Nerd Alert: Music
With the summer concert season gearing up, our thoughts turn to music.
Everything has changed since Napster put online music on the map a decade ago. New business models allow free (and legal) streaming and even downloading letting you enjoy your music at home, in the car, or on your mobile phone.
Music portals are no longer just for hardcore audiofiles. Casual listeners catching a Pop princess at US Bank Arena, rabid fans following their favorite Indie act at the 20th Century, or someone looking to explore the composer they will be hearing at Music Hall can all listen to their favorite artists while finding new favorites along the way.
We used a dozen songs to test the quality and varitey of free music discovery and sharing sites.
- Gomez – Airstream Driver
- Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
- The Roots – The Seed (2.0)
- Incubus – A Certain Shade of Green
- Brad Paisley – I’m Gonna Miss Her
- Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)
- J.S. Bach – Invention No. 8
- Vampire Weekend – M79
- Nina Simone – Sinnerman
- Led Zeppelin – The Ocean
- Kanye West – Stronger
- John Butler Trio – Better Than
iLike: http://www.ilike.com
The iLike player can be launched from their website or within your own Facebook profile and provides a generated playlist from the song or artist you enter. Our list was eclectic, yet on point, and lead to some very good finds. When we created our own playlist, there were some nice live performances (Rhapsody in Blue with Gershwin himself on piano), but also some disappointments (acoustic version of Incubus’ A Certain Shade of Green). If you are looking for studio versions, iLike may not be for you. But it is great for live music, video, discovery, and sharing. Apps for iTunes, Windows Media Player, and iPhone.
Stream + Playlists + Recommendations + Video + Social Media
Pandora: http://www.pandora.com
Pandora is purely Internet radio – no playlists here. Build “stations” based on a song, artist, or musical genre, then sit back and let the Music Genome Project find new artists for you. The Music Genome Project analyzes up to 400 distinct musical characteristics to capture the musical identity of a song and the musical preferences of the listener. Check out the profile of Newport, KY’s Southgate House in their video section. Station Gifting, Music Festival Guide, and Mobile Phone apps.
Stream + Recommendations + Video
Blip.fm: http://blip.fm
Blip.fm’s angle is making you into a “DJ.” Choose a DJ name, which becomes your personal station: blip.fm/yourdjname. Set up your account to broadcast your blips to your favorite social networking sites, like Twitter. Enter several artists or songs you are interested in and Blip.fm will match you up with other users that have similar interests, and whose blips will appear on your personal station, guiding you to undiscovered music.
Stream + Playlists + Recommendations + Social Media
Grooveshark: http://listen.grooveshark.com
Grooveshark has fast become our favorite. It is clean, simple, and robust in its musical diversity and availability (one of the few sites we could actually find J.S Bach’s Invention No. 8). Search for your own wish list, the most popular songs on the site, or playlists of other users to create your own masterpiece. Share songs on Twitter or other social networking sites via their secondary site, TinySongs.com.
Stream + Playlists + Recommendations + Social Media
Other Sites of Note
Last.fm: http://www.last.fm
imeem: http://www.imeem.com
Hype Machine: http://www.hypem.com
MOG: http://mog.com
Didiom: http://www.didiom.com
Songraptor: http://songraptor.com
Yeah, Grooveshark is great. It’s kind of like having a version of itunes with an unlimited music library.