I have been using Yahoo! Music Unlimited for a week now. My free 7 day trial ends today, but I think I am going to keep the subscription for some time now. The price is just too hard to give up. I can listen to more than a million soundtracks for $6 a month!
Before subscribing to Yahoo! Music, I had been using Real Rhapsody for more than a year. Rhapsody is a similar music subscription service. Both of them are based on the Windows Media DRM scheme and format, and allow you to stream music on your PC or music device. I am not sure why, but Rhapsody charges extra for the capability to transfer these music files to a portable media device, making their service cost $15 a month.
Price apart, I think both the services are pretty good, but after using Yahoo! for a week, I like how it is actually tied together with the Yahoo! suite of services. It plays well with the messenger service, and shows up as a subscribed service in your Yahoo! account information. The interface is crisp and clear, although a bit slower compared to Rhapsody.
I cannot say much about the music selection, as both the services seemed to offer the newest and the latest albums. As far as Indian music goes, I think Yahoo! offers a better collection, although Rhapsody’s collection was more organized and searcheable. A lot of the music comes from the Saregama label.
I like the personalized radio station too. Basically, it is a radio station based on your taste, and generated by software depending on the ratings given by you to various artists, songs, and albums. Most of the times, I get what I want to hear, and very rarely a song that I do not like.
The Dell DJ interoperation is flawless, and I have to just drag and drop to transfer music to my DJ.
I think Yahoo! has got a good thing going with the Yahoo! Music Engine (basis for the subscription service). If only they could figure out a way to make the Windows DRM available for other platforms, I am sure they could conquer the market with their pricing and personalization.
Interesting blog by a YME developer: Click here!
