SweetFM Is How You Should Listen To Last.FM

@JeremytheCamel: I'm an idiot... found it.

JeremytheCamel

Just downloaded and I like it after the error messages subsided. I'm not seeing how you see what's coming down the pipe though. Gracias Matt!

JeremytheCamel

@tande04 mile island in the sun: Cablevision won that lawsuit, not Comcast.

Bootes

@archetype94306: Because of pandora + blackberry client, I almost never actually buy music. I don't even keep my iPod charged anymore.

computerwiz3491

I actually don't listen to my music collection as much because of streaming. Love it. I'll try this out... thanks.

Rain-man

++ Gizmodo for the Unida props.

For PC users, i'd like to say that Songbird has some awesome streaming features including Last.FM and shoutcast channels.

i love sweet fm but i get a lot of error messages. anyone else?

(btw, sorry for double post. the other one wont delete!)

You might note "Mac only"

kokodhem

Between SomaFM and Pandora's iPhone apps, I rarely download music anymore. If I have to hear a specific song immediately, I just pull it up on youtube...

i loooove sweetfm, but i am getting a lot of error messages. anyone else? see: http://twitpic.com/akw11

I haven't downloaded an mp3 since 2005, and certainly not through any sort of torrent software nor through more outdated peer-to-peer services. Also, I have never owned an Ipod nor ever used Itunes, so I guess I'm like a special case.

I just use pandora.fm and it's great!

I have always been against pirating music, but I have done my fair share of video downloading (i could do it with my TiVo anyway, which i pay heavily for). Anyway, sites like Hulu have greatly reduced the amount of video i pirate.

@Grendel: I agree, the more physical media standards evolved, the bigger the conservation and transfer problem was.
I stopped buying cds or dvds for the reason that owning forever a recording is a bit of a burden.
At least with cloud computing, you transfer the task to others, it's their business to upgrade and maintain your music or films, or whatever files for that matter.

madmolf

@MisterWho Cares: No, I'm sure you're right. In fact its probably going to be more expensive just because its going to further erode a need for physical media.

Thats the part that I don't really think about to be honest with you. There are going to be the obvious data costs the provider charges as well. I think that its impossible to guess on any level what any of that is going to be though. The wireless providers seem to realize they're going to have to change from what they do now on some level but I doubt its going to benefit the consumer in the end.

I started downloading less when I realized that I don't listen to music all that much.

By the way Plastic by Unida is an awesome track! John Garcia rules so much on vocals :)

@Grendel: Comcast just won a big suit for a cloud based DVR where "your" shows are on their servers but then you get instant access to other similar shows too.. Apple has been rumored to be adding "your" music library to their MobileMe service for awhile.

Yeah I'm sure apple will still have an "iPod" of some type but its not going to be the hard drive or flash based 8, 16, 32 GB system. Its just going to be an iPod/iPhone and any content you want is going to be there. Your library will instantly converge with the cloud based iTunes store. You can be listening to a song you "own" get in the mood for an older track and access it instantly.

I think the barrier to all of it is the current wireless system as you said. As much cloud based stuff as they're trying to do now, its just not going to really work even with 3G. Once we get ubiquitous 4G service (and VZW's 700mhz spectrum that goes through walls so well) thats when this stuff is going to start but even then it may take the 5G standard before it becomes common place.

In Europe we have Spotify, and yes when you use it on a daily base you don't download... as long as you stay within the content.
The said content is quite giganormous ! It's based on a make your own shareable playlist system. and it's totally legal, quite a progress.

madmolf

I use last.fm to find new bands, listen to a few tracks. Then torrent their albums, if I like the artwork I will then go out and buy it on vinyl. But saying that, there are many great blogs where I have discovered hundreds of bands from them posting rapidshare links.

Thanks for telling us its Mac only.

Ipwnnubletz

@Grendel: /shakes a baby

@tande04 mile island in the sun: Yet somehow I doubt the net result will be any cheaper. The exact amount of money we pay now for individual use and ownership of media is the very same amount we will be paying to get uninterrupted access to the cloud.
Once suppliers figure out the max we are willing to pay for goods or services it is very unlikely that they will ever go below that number.

@tande04 mile island in the sun: I think an interesting concept for the ipod/musicplayer in general (including phones I guess) could carry on the tradition in a non-traditional way: vis a vis, faster wireless internet tech.

Perhaps like their TV cousins (i.e Tivo, DVR) they may be able to cache a streamed (less so streamed) song/clip and offer the playback on that specific device?

/ponders

"kids are streaming music instead of stealing it nowadays"
Stealing music is wrong and therefore I have never done it!

Oh shit! Lightning!

╠═CoolRiver45═╣

I can't imagine radio taking over my music listening time. I like having a music collection and being able to listen to it whenever I want as many times as I want. And I'm one of those fools that still buys CDs. I like to have my music in CD quality(flac), I don't want the watered down version for streaming.

bededog

@Grendel: Yeah there is no doubt that once we move to the cloud the whole game is going to change. Its funny when you think that really the iPod set up that has dominated for the last 10 years or so is going to be gone.

As long as the consumer doesn't notice it doesn't matter. I've been looking forward to cloud based media for a long time.

I definitely find some sort of irritation with going to last.fm website to listen to stuff. Something like it being outside my control, not as simple to navigate, perhaps a bit of busy website overload, as well...

Jestermeister

I think the more and more users have a "seemless" internet experience, it really wont matter where a song is stored (locally, cloud) so long as its instantly accessible.

Just hope commenting on Gizmodo learns a valuable lesson on "seemless" commenting...

/shakesfist@greytext!

While I like almost all genres Im very picky within each genre and usually sites that try to pick or recommend songs based upon my tastes get it horribly wrong.

Maybe the RIAA is starting to see a development here... these channels such as Last.fm are providing exposure AND linking to iTunes and Amazon to purchase... we are getting closer to musical zen where the best/most popular stuff will still make the RIAA assloads of money and the fan gets the content the way he wants it.

@facepuncher: As with most of these services you can't choose out songs you actually want to hear.

royoftroy

Does anyone know offhand if the stream will still crap out after an hour if you're not using the computer it's running on? I used to use last.fm here at work all the time, but it just got too annoying to have to get up and remind it that I was still listening every hour.

Mandi Zola

Ok, so what's the downside? there's always one

I download more I think.

Its the "Buy on iTunes/Amazon" links all over. I here something I think I like and I click the link. Found some great artist that I've gotten whole albums from that way, found some that I have to think twice about where, when, and why I got the track in the first place.

You still need to subscribe to Last.fm to get all the tunes, right? But I think it was just $3/month.

Andyr2120

Except for some Amazon purchases for a handful of songs, I have not downloaded any since I discovered Pandora a couple of years ago.

Cloud based media: Sure. But make it work on my phone, xbox, playstation, computer and ass expensive stereo and we've got a deal.

Until then: Vinyl or download baby.