Online Music

From the return of a gentler, legal Napster to the recent launch of Apples iTunes Music store, to rumors and hints of Microsoft entering the fray sometime in 2004, the last year has seen an increasing number of services offering online music where customers can purchase and then legally download song files for their personal use. But a brief look at the myriad services soon shows that not all music services are alike. Some will help you manage your digital song files while others provide "jukebox-like" online radio services. Some services are "pay-as-you-go" while others require a monthly fee and offer differing levels of services.

This month we'll take a look at three of the most popular services and compare their offerings. First, a brief introduction on the subject of "protected files" and other restrictions is needed.

In order for these services to allow customers to pay for and legally download digital song files, these services agreed to provide the files in a "protected" format, more formally known as Digital Rights Management (DRM). Why? In order to help prevent illegal file sharing, online music services put a "wrapper" around the music file that limits who can play it based on your username associated with the service and other unique identifying characteristics from your computer. So, what does this mean to you? Well, if you start off with one service (say Napster) you will find that those song files are not compatible with other software (such as iTunes). However, the services talked about in this article are either free or offer one week (or more) free trial periods so try them out and see what works best for you.

iTunes

The iTunes software started off as a "jukebox player" for the Macintosh. In November 2001, iTunes 2 was released with support for Apple's MP3 player, the iPod, as a way to transfer digital song files from the computer to the portable player. Fast-forward to April 2003, when Apple launched the iTunes Music Store along with iTunes 4. It was still only for the Macintosh platform until this past October, when iTunes for Windows was also released.

iTunes software (which is freeware) offers numerous features that allow users to extract songs off of CDs (also known as "ripping") into popular formats such MP3, manage their personal digital song files, easily browse large music collections (based on album, artist, genre, personal rating, etc.), build playlists and create audio CDs. iTunes also comes with an impressive list of Internet radio stations, all of which are free. One unique aspect of iTunes is the ability to share (but not copy) song files with up to five other users on a local network (but not via the Internet at large).

The exciting feature of iTunes software is the ability to access the iTunes Music Store, where over 500,000 digital song files from the five major commercial music publishers are available. Additionally, Apple has managed to secure exclusive tracks from a growing number of artists, including Bob Dylan, U2, Eminem, Sheryl Crow and Sting. Songs are 99 cents per track and most albums are available for $9.99. Additionally, users can preview 30 seconds of all songs free of charge.

Once the songs are downloaded, users do not need to be online in order to listen to their music or create CDs. Be warned, however, that in addition to being "protected," songs come in the new Dolby-produced Advanced Audio Codec (AAC format) and as such, cannot be played except through iTunes (on up to three different computers at one time) or an iPod. Similarly, they can be used to create CDs only through iTunes (or on a Macintosh with Roxio's Toast).

iTunes for Windows still has a number of bugs, unfortunately. The most common is compatibility issues with the large number of CD and DVD writers on the market, as well as numerous issues for some customers and their ability to connect to the Music Store. In particular, iTunes doesn't support the https protocol (necessary for secure transactions to the Music Store) through proxy servers; nor does it support authenticating proxy servers.

While Apple doesn't provide free technical support for iTunes, there is an active and helpful user support forum available at Apple's support website and Knowledge Base articles are available online and searchable.

The only other major flaw with iTunes worth mentioning is that while Apple is in the process of negotiating permissions to operate in countries outside of the U.S., the iTunes Music Store is currently only available to customers with a U.S. billing address.

Overall, the interface is easy to use, the Music Store has an impressive set of offerings and if you're in the market for an iPod, it's the only way to go.

[Available on Macintosh, Windows]

RealRhapsody

Truly a pure online service, Rhapsody can best be thought of as an Internet music jukebox that customers access while online and using Rhapsody software. There are two levels of access available for a monthly subscription fee: $4.95 will allow users access to their "online radio" while $9.95 will provide users with "full access" and includes (in addition to their online radio) the ability to make custom playlists for personalized streaming music and the ability to burn available tracks to audio CD for 79 cents per song.

With Rhapsody, subscribers don't "download" song files; instead, playlists and other customized information is stored at the Rhapsody server. This means that a user can access their Rhapsody music from any computer where they're able to download and install software. In this case, there's no DRM involved but users can only access music while online, and a broadband (cable or DSL) connection is highly recommended.

Additionally, Rhapsody doesn't extract song files from CDs or manage any personal digital song files, though they claim that a future version will support these features.

The user interface is a bit clunky and overcrowded. The left pane is where users manage their "library." It contains a small browsing area and songs can be viewed by artist, album or tracks as well as customized playlists and saved radio stations. The lower part of the left pane is used to display the active playlist which is populated by dragging and dropping items from the library. The top part of the interface is used to display whatever is playing, whether a song from a radio station or a song from the library.

Technical support is available via a web page, but when I used it to contact them regarding issues I had in configuring my proxy server, I hadn't received a response two weeks later. There doesn't appear to be any online forums for Rhapsody users at this time.

Overall, Rhapsody is ideal for those looking for a pure online service or those who wish to burn song files directly to audio CD but do not need or want a complete digital song file management software program.

[Available on Windows]

Napster

Famous for creating the first "peer-to-peer" (P2P) or file-sharing application that really took off, Napster has since reformed their ways and now provides legal access to digital music with two tiers of service. The most basic service is free and allows access to the Napster Store and 30-second previews. Song files are 99 cents each and albums cost $9.95--files are in 128 kb protected WMA format. Additionally, users can manage their personal digital song files (MP3 and WMA format only) by importing them into the Napster Library and can transfer song files to a number of different portable players. Purchased files can be used to create audio CDs also but Napster doesn't currently support extracting song files from CDs.

As premium members, customers pay $9.95 per month and have access to unlimited streaming and "tethered" downloads (which allows for offline playback as long as you're a premium member), the ability to create customized play lists and access to pre-programmed radio shows with the ability to skip forward and back through the program and download available selections. Napster currently boasts of over 500,000 songs and exclusives from such artists as Tom Petty, R.E.M., Mick Jagger and Puddle of Mudd as well as songs that have been recorded exclusively for Napster in Napster's Los Angeles recording studio by artists like Rufus Wainwright, Guided By Voices, Brian McKnight? and The Raveonettes.

A unique and interesting aspect of Napster is the online community that it fosters: there are user forums (for premium members) and all members can browse other members' music collections as well as send messages and music to each other. The Napster staff appears to be active on the member forums as well.

The user interface is extremely clean and easy to use. Other than the personal library, the other two areas ("Home" and "Browse") provide access to professionally programmed radio stations (categorized by genre), an online music magazine, the member forums, "just added" listings, a "now streaming" page and access to Billboard charts.

In comparison to iTunes, the Napster Library interface is somewhat limited and doesn't provide nearly the number of features for managing digital song files. However, for the average music enthusiast, Napster's simple interface and functionality will suffice.

[Available for Windows]