Caroline Giegerich is the blogstress behind the Daily Marauder and a digital marketing consultant. Follow her on Twitter for more social media and emerging tech insights.
In 1895, Nikola Tesla transmitted a radio signal 50 miles from New York City to West Point, NY in the first test of radio transmission. The golden age of radio took shape from the 1920s through the 1950s.
As traditional radio begins to the see the shadow of online radio, it’s clear that a transitional point is upon us. Last week, Pandora surpassed popular terrestrial radio stations in New York City for the first time. Online services including Pandora, Spotify, Turntable and Rdio have been rapidly growing thanks to the strength and speed of cloud computing and a renewed appetite for online music discovery.
SEE ALSO: Music Subscription Faceoff: How Does Spotify Measure Up? [INFOGRAPHIC]
Each service has carved out a specific niche: Spotify is music on demand, Turntable is social music curation, Pandora is a personalized playlist and Rdio is the leader of the socially connected experience. Here we break down these four pioneers of the online DJ experience and examine some key criteria.
The Largest Mix: Spotify
Spotify is the clear winner with more than 15 million songs. Turntable comes in second place with 11 million songs (although reports estimate that the service will be adding 6.5 million to its song library), followed by Rdio at 10 million and Pandora in last place with 800,000 songs.
The Perfect Mix: Pandora
When Turntable was first unleashed, I thought of the service as the re-invention of Napster crack. It recreates the atmosphere of a dark basement battle between amateur DJs trying to one-up one another. In Turntable, users can take turns “DJing” in discrete rooms based on their own musical style.
That said, there are a few drawbacks. For the most part, the rooms heavily favor indie music, electronica or hip hop. Also, because of the competitive nature, the music can get so bleeding edge that popular favorites don’t get played. Where else would you find a massive crowd of strangers who all know the old school hip hop duo Blackalicious? The cool kids are certainly out with reckless abandon, but the service doesn’t necessarily speak to the masses.
SEE ALSO: 4 Social Music Services for Your Office Soundtrack
Rdio, on the other hand, allows you to follow friends based on what they’re listening to. It creates a playlist for you from their selections. But watch out — repetition can be a bit of an issue.
Spotify offers the ability to create and subscribe to playlists. Popular music services like We Are Hunted have even jumped on with their own lists.
For now though, Pandora and its music genome API still win here. Pandora creates playlists based on keywords, audio texture and user input. Like Rdio, variation is sometimes lacking.
Music Discovery: Turntable/Spotify
The competitive nature of Turntable pushes it to the top of the list for music discovery. Most Turntable DJs attempt to surpass each other with some exceptionally eclectic playlists, even though it falls short of including genres other than indie, hip hop and electronica.
For more casual hunters Spotify is the winner, thanks to its vast catalogue of music, numerous playlists across all genres and its ability to search through comparative artists. Users can click on an artist name to load a new window with similar artists. There are also phenomenal Spotify playlist generators such as Spotibot or playlist search tools like Sharemyplaylists.
Auto Pilot vs. Music on Demand
Not every music service offers the same kind of user experience, which is a good thing. While at work, for example, you might want an auto pilot, hands-off experience like Pandora, Rdio or Turntable offer. Users interested in actively digging up new finds might be more inclined to monitor Spotify or take a hands-on approach with Turntable.
Selling the Music
Whichever service helps record labels sell music will be the one they throw their adoration behind. Spotify took its time convincing U.S. labels that they could help them make money. Unfortunately in Europe, only 15% of users pay for a slightly more robust Spotify subscription, according to company representatives.
All of the services except for Spotify allow users to purchase songs. The idea is to get casual listeners hooked on a new find which they’ll then buy. Spotify, however, is trying to push revenue through its subscription rather than individual music sales.
Social Features: Rdio
Rdio is the clear winner here. Not only does it display what my friends are listening to, but it also offers an embeddable music player.
Spotify also has some cool social features, allowing playlist and track sharing. The ability to start conversations and show comments is, however, limited.
Turntable comes packed with nifty chat features, allowing DJs to share information about the music they’re playing or to talk smack about other DJs, as the case may be. Turntable also allows you to see which rooms your friends are in so you can join them. The social experience can be inconsistent, however, since so much is defined by the users in each room.
Pandora is the weakest of the bunch, with only a link to connect through Facebook.
Price: Spotify
Spotify wins price by a landslide. Spotify offers 15 million songs to choose on demand for free (though there are ads). This dwarfs Pandora’s 800,000 songs, while also allowing more control over ad volume. Rdio is solid, but there isn’t the same variation in music styles. It also comes with a $4.99/month starter package. Turntable is free but it doesn’t allow users to play music on demand since the goal is to create a shared listening experience.
And the Winner Is …
In the end, Spotify wins out over the other music services. Spotify’s “freemium” version surpasses Pandora’s offerings and is only poised to grow.
Which web radio services do you use and why? Share your opinions in the comments below.
Image courtesy of Flickr, icatus
More About: cloud computing, music, social media, spotifyFor more Media coverage:Follow Mashable Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:57:52 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/fYqkVtzzuks/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/11/music-services-compared/#comments
In 1895, Nikola Tesla transmitted a radio signal 50 miles from New York City to West Point, NY in the first test of radio transmission. The golden age of radio took shape from the 1920s through the 1950s.
As traditional radio begins to the see the shadow of online radio, it’s clear that a transitional point is upon us. Last week, Pandora surpassed popular terrestrial radio stations in New York City for the first time. Online services including Pandora, Spotify, Turntable and Rdio have been rapidly growing thanks to the strength and speed of cloud computing and a renewed appetite for online music discovery.
SEE ALSO: Music Subscription Faceoff: How Does Spotify Measure Up? [INFOGRAPHIC]
Each service has carved out a specific niche: Spotify is music on demand, Turntable is social music curation, Pandora is a personalized playlist and Rdio is the leader of the socially connected experience. Here we break down these four pioneers of the online DJ experience and examine some key criteria.
The Largest Mix: Spotify
Spotify is the clear winner with more than 15 million songs. Turntable comes in second place with 11 million songs (although reports estimate that the service will be adding 6.5 million to its song library), followed by Rdio at 10 million and Pandora in last place with 800,000 songs.
The Perfect Mix: Pandora
When Turntable was first unleashed, I thought of the service as the re-invention of Napster crack. It recreates the atmosphere of a dark basement battle between amateur DJs trying to one-up one another. In Turntable, users can take turns “DJing” in discrete rooms based on their own musical style.
That said, there are a few drawbacks. For the most part, the rooms heavily favor indie music, electronica or hip hop. Also, because of the competitive nature, the music can get so bleeding edge that popular favorites don’t get played. Where else would you find a massive crowd of strangers who all know the old school hip hop duo Blackalicious? The cool kids are certainly out with reckless abandon, but the service doesn’t necessarily speak to the masses.
SEE ALSO: 4 Social Music Services for Your Office Soundtrack
Rdio, on the other hand, allows you to follow friends based on what they’re listening to. It creates a playlist for you from their selections. But watch out — repetition can be a bit of an issue.
Spotify offers the ability to create and subscribe to playlists. Popular music services like We Are Hunted have even jumped on with their own lists.
For now though, Pandora and its music genome API still win here. Pandora creates playlists based on keywords, audio texture and user input. Like Rdio, variation is sometimes lacking.
Music Discovery: Turntable/Spotify
The competitive nature of Turntable pushes it to the top of the list for music discovery. Most Turntable DJs attempt to surpass each other with some exceptionally eclectic playlists, even though it falls short of including genres other than indie, hip hop and electronica.
For more casual hunters Spotify is the winner, thanks to its vast catalogue of music, numerous playlists across all genres and its ability to search through comparative artists. Users can click on an artist name to load a new window with similar artists. There are also phenomenal Spotify playlist generators such as Spotibot or playlist search tools like Sharemyplaylists.
Auto Pilot vs. Music on Demand
Not every music service offers the same kind of user experience, which is a good thing. While at work, for example, you might want an auto pilot, hands-off experience like Pandora, Rdio or Turntable offer. Users interested in actively digging up new finds might be more inclined to monitor Spotify or take a hands-on approach with Turntable.
Selling the Music
Whichever service helps record labels sell music will be the one they throw their adoration behind. Spotify took its time convincing U.S. labels that they could help them make money. Unfortunately in Europe, only 15% of users pay for a slightly more robust Spotify subscription, according to company representatives.
All of the services except for Spotify allow users to purchase songs. The idea is to get casual listeners hooked on a new find which they’ll then buy. Spotify, however, is trying to push revenue through its subscription rather than individual music sales.
Social Features: Rdio
Rdio is the clear winner here. Not only does it display what my friends are listening to, but it also offers an embeddable music player.
Spotify also has some cool social features, allowing playlist and track sharing. The ability to start conversations and show comments is, however, limited.
Turntable comes packed with nifty chat features, allowing DJs to share information about the music they’re playing or to talk smack about other DJs, as the case may be. Turntable also allows you to see which rooms your friends are in so you can join them. The social experience can be inconsistent, however, since so much is defined by the users in each room.
Pandora is the weakest of the bunch, with only a link to connect through Facebook.
Price: Spotify
Spotify wins price by a landslide. Spotify offers 15 million songs to choose on demand for free (though there are ads). This dwarfs Pandora’s 800,000 songs, while also allowing more control over ad volume. Rdio is solid, but there isn’t the same variation in music styles. It also comes with a $4.99/month starter package. Turntable is free but it doesn’t allow users to play music on demand since the goal is to create a shared listening experience.
And the Winner Is …
In the end, Spotify wins out over the other music services. Spotify’s “freemium” version surpasses Pandora’s offerings and is only poised to grow.
Which web radio services do you use and why? Share your opinions in the comments below.
Image courtesy of Flickr, icatus
More About: cloud computing, music, social media, spotifyFor more Media coverage:Follow Mashable Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:57:52 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/fYqkVtzzuks/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/11/music-services-compared/#comments