As someone who loves listening to music, I must admit I find the current music app/download world a bit confusing. Now that I rarely listen to the radio, I have been searching for a great music program that allows me to test drive new music and to enjoy the music I know I love.
Spotify: I’ve been using Spotify quite a bit while traveling and working in Europe, so I am happy to see it finally launched in the US. Initially Spotify was free and unlimited, with occasional commercial interruption. Recently, the service added a new monthly fee to access the same unlimited music, but it is worth it. The main advantage to Spotify is that you can listen to what you want when you want. If you have the app you can even listen offline. There is also a radio function, new music suggestions, and I can see what my friends are listening to. But sometimes I still have a hard time finding new music I like. Usually I just stick to what I know I like. Another disadvantage is its link to Facebook. I don’t like everything linking to Facebook, and I don’t want everyone to always see what I am listening to, but overall Spotify is my go to music listening program.
Pandora: This service still only works in the US, but that is pretty much the only real downside I can find with Pandora. The main perk is that it is still free, and that it can help you find new artists that are similar in style to your favorites. I guess it can be seen as a negative that you cannot choose what song you want to listen to when, but sometimes I enjoy the mixtape surprise nature of Pandora more than my playlists.
Grooveshark: I used to use Grooveshark when online on my computer, until I learned that it didn’t pay artists despite the heavy advertising on the site. There is still no iPhone app for Grooveshark, which limits its usefulness for iPhone users, but if you are the owner of an android, then you are in luck. You can download the Grooveshark app and enjoy both building your own song lists and listening to the radio as well. The biggest positive is that Grooveshark is free. But since all of Grooveshark’s profits reportedly go to them and not to musicians, I have a hard time recommending this service. I’d rather pay $10 per month and know the artist is getting a few dimes, than listen to something free.
It can be confusing to make sense of the different music applications out there, but hopefully in the future we will end up with more versatile choices which are both musician and listener friendly.
