It seems to be what I have been waiting the last fifteen years for -- a portable device that holds any music I want. I can't exactly call up any song whenever I want; I have to download it. And the song selection is limited to what is currently being licensed -- thus, no Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Smashing Pumpkins; Neil Young you have to buy, not borrow; lots of gaps in old punk and indie labels; and so on.
But I am pretty excited by my Napster-to-Go trial. Using my daughter's little Dell Pocket DJ, which is also darn cool.
This review -- Math Is Done: Napster To Go Doesn't Add Up -- from the Washington Post doesn't really sing the praises of the service; the author resents that he has to keep paying for the songs for the rest of his life. But I figure at $15/month it is worth it. I am listening to all sorts of music that I only have on vinyl and tape, as well as lots of new stuff that I can't get on the radio and I would never be able to afford if I had to buy all the cds. I have been using Rhapsody for the past year which provides the same service, but without the to-go feature.
Anybody have any opinions or advice?
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2 comments:
The idea behind Napster was the free sharing of musical files from one user to the other. Of course our good ole buddy Lars Ulrich the overeccentric drummer for Metallica had to create pointless waves inside the music industry protesting its creation. What I never got my head around was the fact that instead of embracing Napster from the beginning the record industry went nuts and started suing its users. Why hadnt they tried to control it from the start, keep the prices low and offer its users quality files for half the hassle of buying whole albums. The artist, our good ole friend Lars, makes very little money off of record sales usually. Their money is made on tour, through merchandising and endorsements. There has always been the argument that Napster was hurting the little guy. The suffering artist that was living off of bread and record sales. Lars tried to play it off like he cared, and that he was fighting a greater cause. In reality Napster has helped those smaller artists looking to get signed. Napster helped increase the odds of you listening to something other than the radio friendly cycle.
My point is that the industry could of avoided the whole legal red-tape early on and used the program and others like it as viable commondities. This is what they are trying to do now, but it might be to late. Think about what you are financing when you pay your 15$ a month. How much of that do think is really going to any artist.
I say try the trial. If you like, then by all means. But really the best thing to do is to borrow albums, burn them onto your computer and then sync them to your MP3.
The idea behind Napster was the free sharing of musical files from one user to the other. Of course our good ole buddy Lars Ulrich the overeccentric drummer for Metallica had to create pointless waves inside the music industry protesting its creation. What I never got my head around was the fact that instead of embracing Napster from the beginning the record industry went nuts and started suing its users. Why hadnt they tried to control it from the start, keep the prices low and offer its users quality files for half the hassle of buying whole albums. The artist, our good ole friend Lars, makes very little money off of record sales usually. Their money is made on tour, through merchandising and endorsements. There has always been the argument that Napster was hurting the little guy. The suffering artist that was living off of bread and record sales. Lars tried to play it off like he cared, and that he was fighting a greater cause. In reality Napster has helped those smaller artists looking to get signed. Napster helped increase the odds of you listening to something other than the radio friendly cycle.
My point is that the industry could of avoided the whole legal red-tape early on and used the program and others like it as viable commondities. This is what they are trying to do now, but it might be to late. Think about what you are financing when you pay your 15$ a month. How much of that do think is really going to any artist.
I say try the trial. If you like, then by all means. But really the best thing to do is to borrow albums, burn them onto your computer and then sync them to your MP3.
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