With the variety of alternatives appearing on the internet, iTunes is no longer the only music hub for users. Online radio stations and databases offer all the music with little to no cost at all.
On Pandora, a user creates a playlist by entering a name of a song or artist and the radio station. The use of the Music Genome Project narrows down a user’s interest based upon which songs they like or dislike on that station.
Said senior Kirsten Von Der Wroge: “Because I don’t have to pay anything to use it, I can make stations of music that I like. Plus, that way I get to learn about new songs that I wouldn’t have necessarily found on iTunes.”
Spotify, perhaps the most like iTunes, offers an alternative database of music from which users can choose and add to their playlists. They can also use the playlists of friends, favorite artists or celebrities. Spotify offers a free version, which lets you listen on your computer or laptop, but includes advertisements in between songs.
For $5 a month, a user can be guaranteed no ads, but for $10 a month, customers can listen on any electronic device. Also they can download their music and listen offline.
Said senior Justin Cafiero: “[Spotify is] so much more cost efficient. I’d rather spend $10 a month for unlimited amounts of music, rather than spend $1 for every song I want to buy.”
8tracks is another online radio station whose website, 8tracks.com, describes it as an “internet radio created by people, not algorithms.”
A user can create a mixtape of eight or more songs or search by mood, artist, song or subject and browse a collection of mixtapes that match the search. There are mixtapes ranging from “indie workout” to “songs that defined TV shows.”
These three, along with similar online radios or online playlists, encourage the support of artists, keeping users from resorting to illegally downloading their music.
According to spotify.com, “Spotify pays out the majority (approaching 70 percent) of all of our revenue to rights holders: artists, labels, publishers and performing rights societies.”
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a global industry trade group, found music sales grew last year, by 0.3 percent, for the first time since 1999. The group reported that this increase is a result of streaming services like Spotify and Rhapsody, according to geekwire.com.
Ultimately, these alternatives offer a cost-efficient and legal way to listen to music.