Online music services like Spotify, Pandora, and many others are exploding. But how do they compare? What features do they each have that make them unique?

Tonight we look into some of our favorite music streaming service, and answer those questions, and many more!

Show Feeds:

• HD Video RSS
• Large Video RSS
• iPod Video RSS
• MP3 RSS
• iTunes Feeds

Show Notes:

OUR AUDIO STREAM:  jupiterbroadcasting.com/listen

PANDORA
www.pandora.com

Pros:
– Good for finding new music that is similar to songs you like.
– Easy to purchase songs you like.
– Separate stations for different “moods”

Cons:
– Commercials
– Free service limits the number of songs you can skip.
– No downloadable client unless you pay for the service.

Price:
– $36/year for desktop subscription
– Mobile app is free but includes ads, customer feedback indicates it doesn’t multitask well

last.fm
www.last.fm

Pros:
– Social music sharing experience (FB/Twitter sharing, and on-site socializing)
– Allows purchase of songs you like right from the site.
– “Scrobbler” download parses your existing library and sets up your preferences automatically.
– Live event listings

Cons:
– Small library in some genres, lots of repeated music.
– Premade stations aren’t that great, better to build your own playlists (which takes time)
– Download client doesn’t fully implement social features, just the music scrobbling.

Price:
– Free, free, free.

Grooveshark
https://listen.grooveshark.com

Pros:
– HUGE library of songs
– Lots of variety under the “Radio” function
– Powerful UI, easy to use.

Cons:
– No prebuilt playlists
– Can’t sort searches by music genre

Price:
– Free in the web player
– $6/mo for ads-free client
– $9/mo for mobile app access with account syncing

I <3 Radio
https://www.iheartradio.com/index.html

Pros:
– Listen to your favorite local radio no matter where you are.
– Some original stations

Cons:
– Commercials and talk just like normal radio
– Not all stations use it.
– Audio quality seems inconsistent on some stations.

Other Options:
Slacker
Yahoo! Music (aka Launchcast)
1club.fm
Sirius or XM Satellite Radio

Download: