Online Music Stores: While some users are split between pay per track versus subscription services, there is a third option which I am not sure what to make of.
More shops like LaLa are popping up. Their approach is “Get the web song (unlimited online plays) for 10 cents, or the MP3 download for 79 cents more”. Maybe because I am in a Wi-fi black hole everywhere I go:-) even so, why should I pay 10 cents to listen to a track? I fail to see how a service like this exists – especially since there are thousands of free full length tracks available to play on LastFM and the likes of MySpace. A high percentage of these are also available for free download. Invisible Agent have a number of Free Tracks and EPs available on LastFM – so head over there now.
What baffles me even more, certain large online music stores do not offer full, DRM-free downloads. I was under the impression that DRM died a death years ago… Maybe I need to buy a Zune and live in a Wifi zone! All comments are welcome, let us know if you use a subscription service or not…
There’s been a lot of talk recently of Spotify, unfortunately the free version is not available in Ireland yet, so I can’t test it out, but by all accounts it is very good.
It’s an advertising-funded free streaming music service. Not sure what their content is like.