This document compares various streaming music services such as Spotify, Rdio, Grooveshark, Rhapsody, Pandora, MOG, and Last.FM. It outlines their key features such as number of songs, pricing plans, social features, and strengths/weaknesses. Spotify is highlighted as having over 13 million songs available on mobile and desktop players for free with ads or $5-10/month without ads. It also allows sharing music to Facebook and creating playlists others can subscribe to. In the end, the document discusses the author paying $9.99 for one of the services but considering switching next month.
7. GETTING SOCIAL
Create a Spotify profile
Connect with Facebook - automatically pulls
in all your friends who are using Spotify
Share tracks you like to friends on Spotify
Create playlists friends can subscribe to
Look at The Feed- to see what songs and
albums your friends are listening to
2011.7.21
10. STREAMING MUSIC SERVICE COMPARISON
# of Player How Killer Lamest
Service Price
Songs Options Social Feature Feature
No Web Client Player
Send Tracks to
Socially Limited
Spotify 13
Million
Mobile
Desktop
Free,
$5mo
$10mo
Friends
Share to FB
Create and
International
Not well developed recommendation
engine
No Radio Feature
Follow Playlists
Has an
Mobile Diverse
Rdio 9
Million
Browser
Desktop
$5mo
$10mo
embedded player
for Twitter
Create and
Recommendation
Engine
Its interface is not very intuitive
Set-Top Box Twitter Player
Follow Playlists
Can share songs
Lets users upload
on Twitter,
Mobile (kind Free their own media Inconsistent Naming
Facebook & More
of) $9mo so great remixes Unknown audio quality
Grooveshark Unkown
Browser $6mo
Can see activity
and music not Quasi-Legal
of your friends
Desktop $90yr found on Pandora, No (approved) iPhone or Android App
Song
Spotify or Rdio
Commenting
Mobile
Rhapsody 10
Million
Browser
Set-Top Box
MP3 Player
$15mo None?
Can download to
MP3 Players
Slow on Software Updates
Poorly Designed User Interface
Mobile Connect to Low Library of Songs
Pandora 800
Thousand
Browser
Set-Top Box
Free
$36yr
Facebook to see
what friends are
Using Data from
Music Genome
Project
Repetitive
Lots of Ads for Free Users
listening to.
Radio Feature
MOG 11
Million
Mobile
Set-Top Box
Browser
$5mo
$10mo
Search Friends
by Genre, Artist,
Mood
Fast Search
Blog, Review
Information
Social Features are only so / so
Great iPhone App
Pretty social,
Last.FM 7
Million
Mobile
Desktop
Browser
Free
acts as a social
recommendation
Scrobbling No way to save music for later use
engine
2011.7.21