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MySpace Music: So, How Does it Look?
by
Paul Resnikoff, Publisher
Digital Music News, September 26,
2008
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If music started and ended on the internet, then MySpace Music would be
the end-all, be-all solution. Of course, music is enjoyed everywhere -
on iPods, mobile devices, CD-Rs, automobiles, and laptops, and music
fans demand transferability between different environments. They have
also grown accustomed to free acquisition - and for some younger fans,
music has always been free.
That makes the MySpace Music
proposition a bit incongruent with current listening and acquisition
habits, though the concept still breaks some ground. Sure, services
like Rhapsody and Napster have been offering multi-million, on-demand
catalogs for years, though most fans have been deterred by subscription
requirements. Now, these catalogs are being offered for free, and
MySpace has delivered a mostly adequate, 1.0 experience.
MySpace
Music falls far short of delivering a superb interface or svelte
design, but then again, MySpace is known for its rough edges. That
spells some confusing moments and a vague sense of disorientation,
though the cloud starts to clear rather quickly. Among the areas
underachieving is search, especially given the inability to delineate
by artist, album, or song.
But those flaws are actually
secondary to the available catalog, playlist functionality, and sharing
components. In the end, this thing works, the catalog is mostly in
place, and after about twenty minutes, the process starts to get fun.
But
will you find your favorite songs or artists? It depends. The catalog
appeared strong after an initial stab, despite missing content from
various independent labels. There are a lot of matches here, and
plenty of unexpected gems. Artists ranging from Rakim to Nas, Chic to
Heatwave, Interpol to Franz Ferdinand, Sepultura to Metallica, and
Rachmaninoff to Vivaldi are represented, though of course, specific
searches are highly personalized to the individual. That means some
hit-and-miss scenarios for die-hard music fans, and potentially bad
experiences for those searching for not-yet-licensed content.
But
MySpace Music has secured comprehensive major (and some independent)
label licensing, an approach that addresses the biggest audience demand
first. On top of that selection, users can easily create playlists ad
nauseam, and access songs without limitations. The options include a
profile playlist, a feature that presents the outside world with a
selection of songs, instead of just one track.
The entire
process is free, unless a permanent download is desired. For that
need, enter AmazonMP3, which is managing permanent downloads for
MySpace. If the song is on Amazon, users can purchase it, and easily
load the song into iTunes using the AmazonMP3 Downloader. Once the
hand-off happens, Amazon just does its thing without a glitch.
On
the advertising side, marquee sponsors McDonald's and Toyota are
difficult to miss, both on the site and customized player. The
result? After a few hours of endless McDonald's Dollar Menu ads, the
appetite eventually shifts from free music to cheap food.
Screenshots at
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/092508myspacereview
-----
Paul Resnikoff is the founder and publisher of Digital Music
News (www.digitalmusicnews.com), a premier industry source for news,
information, and analysis. Digital Music News has quickly grown from its humble
roots as a small, executive news service to the most widely read information
source in the field.
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