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iTunes
Music Store - Napster - Musicmatch
Rhapsody - Wal
Mart - BuyMusic - EMusic
 What
does Musicmatch offer?
Musicmatch has three different choices. It is a powerful jukebox program. It
has a subscription based streaming service. It has a music store.
How much does it cost?
Musicmatch sells songs $.99 per song and albums for $9.95 though album pricing
varies. The premium radio service costs $4.95 or $2.95 per month. Radio service
subscription is not needed to buy music.
What is the difference between their streaming services?
The $2.95 per month service allows you to listen to one of the 44 preprogrammed,
18 genres and 200 subgenres, music by decade or year since the 60s stations.
In addition, you can build your own stations based on artists you choose.
The $4.95 service gives you Artist Match, which gives you the ability to
select an artist and only listen to songs from that artist or group of artists
that you choose. Artist match is a cheaper, but less convenient way than
Napster downloads to preview complete songs.
What rights do I have with the songs?
The songs you buy you can burn to a CD, transfer to a wma player and listen
to on up to three computers.
What about selection?
Musicmatch claims to have over 250,000 songs in their library. Of the artists
I searched for Musicmatch did not have purchasable songs from Green Day or
Tenacious D, but they were available to listen to on their radio stations.
File Type: Purchased songs are available as .wma files ripped
at 160k. Album cover art is provided as .jpg files.
What I did?
I bought the Musicmatch Jukebox Plus program for $19.95 and received five free
songs to buy, although it is not necessary to buy the Jukebox Plus to purchase
songs. I also received a free song for opening a Musicmatch Downloads account.
I subscribed to the Platinum Version of the Musicmatch Radio MX service.
Songs bought from MusicMatch:
Barenaked Ladies – If I Had a Million Dollars (live)
Ben Folds Five – Army
Poe – Walk the Walk
Counting Crows – Big Yellow Taxi
Rusted Root – Send Me On My Way
Blues Traveler - Hook
General observations: Musicmatch has the most powerful jukebox
program out of the bunch with the most options. I have used Musicmatch
for a long time, but during this review I discovered many features
that I did not know that it had. The supertagging and Auto DJ features
are awesome. Dowloading of songs also includes high-quality CD cover
art. The latest version allows for tagging of protected wma files,
which was previously impossible. The music store underwent a face-lift
during the review but still needs some work. It went from looking
like something just tacked onto the jukebox program to something
that resembles a store. The radio stations are excellent quality
and have a good selection of songs. When listening to songs on the
radio service you have the ability to buy the songs (if available)
or add them to your wish list. The music store offers thirty-second
previews of the songs. Musicmatch shows all the songs by the artists
not just the songs available for purchase. Good at recommending based
on your music library. Can hog system resources. Radio stations a
good way to discover new music. Interface is skinnable.
Problems encountered: A few issues with window locations
when using different skins, default skin did not have any problems.
Trouble ripping a few dirty and scratched CDs.
Who would choose Musicmatch?
With its many choices of streaming or downloading, Musicmatch could be a complete
music solution. Someone with a limited budget that still wants the option
for streaming. Someone who only wants one music program on their computer.
Who does not want to use Musicmatch?
Someone who wants the widest selection of songs available. Someone who likes
small, dedicated programs for each step of the music experience (buying,
listening, ripping, burning).
Store Locations: Available in Muscmatch's Jukebox program
available at their website.
Screenshots: (default skin)
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