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NFT: Music Subscriptions

bigbluehoya : 11/11/2017 9:42 am
Historically, Ive always been a basic buy the songs you want on iTunes guy. In recent years, Ive also used Pandora (the free, regular one) to mix it up and branch out / discover some new stuff, loath to add another monthly bill to the household.

The paradigm has obviously shifted a good deal, and Im starting to come around to the idea that a subscription service could make some sense.

What do you fine people recommend? What have your experiences been?

Spotify Premium?
Apple Music?
Amazon Music?

Any thoughts welcomed and appreciated!
I️ was the same as you for ahwile  
10thAve : 11/11/2017 10:03 am : link
And switched to Spotify Premium early this year. Its great, in my opinion. I️ only pay $5 per month for it, when I️ signed for it my credit card was running a promo that using the card to pay your monthly Spotify subscription you get 50% off. It was Capital One, not sure if they still have it.
Oh jeez  
10thAve : 11/11/2017 10:04 am : link
thanks Apple, those random characters should be an i.
I'm late to this as well...  
Dan in the Springs : 11/11/2017 10:06 am : link
Was looking at a Google play music subscription for my family and mentioned it to my kids. They got all excited and said it included YouTube red, whatever that is. Apparently it's something they want.

I have Amazon prime which I think includes some kind of music service but I've not looked into it. Posting without answers because I want to follow the thread.
I have Sirius radio in my car  
eclipz928 : 11/11/2017 10:17 am : link
and my friend let me in as one of his users on his Spotify account (I think he pays $15 a month, and gets up to 4 users).

Spotify's free service is fantastic, much better than Pandora's which has become overly saturated with ads, but I'd pay the $10 premium for it if I didn't already subscribe to Sirius.

But in general, I think the only way to listen to music now is a subscription service - music is just not good enough anymore to warrant purchasing entire albums. And $1 per song on iTunes although not expensive still somehow feels like throwing away money.
I have used  
Rick5 : 11/11/2017 11:52 am : link
Spotify premium since it first became available. It's great. 80% to 90% of the music that interests me is available. I also have amazon prime, but I don't use it. Spotify has a much better catalog to me.
Youtube Red  
Ron from Ninerland : 11/11/2017 12:01 pm : link
If you're going to spend $10 a month, look into Youtube Red. They've got every piece of music under the sun. They have a dedicated audio app for mobile devices, and , like with the others you can create stations. Of course you get the videos too, commercial free.

RE: I have used  
bigbluehoya : 11/11/2017 12:01 pm : link
In comment 13685846 Rick5 said:
Quote:
Spotify premium since it first became available. It's great. 80% to 90% of the music that interests me is available. I also have amazon prime, but I don't use it. Spotify has a much better catalog to me.


If you dont mind my asking, what were some of the holes in the catalog that you noted in that 10%?
.  
arcarsenal : 11/11/2017 12:06 pm : link
I've been using Spotify Premium for a few years now - I absolutely love it. I've barely ever had an issue finding anything I've looked for. The catalog is massive and they have tons of cool features. They make you a playlist based on things you listen to each week which can help you discover some different artists you may not have heard before - have all sorts of genre-based playlists, suggestions, upcoming releases, artists performing in your area, etc.

Probably the best 10 bucks I spend each month.
RE: I'm late to this as well...  
Ron from Ninerland : 11/11/2017 12:15 pm : link
In comment 13685736 Dan in the Springs said:
Quote:
Was looking at a Google play music subscription for my family and mentioned it to my kids. They got all excited and said it included YouTube red, whatever that is. Apparently it's something they want.

I have Amazon prime which I think includes some kind of music service but I've not looked into it. Posting without answers because I want to follow the thread.
I didn't know Google play included YouTube Red until you posted it. It looks like a hell of a deal. If you're looking for obscure music, you'll find stuff on Youtube that you won't find at any other service.
Ive tried them all  
Shecky : 11/11/2017 12:49 pm : link
And its just personal pr French. But I find Spotify the best and easiest to use. Got lifetime sub on Sirius, but find the playlists and on demand of Spotify to be more first choice in the car.

Also pandora and Spotify are so well integrated in most new headinits now that it really makes it easy and seem less.
Spotify X 10000  
Sonic Youth : 11/11/2017 12:54 pm : link
Not even close. I have found SO much of my favorite music from spotify. Discover Weekly is the greatest thing I've evr experienced and knows my taste in music better than my bandmates or DJ partners.

I would pay about $30 a month for Discover Weekly alone. I cannot speak highly enough of Spotify
RE: Youtube Red  
Sonic Youth : 11/11/2017 12:54 pm : link
In comment 13685852 Ron from Ninerland said:
Quote:
If you're going to spend $10 a month, look into Youtube Red. They've got every piece of music under the sun. They have a dedicated audio app for mobile devices, and , like with the others you can create stations. Of course you get the videos too, commercial free.
Youtube red is great if you look obscure music e.g. deep house cuts or deep jazz cuts. Otherwise, I'd go Spotify
Thanks, all.  
bigbluehoya : 11/11/2017 1:01 pm : link
Doesnt sound like one can really go wrong w Spotify. 3 month trial for $0.99 is a great way to find out.

Thanks for all of the input.
RE: Oh jeez  
arcarsenal : 11/11/2017 1:05 pm : link
In comment 13685735 10thAve said:
Quote:
thanks Apple, those random characters should be an i.


FYI - they released an update to fix that annoying issue.
I have Amazon Prime, which gets you Unlimited for $7.99/mo  
schabadoo : 11/11/2017 1:22 pm : link
I like it.
RE: RE: Oh jeez  
bigbluehoya : 11/11/2017 2:20 pm : link
In comment 13685914 arcarsenal said:
Quote:
In comment 13685735 10thAve said:


Quote:


thanks Apple, those random characters should be an i.



FYI - they released an update to fix that annoying issue.


Not a minute too soon, either. That bug was driving me nuckin futs.
I use Amazon Music  
adamg : 11/11/2017 4:38 pm : link
With Prime I get a deal on storing all my music in the Amazon cloud. It's really good except for the playback putting a pause in between every song. It's a fraction of a second but it ruins the album listening experience.

Outside of that very spoiled complaint, it's great.
RE: I'm late to this as well...  
santacruzom : 11/11/2017 6:33 pm : link
In comment 13685736 Dan in the Springs said:
Quote:
Was looking at a Google play music subscription for my family and mentioned it to my kids. They got all excited and said it included YouTube red, whatever that is. Apparently it's something they want.

I have Amazon prime which I think includes some kind of music service but I've not looked into it. Posting without answers because I want to follow the thread.


I subscribe to Google Play and like it for the most part, but I can't stand their interface. Instead of providing you with a list of the albums or artists you've added to your library, they insist on cluttering up your views with unnecessary thumbnails of album art. It's not a big deal if you just find what you want to listen to via search, but it's annoying when you want to browse your catalog.
RE: RE: I'm late to this as well...  
schabadoo : 11/11/2017 7:14 pm : link
In comment 13686108 santacruzom said:
Quote:
In comment 13685736 Dan in the Springs said:


Quote:


Was looking at a Google play music subscription for my family and mentioned it to my kids. They got all excited and said it included YouTube red, whatever that is. Apparently it's something they want.

I have Amazon prime which I think includes some kind of music service but I've not looked into it. Posting without answers because I want to follow the thread.



I subscribe to Google Play and like it for the most part, but I can't stand their interface. Instead of providing you with a list of the albums or artists you've added to your library, they insist on cluttering up your views with unnecessary thumbnails of album art. It's not a big deal if you just find what you want to listen to via search, but it's annoying when you want to browse your catalog.


The Google Music interface is terrible. I'd go for a spartan list of songs and playlists vs their meandering mess.
I use  
liteamorn : 11/12/2017 8:59 am : link
Sirius in my truck, I call to cancel every 5 months and after haggling with them I get 5 more months for $25 + taxes and fees. I also pay full price for Spotify premium. I find this to be a great combination.
Never thought I would sign up for one  
TJ : 11/12/2017 1:34 pm : link
But after using free Spotify for awhile I did. I agree the interface could be better. But the selection and sound quality make it worthwhile.
one thing I like about Google Play  
santacruzom : 11/13/2017 7:43 pm : link
is how it can upload MP3s from your system to its service. This is nice for material that doesn't exist on any of them, such as songs from local artists that I've ripped or even my old band's live recordings.

Can Spotify do this?
RE: one thing I like about Google Play  
Sonic Youth : 11/14/2017 12:05 am : link
In comment 13691039 santacruzom said:
Quote:
is how it can upload MP3s from your system to its service. This is nice for material that doesn't exist on any of them, such as songs from local artists that I've ripped or even my old band's live recordings.

Can Spotify do this?
Unfortunately not, which is my biggest issue with them
I should rephrase  
Sonic Youth : 11/14/2017 12:07 am : link
You can access them via local files on devices, but you can't upload it to their cloud.

Google allows you to upload/sync to your cloud? Tht's kind of nuts and I might have to just add it to Spotify if that's the case. I have tons of MP3s from my DJ days that aren't on Spotify.

If there's one area I find Spotify to be lacking, it's house music/dance music (not EDM, actual house music/techno).
RE: I should rephrase  
santacruzom : 11/14/2017 3:28 am : link
In comment 13691506 Sonic Youth said:
Quote:
.

Google allows you to upload/sync to your cloud? Tht's kind of nuts and I might have to just add it to Spotify if that's the case. I have tons of MP3s from my DJ days that aren't on Spotify.


Yep. You install an agent on your system, specify the directory, and it will upload songs that don't exist in their cloud. Up to 10,000 I believe.
Oops my mistake.  
santacruzom : 11/14/2017 3:30 am : link
Not 10,000. 50,000!
The other nice thing about Google Play Music...  
Dan in the Springs : 11/14/2017 9:56 am : link
is the family plan covers six members and costs only $14.99/mo. That's the reason I was looking into it. I could get it as a gift to all my children and it would only cost me $30/yr each to keep active for them.
You mention having kids  
Shecky : 11/14/2017 10:35 am : link
Heres a thought if you werent aware of it previously. College students can get Spotify for $5 per month. AND they throw in Hulu too. $5/m for both Hulu and Spotify is an amazing deal. Just not sure if, or with how many people you can share the account with.
$5 Spotify/Hulu for students - ( New Window )
if Google Play Music  
santacruzom : 11/14/2017 12:44 pm : link
would simply change their UI so that you can list 20 album titles on a screen instead of 4 stupidly large and useless icons of album art, it would be perfect. But they have remained steadfast despite 5 years' worth of negative comments about it.
I have apple music  
Enzo : 11/14/2017 12:49 pm : link
It's good, nothing special. Haven't noticed any holes in what's available. Only thing that bugs me is that creating playlists seems to be a pain, but that could just be me.
you can get Santana Abraxas from Columbia House  
Greg from LI : 11/14/2017 12:53 pm : link
.
Link - ( New Window )
RE: The other nice thing about Google Play Music...  
Rick5 : 11/14/2017 6:49 pm : link
In comment 13691723 Dan in the Springs said:
Quote:
is the family plan covers six members and costs only $14.99/mo. That's the reason I was looking into it. I could get it as a gift to all my children and it would only cost me $30/yr each to keep active for them.

The Spotify family plan also covers six for $15 per month.
I don't pay anything and  
RicFlair : 11/14/2017 7:55 pm : link
Uploaded all my music to google plays cloud.
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