Searching for a music download service with monthly charge, NOT per song?

Hi all,

Well, I’m sure we all remember the halcyon days of Limewire. That service, alas, is no more. However, is there a regular pay service that does exactly the same thing? Is there anyplace where you can get unlimited music downloads (which can be transferred to your MP3 rather than just played on a device) for a fee? Everything seems to be per-song.

Here’s why I’m trying to find this: The biggest reason to have this (IMHO) is that you really don’t know which songs are going to be most appropriate for different types of workouts until you hear them, so it doesn’t help to just buy them on a per-song basis. And I really don’t want to be using a phone just to play music (or whatever.) A few MP3 players have met sad fates while working out, so it’s good to have a cheap one.

So, to sum it up, here’s exactly what I’m looking for:

[ol]
[li]monthly fee, not per-song[/li][li]search features to download different types and genres of music[/li][li]must be transferable to a dedicated MP3 player, not just a phone[/li][/ol]

There are such smart people here! :slight_smile: I’m sure somebody knows.

Spotify?

Regular Spotify definitely is not it, but Spotify Premium MIGHT be. Has anyone used it, though? I can’t tell without downloading if they have that music-by-genre search (which was basically the best thing about Limewire, IMHO.)

Not what you are asking for, but you might like Jamendo Music | Free music downloads

ETA it is a large collection of non-copyrighted music. I have yet to find anything that is unlistenable there and there is a lot that is really good even if it is not mainstream. (ie, commercial.)

Here are the two I use:

Rhapsody

MOG

Not much difference between them, I can recommend both of them. I think they both will do what you want to do. I regularly download entire albums just to check them out.

Here is a list of MP3 players that Rhapsody works with. I used to use a Creative Zen with no problems, so it may also work with MP3 players not listed there.

Spotify, MOG and Rdio might fit if you count an iPod Touch as your dedicated mp3 player. They all have apps that allow you to pre-download music and play it offline. They all have free trials.

Note that none of the suggested services allow you to download mp3 files. They are primarily streaming services; those that have an offline mode will sync music to their own apps only.

I know-- that’s the exact problem. I use a cheap dedicated MP3 player because accidents can happen when working out (it ends up getting thrown across the room, dropped, stepped on, etc.,) and so it just makes more sense. I need to be able to **download MP3 files for a monthly fee, not per-song. ** NOT STREAMING. I don’t expect this to be free. I just can’t believe there isn’t a service like that.

Incorrect. Jamendo allows you to download MP3s for free. It also has a streaming service. The downside (or is it upside) is that it is music that you are unlikely to have heard before – not played on commercial radio stations etc. If you are after something for an exercise workout you will find a lot of suitable stuff.

Rhapsody will allow you to download onto an MP3 player, smartphone, or iPod touch.

You can search Spotify by Genre by using the

" genre:“MyGenreName” " Keyword.
See Spotify blog here

Lots of great suggestions… I will probably try Rhapsody. What I’m still trying to figure out about Spotify, though, is if the premium version allows for downloading of MP3 files to an MP3 player, NOT just streaming.

On the Rhapsody page, it says: “When you purchase MP3s in the Rhapsody MP3 Store, they are downloaded automatically in a .zip file. The .zip file will be saved to your computer’s default download location (frequently your desktop).” I just want a service with a monthly charge-- NOT streaming, NOT! per song. I wonder if there’s some reason why this can’t legally be done.

It looks like it will, but it also looks like Spotify only works on smartphones and tablets.

Also, www.magnatune.com operates off of a monthly fee, not per song. And you can share with three friends the songs or albums you download.

Last I checked they give 50% of the revenue to their artists, not the profit.

Jamendo is a fine service indeed. Magnatune is different, but still I think its wonderful

Trust me, Rhapsody will do exactly what you want it to do. I’ve done it with cheap MP3 players. I still do it, except now I use a smartphone and an iPod touch.

I think you might be confusing the way Rhapsody works. You can use it like a subscription service. If I understand you that is what you want to do - as long as you pay the monthly service fee, you can access all the music you want to (downloaded to your MP3 player, not streaming). Stop paying the fee and you can no longer play the tracks. Rhapsody ALSO allows you to purchase the tracks for good if you want to, just like many other MP3 stores. In that case, they are downloaded onto your computer.

They have a free 7 day trial, so you might want to give it a try.

Oh, trust me, I’m easily confused these days. :slight_smile: NaNoWriMo will do that. I’ll definitely give Rhapsody a try.

It’s been a couple of years since I actually used Rhapsody on a simple MP3 player (I’ve moved onto smartphones and an iPod touch, both which have data plans or wi-fi connectivity), but here is how it worked back then. I think it’s probably the same way now.

You will install the Rhapsody program on your computer. Using this program, you can browse and listen to any songs you want. At this point, you will be streaming the music. The program gives you the option to download the tracks that you want, and you will have to download the tracks you want to transfer to your MP3 player. Once downloaded onto your computer, you connect the MP3 player. The program recognizes the player, and then you can drag and drop the tracks you downloaded onto your MP3 player.

There is one thing that you need to be aware of though. It’s a bit of a pain but it makes sense. Since you have access to the tracks on a month to month basis, the tracks have that information encoded into them. After the date that they expire, they will no longer play on your MP3 player until you reconnect the player and renew the license information on them. Simply open the program, reconnect your player to the computer, and the program will renew the tracks for another month (or actually, until the next billing date). You do not have to re-download the tracks, just connect the player to the computer. For instance, if you join on the 8th of November, your tracks will play until the 8th of December. Reconnect the player when they expire, and the program will renew the license until the 8th of January. It’s a pain if you don’t happen to be around your computer when this happens, but since a simple MP3 player doesn’t have wi-fi connectivity to Rhapsody it needs to be done this way (of course, it’s been two years, so perhaps this has changed).That is the only downside I ever had with the service, once a month you may find that your tracks won’t play until you renew them. I love everything else about it. Hope it works for you.

Xbox Music Pass is this: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/music

As for playing on phones, I’m not sure what their device support is like-- it might only support Windows Phone 7 & Windows Phone 8. But works on Windows PC, Zune (if you have one), Xbox, etc.