whether good products and the companies that make them stay or go.

But until it corrects itself, it's kinda impossible to pick one when there's like a dozen choices.

I'm getting tired of having all these active subscriptions to like 4 services that all do the same things because I can't decide between them because all of them seem to have at least one bad thing.

Spotify I don't like it's UI and that they don't have a collection like system. It's all playlists. But it's catalog seems the most varied and wide.

Rdio I love everything except its bitrate . If I'm paying a premium, I want 320kbs bitrate , not 192 or whatever they do .

Google all access doesn't fully integrate with ios, doesn't have a iPad app , and no desktop app , but I like integrating my own music too it.

and beats music I'm having stream issues in lower signal areas, there's no iPad app or desktop app, and I'm not sure if it's only going to be good for mainstream stuff . But I like its UI and bitrate.

So, I am having a hell of a tough time deciding which is best for me. Neither of these services is the complete package for me. If the amount of services got weeded down, it would make it easier to decide.

 

[Speedygi]

ITunes Radio and Match is on both iPad and iPhone, I believe, and that seems like the way to go for you with it baked into iOS.

With that said, I loathe the number of streaming apps on my phone myself.. A terrible mess.



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[RavenSword]

I signed up for a slacker subscription. Going to give that a go. (It's only 4 bucks a month)

Really, I want to use rdio, but that bitrate annoys me . I'm not a audiophile, I just feel like I'm getting less for the same money as their competition that DOES output at 320k bitrate.