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General discussion

Music Downloads- Napster vs Yahoo, MusicMatch, AOL - Help?

Nov 6, 2005 4:39AM PST

I need some help to avoid ''testing'' multiple services before I test and buy - want to make informed decision based on latest versions and experiences. Would like to hear your recommedations.

I have a DELL 8400, XP, Windows Media Player 10 with recent update KB902344 (WMDRM - which I understand helps enable transafers of purchased music to MP3 players.) I have a DELL DJ20 MP3 player with came with Musicmatch Software to permit transfer of songs in MP3 or WMA format to the DJ20. Thus far it works flawless.

I do not plan to transfer any so called rented music onto the MP3 player but leave it on my computer to play and see if I want to keep.

I was trying to choose between Naptser, MusicMatch, Yahoo, and AOL services. Have I got the following info correct and what else should I know?

AOL - I ruled this out when I called and they told me even purchased downloads cannot be loaded onto an MP3 player due to WAV only format, etc. - but the techie told me ''AOL is working to change that.''

Napster - Sounds like it is out of the question unless reviews are incorrect about them sending compressed files that do not produce true CD quality when burned or your MP3 player is hooked onto the home stereo. I noted lots of interface and deletion problems in various CNET comments.

Yahoo - Seems like the best deal. But - if Yahoo owns Musicmatch, why are the two not integrated? Any downside to Yahoo? I understand they deliver purchased music in WMA or MP3 format easily transfered to CD or DJ20. I understand if I want to put leased music onto an MP3 player I have to get the upgrade ''to go'' version which makes it as expensive as any service.

MusicMatch - More expensive than Yahoo but may be more convenient since I already have it and. Would like to know the experiences of others. I understand their purchased music is delivered to the computer in a format that will transfrer to CD or MP3 player with no special user ''conversion.'' activity.

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I really don't care if songs cost 79 or 99 cents; more interested in selection and sound quality and easy of features/interface and reliability and ease of transfer to MP3 player and/or CD's to play on home stereo.

I have SBC/Yahoo/DSL Pro and a normal 2.5 MB music file downloads in about 7 seconds and I assume download speeds will not vary from one service to another.

As to music selection; I care almost nothing about the latest Hollywood hits, RAP, or music videos. Mostly interested pop music from 60's - 90's, Country, blues, dance, DJ remixes, Cher, etc.

Thanks everyone; I am sure no one person can answer all my issues but any comments would be appreciated. Let me know of any pitfalls I may need to be aware of.

Discussion is locked

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Hi Prandy,
Nov 7, 2005 9:27AM PST

My employer provides free Napster subscriptions as part of a recreational offering, so I?ve found little need to try the services of others. So far I?ve downloaded over 3,000 songs from Napster, and have been pretty satisfied. While a few do sound a little softer (muffled may be too harsh of a descriptor), it is not characteristic of the collection as a whole. Aside from that, I can?t tell the difference between those ripped from a CD and those downloaded from Napster. (However, I don?t ?have an ear? for music, so others may disagree.)

As far as the competition goes, I?ve never tried AOL?s service, and haven?t heard anything great about them. (And the fact that their music download link redirects you through an ad-serving company each time you visit is just another reason I?m not looking forward to giving them a test run.) However, they just purchased Circuit City?s MusicNow, so they may be moving on up in the near future. In the mean time, I?m going to have to say the person you spoke to at AOL either doesn?t know what he?s talking about or is holding back information. Most MP3 players can handle MP3, WMA, and WAV formats (including those that include DRM) natively, so there shouldn?t be a problem transferring the WAV files to your Dell DJ.

I have downloaded a few songs from MusicMatch, and they were of high quality (no signs of distortion, muffling, etc), but only after fighting with their software for a few hours. This was over a year ago, so the problems have probably been corrected, but connecting to their server back then was hideous. I?ve never tried Yahoo?s latest venture, which has mixed reviews primarily due to them just starting out. (All of the bugs haven?t been worked out yet.) They are by far the cheapest, although they are planning to up (almost double) the cost of subscriptions. The low introductory price was to gain attention, which actually saw Yahoo lose money. They are now hoping that their new pricing scheme, which will still undercut Napster and most other services, will help them make a profit off of the desire for easilly-downloadable music. There are also plans to merge Yahoo! Music Unlimited and MusicMatch into one service, though no details have been released.

Aside from recommending Napster and Rhapsody as the best I?ve tried, I?d like to point you to a breakdown of the top services from the Cnet editors, and the Cnet compatibility wizard, which will verify a service?s compatibility with your MP3 player.

Let me know how it works out.
John


P.S. I?d like to take this opportunity to update you concerning the SpeedFan issue. Shortly after the problems you had, I wrote a letter to the program?s creator but never received a response. Since then complaints have started to appear in various forums from others experiencing the same problems. I know that version 4.26 did not fix the issue, but am unsure of the latest 4.27. In any case, I?m planning on sticking with other programs, as SpeedFan no doubt will continue to have problems in the future.

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Thanks John - As a;ways, you are a great help
Nov 8, 2005 1:25PM PST

First; thanks for your comments and links regarding music download. It has become obvious that all the services have their own pitfals and it has been helpful to read all the reviews.

The Napster 3.0 version CNET tested is obsloete by at least two versions depending on your own computer capabilties which Napster can detect. The "user reviews" sometimes relate to different versions so one has to sort all that out.

Too bad so many CNET members gave horrific ratings to many services because of the concept of "renting" music .... when they thought a $15/month rental membership entitled them to download $1,000 or more of music permanently.

I just wanted to purchase legitimately by genre and pass on the rap etc ......... and get an easy format that gives CD quality downloads at a reasonable price. Thanks to your objective advice, I am probably going to try Rhapsody first. But I am going to try several on a trial basis .... (I originally wanted to avoid all the testing but now find it necessary) and pay for songs I really want to download.

As to SpeedFan, I knew that was a dead issue but thanks for letting me know that others have had roughly the same problem I did.

I realize that not every computer reacts the same to every download. And .. please don't feel guilty about trying to help out by suggesting SpeedFan ....... and don't waste any more of your own time on that one.

You take care and THANKS !!!!!!!!!

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Same boat.
Nov 12, 2005 12:56AM PST

Prandy, I was looking for the same info when I discovered your post. I am currently using Rhapsody which I am pretty happy with. You can listen to anything though Rhapsody for the $10/month. It cost <$1/song to burn or download (own). I don't think there is a limitation to concurrent sessions or how many instances of the software you have loaded which is nice. I access from 3 computers w/o issue. The quality of the burns are a little lower quality that cd but seem to be on par with anything else I have ever downloaded. I don't have a secitive ear for it either so any lack of quality usually goes unnoticed.

My only problem with Rhapsody is that some popular artist are not available. Radiohead is one in particular that continues to nag me. Also there are very few album pre 1990. I think that may just be because it is more expensive to retro-fit all music...but still I need a new copy of help and John Lennons box set.

I was looking for a more comprehiesive music selection but like you didn't want to try 5 didn't applications to do so.

Hope this helps
Dominic

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Thanks
Nov 12, 2005 7:20AM PST

I appreciate the advice. I never dreamed such a simple choice could be made so diffucult. Yeah, I am going to end up trying them one at a time.