Music
Web2.0, social networks and online media. They're becoming more and more a part of the content of everyday life than some would like to even admit. A work event I attended only served to reinforce this notion. So let's embrace, utilise and discuss. This post and future posts on In Fact, Ah will attempt to analyse the best of breed.
Guide to streaming free music online
1. MySpace - www.myspace.com
Strictly considered a social networking site, MySpace has evolved to become one of the leading sources for listening to music online. It's a fantastic way for emerging musicians and bands to publish music when doors at record companies seem firmly shut. If you believe it, this medium unleashed the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen who would otherwise still be singing to herself in her London flat.
Somebody at a party recently mentioned to you that they liked Scott Matthews? Never heard of him? Go check out four songs from his stupendous album "Passing Stranger" on his MySpace page.
Some criticism can be levelled at MySpace for being too many things. It's a blog, it's a place to hang out with strangers for friends, it's a place to leave comments. Will face strong competition from Bebo if the Internet's smoking shed behind the school gets it together to allow music to be streamed. It should be interesting too to see what Murdoch will make of it.
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2. Yahoo! Music - http://uk.launch.yahoo.com
It really does deserve more hype. My old employer really knew what they were doing when they bought Launch Media for a mere $12m. As a music recommender system, it's hard to find fault with it and using Launch couldn't be simpler. Feed it with a sample of what bands, albums and songs you like and it plays you what it thinks you'll like.
You say you like Otis Redding and it intersperses your customised radio station with some of his Motown classics. Keep rating the music it plays on a scale from 0-100 and you soon have a source of music that gets smarter and smarter.
You will need to use Windows Media Player and is not compatible with Firefox. A nice feature is that Launch runs nicely from the Yahoo! IM tool with the option to show your IM buddies what song you're currently listening to.
Too bad that Yahoo! doesn't shout more about it.
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3. Pandora - www.pandora.com
Pandora is the offspring of the Genome Music Project, a group of music mavens comprised of techies and musicians. They claim to have analysed thousands of songs and to have captured "the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony."
Like Pandora, it's a recommender system, but doesn't use as granular a rating system. You like a song? Give it the thumbs up. You dislike the song? Give it the thumbs down. All a bit rudimentary really considering how analytical the Genome people are when it comes to their creating taxonomies of music. But it works. I frequently hear gasps of astonishment from users of Pandora, all worked up because it "read their mind".
It's flash based and requires you to be from the US in order to use it. Bollocks, I say. Just fill in that zip code you had as J1 student and off you go, opening a wonderful box in the process. On the downside, you're limited to six skips per hour.
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4. Last FM - www.last.fm
If you don't mind Big Brother knowing what you listen to on your music players, then Last FM has it all. 'Scrobble' the music you listen to and a log is created where you can review your listening habits, have music recommended in a streamable station based on that history and get connected with people of similar taste.
The facility is available to publish a list of what you've been listening to on a blog as Paul from In Fact, Ah does on the side panel. Last FM is rammed with features which may act as a turn-off for the older technology user, but for those of us comfortable with adapting to post dot com technologies, this one's a keeper.
(And yes, .fm domains are used by Internet radio stations)
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5. Windows Media Player
If you prefer the old-fashioned format for a radio station, then you could do worse than browsing the thousands of radio stations that are featured in Windows Media Player (Media Guide on the new WMP 11). Every genre of music conceivable is catered for. Personally, I like to make a cup of green tea and put on the Chillout Vibes station when I'm not coming up with a new knitting pattern to submit to Ireland's Own.
All jokes aside, it's a great lucky bag-type service.
___________________________________________________________________
6. Google
Google, it appears, doesn't do music.
Published by Colm.
1. MySpace - www.myspace.com
Strictly considered a social networking site, MySpace has evolved to become one of the leading sources for listening to music online. It's a fantastic way for emerging musicians and bands to publish music when doors at record companies seem firmly shut. If you believe it, this medium unleashed the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen who would otherwise still be singing to herself in her London flat.
Somebody at a party recently mentioned to you that they liked Scott Matthews? Never heard of him? Go check out four songs from his stupendous album "Passing Stranger" on his MySpace page.
Some criticism can be levelled at MySpace for being too many things. It's a blog, it's a place to hang out with strangers for friends, it's a place to leave comments. Will face strong competition from Bebo if the Internet's smoking shed behind the school gets it together to allow music to be streamed. It should be interesting too to see what Murdoch will make of it.
___________________________________________________________________
2. Yahoo! Music - http://uk.launch.yahoo.com
It really does deserve more hype. My old employer really knew what they were doing when they bought Launch Media for a mere $12m. As a music recommender system, it's hard to find fault with it and using Launch couldn't be simpler. Feed it with a sample of what bands, albums and songs you like and it plays you what it thinks you'll like.
You say you like Otis Redding and it intersperses your customised radio station with some of his Motown classics. Keep rating the music it plays on a scale from 0-100 and you soon have a source of music that gets smarter and smarter.
You will need to use Windows Media Player and is not compatible with Firefox. A nice feature is that Launch runs nicely from the Yahoo! IM tool with the option to show your IM buddies what song you're currently listening to.
Too bad that Yahoo! doesn't shout more about it.
___________________________________________________________________
3. Pandora - www.pandora.com
Pandora is the offspring of the Genome Music Project, a group of music mavens comprised of techies and musicians. They claim to have analysed thousands of songs and to have captured "the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony."
Like Pandora, it's a recommender system, but doesn't use as granular a rating system. You like a song? Give it the thumbs up. You dislike the song? Give it the thumbs down. All a bit rudimentary really considering how analytical the Genome people are when it comes to their creating taxonomies of music. But it works. I frequently hear gasps of astonishment from users of Pandora, all worked up because it "read their mind".
It's flash based and requires you to be from the US in order to use it. Bollocks, I say. Just fill in that zip code you had as J1 student and off you go, opening a wonderful box in the process. On the downside, you're limited to six skips per hour.
___________________________________________________________________
4. Last FM - www.last.fm
If you don't mind Big Brother knowing what you listen to on your music players, then Last FM has it all. 'Scrobble' the music you listen to and a log is created where you can review your listening habits, have music recommended in a streamable station based on that history and get connected with people of similar taste.
The facility is available to publish a list of what you've been listening to on a blog as Paul from In Fact, Ah does on the side panel. Last FM is rammed with features which may act as a turn-off for the older technology user, but for those of us comfortable with adapting to post dot com technologies, this one's a keeper.
(And yes, .fm domains are used by Internet radio stations)
___________________________________________________________________
5. Windows Media Player
If you prefer the old-fashioned format for a radio station, then you could do worse than browsing the thousands of radio stations that are featured in Windows Media Player (Media Guide on the new WMP 11). Every genre of music conceivable is catered for. Personally, I like to make a cup of green tea and put on the Chillout Vibes station when I'm not coming up with a new knitting pattern to submit to Ireland's Own.
All jokes aside, it's a great lucky bag-type service.
___________________________________________________________________
6. Google
Google, it appears, doesn't do music.
Published by Colm.
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