Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of attention focused on the new Spotify iPhone application which has already been submitted to iTunes. Spotify is leading the way in several European markets at the moment for music streaming, however Grooveshark has been making waves in other markets as their web app is available worldwide. Grooveshark themselves have been developing their own iPhone application which is just about to be submitted to iTunes.
We were lucky enough to receive a copy of the Grooveshark iphone application before release so that we could play around with it. Like Spotify the Grooveshark application lets you search and find pretty much any music, and then provides the ability to create playlists and keep track of your own favourites. The iphone application has a very slick interface and keeps with the overall design which is found on Grooveshark.com. Music is streamed from wireless internet connect, but it doesnt really stream fast enough for my liking, but that is probably more because of the iphone’s capabilities instead of the application.
Grooveshark also keeps track of what kind of music you like and suggests artists and music that you might enjoy. It is great to see the simplicity of this iphone application with a very nice design. The Spotify iphone application will only be available to subscription based users, thus it would be great to see Grooveshark offer this application as a free download and really grab a strong marketshare. However, I know that Grooveshark are trying to work out their own subscription service in which eventually might include this iphone application.
So where are the best places on the net to listen to music for free without downloading anything? Well we have put together this list so that everyone can find the music they want to listen to straight in their browser.
Grooveshark – Grooveshark is a music streaming service that is currently ad supported. Grooveshark has a huge catalogue and there is no need to download any software to use their service. Unlike Spotify for example Grooveshark is straight in your browser and they have a great design to match.
We7 – We7 is a UK based ad supported music streaming service in which lets users stream music straight from their site. We7 has some great exclusive content from some of the major artists here in the UK and all over the world.
HypeM – Hype Machine is a music blog discovery tool in which showcases some of the best free music available on the net. Hype Machine pulls together music blogs and then allows users to play the music via streaming it in their browser.
AudioTube – Audiotube is basically YouTube for music videos. Audiotube allows users to easily search through their huge database and find the music videos they want to stream for free. Videos are streamed inside the browser and all videos also link to a download store in which you can purchase the music. However with the downloading they dont hook into iTunes and Amazon which they really should.
Muzu.tv – Muzu.tv is very similar to Audiotube but they seem to have a bigger catalogue, but apart from that on brief glance the only difference is the colour of the websites. Muzu has a lot more sharing and playlist options compared to Audiotube, thus making it look very similar in layout to Dailymotion.
Grooveshark is an application that was reviewed here on Crenk sometime ago. At the time, I didn’t see the relevance of
Grooveshark awarded CNET's Top 100 Webware Award
the application, though it had some good aspects, I just did not feel comfortable with the entire package. It was not long after that post that officials from Grooveshark contacted me for a dialogue encouraging me to take a look at the offerings again, highlighting features I had not really seen the first time around. In the year that I’ve had with Grooveshark, I’m impressed with the continued efforts it’s making to establish itself as a viable music service for users.
CNET was obviously impressed enough to award it the 2009 Webware Winner for Audio and Music. Grooveshark has indeed come a long way and its user base has grown significantly. With this announcement comes features that again make Grooveshark heads above the rest. For starters their partnership with Ping.fm to build Tinysong API, which allows users to take the code and develop webapps that provide access to Groovesharks extensive library of music. It will be interesting to see what developers come up with as we’ve seen with various other online applications, the opening of the API makes it easy for supplementary apps to proliferate the net.
The second feature that was announced deals specifically with the blogging community. Grooveshark has announced that is now has a Wordpress plugin that allows integration into blog posts for users to set up their favorite songs for specific posts. You can set up just one song, or a playlist of songs for your readers on your site. An interesting option, at the very least you could create a small station of songs on your, possibly with a widget.
Grooveshark is definitely expanding its platform and appeal, and it should be interesting to see how much further they go in 2009!
Amidst the myriad of online music options such as Last.fm and Pandora, Grooveshark has come into play as a more social networked option of the previous two. While this is a great way to connect like minded listeners via their music selections, the product could still use some major adjustments.
I’d like to start with installation. Like Last.fm, Grooveshark has an executable file which taps into your system to install an application. Groovesharks download is called Sharkbyte, and essentially attempt to connected with other media folders to extend your sharing options via the music you already have on your computer, for example in the iTunes folder. Once you’ve selected what you want to share you’re off to their website. I personally selected nothing since I do not like applications sharing anything that I currently have on my computer, feels too invasive.
As a user I was overwhelmed with the options the website offered. I felt the design was not fluid, and options were not clearly labeled as to their uses. While it seems like the site is very informative, for a first time user it’s crowded and hard to follow. What I found fascinating with Pandora is the ability to surf the options without ever leaving the main page where the music is playing; and when you did have to open a new page, it opens as a new tab in the browser for ease of use. I got lost too often on Grooveshark’s site. In an attempt to salvage my online experience I clicked on their FAQ’s and became frustrated when there was not sufficient coverage for my question to warrant even a click.
Now for the meat of the site, the music. From what I was able to see, the music options seem aplenty, and the created music playlists are very helpful. I enjoyed the fact that you could take existing playlists and make your own playlists by selecting only the songs you want. Creating playlists was fun, and the instant option to purchase is always good to have right at your fingertips. The quality of the music was clear, the player was a little awkward, but once you set the music to play, I overlooked the player. When the first song completed a major flaw came to light, it did not go onto the next track. I attempted several times to see if I could play entire playlists to no avail. One song? I only get the pleasure of listening to one song at a time? No thank you!
Grooveshark truly has a lot of potential, and of all the music networks I am on, this was definitely the most social. You can add friends who have similar interests in music, chat with them, drag and drop songs to share, broadcast your playlist onto Twitter and Pownce so your friends know what you are listening to. This could be an amazing social music network if only the rest of the site was not so frustrating.
Luckily this site is still in beta, so there’s hope. What are my suggestions to Grooveshark? Drop the install app, I don’t know many that want to openly share their library. Is sharing our playlists and favorite songs through the site not enough? Streamline the design of the site, make it intuitive, think of a first time user as opposed to someone who is familiar with Groovesharks offerings. Finally, let the music play. Let entire playlists play and use the site’s music engine to match new music onto our playlists to expose us to new groups. That is a way to grow a community; that is an excellent way to expand a listeners horizons.
GroovesharkLite is a self-contained flash based application which lets you search, listen and purchase mp3’s online. It has a library of over 6 Million songs covering everything from tiny Indies to all the Majors.
It’s a peer to peer music service in the same vein as Limewire, which also allows users to stream and purchase songs.
Users are not required to register or login to their account in order to search and play songs. You are only required to login to your account when you want to purchase a particular mp3. Otherwise you are free listen to songs as much as you want.
You can also get free mp3’s with GroovesharkLite, for example if someone purchases a song that you seed, you would receive a credit that can be used to purchase more songs from the network.
P2P music sharing and sales service Grooveshark has raised their level of compensation for sharing music from 10 cents to 25 cents a track, their entire profit on each sale. Users upload their music to Grooveshark, and any member can listen to those tracks for free. If they want to download a song, they can purchase it DRM free and the user who uploaded the song gets a cut of the sale; previously this was 10c and now its 25c. The remainer of the 99c sale goes to the record companies; the service is legal and Grooveshark has agreements with the record companies to provide the service and to cover copyright obligations.
I dont see how this program can actually succeed! I really need someone from Grooveshark to explain to me the finer details. As far as i know it runs the same as any other P2P, where companies and users each run their files from a folder on their computer and thus allowing other users to purchase audio tracks, movies, etc. How is Grooveshark going to monitor copyrights on songs for example, because i know a lot of people out there have illegally downloaded songs on their computer and if they are in the same folder that Grooveshark is using how will they track it all and keep control? Especially also considering a user could change the name of the songs in their folder and then make it more suceptable to being accepted at owning a copyright.
Finally, why would i want to purchase from a P2P network when currently I can head over to LimeWire and get it all for nothing??
