After Hours

Hands on with 6 online music services

By · April 23, 2009, 4:22 PM PST

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  • Who's got the best price and selection?

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    by Ed Bott

    I took a shopping list of seven albums to the iTunes Music Store and compared my results with those from six large and small competitors. This chart shows the result. The red entries indicate the highest price for a particular album; green means the lowest price. The line above the eMusic entries means it's nearly impossible to compare prices for that service, which charges a monthly fee for a set number of downloads.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Amazon's old-school interface

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    Amazon MP3 won't win any design awards for this somewhat clunky interface, but it's fast and it gets the job done. The Play buttons allow a 30-second preview of any track.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Amazon's downloader

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    You must install this downloader (Windows version shown here, but Mac and Linux versions are available as well) to purchase entire albums or queue up tracks for download.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Lala's player lives in a browser window

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    The bar at the top of this web page is Lala's Flash-based music player. With it, you can play any tune from your collection, including web songs and web albums that cost as little as a nickel per track.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Lala's downloader

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    Like Amazon MP3 and eMusic, Lala provides a downloader utility that helps you store purchased tracks in the correct location and automatically add them to your iTunes or Windows Media Player library.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Music Mover syncs your collection to Lala

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    The Music Mover utility doesn't just download; it also scans your music collection and matches it against Lala's licensed collection, uploading any tracks that are unmatched. As a result, you can have full access to your music library via a web browser even when you're away from home.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Rhapsody's cluttered main screen

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    The Rhapsody player is required if you have one of the service's subscription membership. The interface can be a little overwhelming and packed with too much detail.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Subscriptions mean DRM

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    Downloads you purchase from all the major online services are now DRM-free, but subscription services like Rhapsody Unlimited and Zune Pass require digital rights management components.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Download or buy a tune from Rhapsody

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    See those side-by-side Play and Add buttons to the left of each track and at the top of the album list? With a Rhapsody Unlimited or Rhapsody To Go subscription, you can play any tune or download it to your collection without having to pay any fee beyond your $13-15 monthly subscription charge.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Rhapsody's web-based player

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    This pop-up player allows you to listen to subscription tracks from a web browser, without installing the Rhapsody software. The web player works with Windows XP and Vista, Mac OS X, and most Linux distros. As of today, it doesn't work with Windows 7.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Zune's confusing point system

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    Figuring out the cost of a purchase from the Zune Marketplace isn't easy. You have to purchase Microsoft points (400 points cost $5.00) and then translate point values to dollars. This album costs $17.50.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Zune's purchase history

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    This list (under the Account Settings heading) shows every purchase I've made from the Zune Marketplace. Unlike iTunes, you can download a fresh copy of a previously purchased track; click the Download button or click Restore All to copy all your purchases to a new PC.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • eMusic's clean website design

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    eMusic did a comprehensive redesign of its site last year. This clean, easy-to-read artist page is typical of the new look.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Saving albums for later at eMusic

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    An eMusic subscription allows you to download a fixed number of tracks each month. If you run out of downloads, you can add any album to this wish list to make it easier to find next month.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • eMusic's downloader

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    The eMusic downloader shows the status of each track on your list. Unlike iTunes, eMusic allows you to download a fresh copy of a single track or whole album that you previously purchased.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Amie Street's recommendations

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    The recommendations section at Amie Street resembles an Amazon page. That's not surprising, given that Amazon is a backer of this artist-centric service.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

  • Confusing prices at Amie Street

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    Prices at Amie Street aren't fixed. Instead, they rise as a track or an album becomes more popular. The first track on this album has hit the maximum price of 98 cents.

    For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?

Who's got the best price and selection?

Click image to open in a full-size window.

by Ed Bott

I took a shopping list of seven albums to the iTunes Music Store and compared my results with those from six large and small competitors. This chart shows the result. The red entries indicate the highest price for a particular album; green means the lowest price. The line above the eMusic entries means it's nearly impossible to compare prices for that service, which charges a monthly fee for a set number of downloads.

For more details, see 6 music services compared: Who can bust the iTunes monopoly?
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