Music: free of charge, free of guilt

BY BRITON ALONSO

In this technological era where most of the world’s music is cataloged on-line, one would think that there must be at least a few websites and applications that allow eager music hunters to decide whether or not they like a song in more than 30 second snippets. And there are.

These are the places I visit on the internet when I am looking for another gem of a song, where my ears can play for hours free of charge and free of guilt, for all of these sites compensate the dear musicians for their hard work.

Pandora takes streaming Internet radio to the next level. It provides the most narrow-casted radio station one can hope to find.

Users sign up through the website and are then directed to choose an artist, song or composer that they love. A station is then created which revolves around that already-enjoyed music. Pandora will then stream songs that research shows go well together.

What research, you ask?

The research is done by the Music Genome Project, a group of 45 trained music analysts and musicians, that form the backbone of Pandora.

The website for Pandora Internet radio explains how the music is studied: “Each song in the Music Genome Project is analyzed using up to 400 distinct musical characteristics by a trained music analyst. These attributes capture not only the musical identity of a song, but also the many significant qualities that are relevant to understanding the musical preferences of listeners.”

from: NorCal Blogs: Dog’s Breakfast

“The best thing about [Pandora] is that you can sit back and just fully enjoy an artist you love,” said Alexandra Moller, a 23-year-old student at Florida International University.

Users can further customize the station by giving each song played a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” These ratings will alter which songs are played in the future.

The service will stream 40 hours per month for free. When 40 hours have been reached, the option to pay $.99 is presented pet, and once paid, the music stream is unlimited.

from: eHow.com

“You’ll hear songs you’ve forgotten about or versions of songs that you’ve never heard. Then when you’re getting bored, [Pandora] will play a different artist that’s along the same lines,” said Moller. “It keeps you happy for hours.”

The Internet radio service began in 2004 and has reached 30 million registered users, according to an Agence France-Presse July 2009 interview with David Sze, one of Pandora’s investing partners.

The service can also be used on any smartphone, which takes music discovery on the road with you, wherever you go.

The intentions of Pandora Internet radio can be summed up in one line from their website: “At Pandora, we have a single mission: To play only music you’ll love.”

But Pandora is only one option.

The next website of note, The Hype Machine, utilizes the vast and varied world of music blogging.

The website tracks every single blog that displays an MP3 in a post. The MP3’s are then placed into the “latest” list. The song can move from there into the “popular” list, which displays the songs receiving the most “favorites” votes of the past three days.

Users can play any song on the site an unlimited amount of times or simply press play and go down the entire list of tracks. A heart image appears next to any given song, blog, search term or user, which when clicked, bookmarks the specific item.

Links are included next to any song that can be purchased on-line through Amazon, iTunes or eMusic. There is also a link to the song’s blog of origin, which allows for more perusal.

from: Bizzia.com

Miami Disc Jockey Obi Tawil, 25, uses The Hype Machine to find what is new and fresh in the music scene.

“There’s a lot of indie stuff that is really hard to find out there,” said Tawil. “The site gives small bands and DJ’s the chance to be discovered and loved.”

The website also offers users the chance to sign up for a mailing list with information such as concert dates or newly available songs that are completely customized based on the user’s “favorites” list.

The third website expanding the way music is heard over the internet is Napster Free.

Yes, Napster, the same word that will forever be connected with the beginning of the internet’s hostile takeover of the music industry. However, the times have changed and Napster users can now hold their heads up high.

Best Buy, the electronics retailer, purchased Napster in September of 2008 and has since created free.napster.com, where anyone can listen for free up to three times to the catalog of more than seven million songs.

However, for $5 per month, any song can be heard an unlimited number of times. The $5 also buys the user five downloads per month, which can be saved onto the user’s computer and MP3 player of choice.

from: Softpedia.com

The people at Napster have also created hundreds of playlists based on specific genres, decades or themes, such as “workout” or “party” music.

Subscribed users can create an unlimited number of their own playlists.

In a May 2009 press release from Napster, the company attempted to set itself apart from other programs such as iTunes, the mecca of modern music downloading.

“Music fans now have the best of both worlds: MP3s to keep forever, play, transfer and burn as much as they like, as well as unlimited music listening from Napster’s catalog of more than seven million tracks. ‘There’s no need to settle for 30-second clips to decide if you want to buy a song,’ said Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster. ‘For five bucks now you can have access to our entire music catalog and get five MP3s to add to your permanent collection.’”

These three websites help anyone who loves music discover new songs, artists or even genres.

They are exploring the ways that the music industry and penny-pinching fans can compromise.