Music Music and Music

I received a request for some help using a device as an MP3, so this one goes out to you Mike.

The first thing we’re going to look at is storage. Devices can either have storage built into the device or utilize an expandable memory card. In my experience, most people completely overestimate the amount of storage they need. However, if someone is definitely using a device for music or video playback, I would generally recommend going bigger when in doubt. Amazon will get you 32GB of storage for $25 + shipping.

A quick rule of thumb is every minute of music in MP3 format will take up 1 MB of storage. Your mileage may vary as the higher the quality of the recording (measured in bitrate) will increase the size of the file. So, 16GB of storage would get you over 250 hours of music on a device.

Next on the agenda are streaming and your data plan. If you are listening to music and it isn’t stored on your device then chances are you’re using your monthly data plan or Wi-Fi to stream the song. Streaming uses your allotment of data if you aren’t connected to WI-Fi. Stream enough music and you could face overage or see your data speeds throttled. The lesson here is to know your data plan and know your usage. Most carriers provide an easy way to track how much data you have consumed in your billing cycle.

Now let’s pick a music source.

We can download music from our online store of choice. Our heavy hitters here are iTunes and Amazon. Pay, download, and listen. My two cents? Unless you have multiple Apple devices and the pull of iCloud is too strong, go with Amazon. You can get free cloud storage and upload your own MP3’s to Amazon’s servers

So you want music for free? We can do that too. Check out Pandora, Slacker Radio, Last.FM, and iHeart Radio.

Pandora was one of the first apps I downloaded and remains one of the first to be installed whenever I get a new device. The concept is really simple. You create a radio station by picking a song, artist or genre and Pandora’s music algorithms will do the rest and plays music with similar characteristics. While Pandora is free by default, paying $36 per year will remove advertisements and allow you an unlimited number of songs to skip (as opposed to being restricted to 6 per hour)

Slacker Radio takes Pandora and steps it up a notch. The free version gets you just as much as you would on Pandora, however the gold premium version is where Slacker really shines. For $10 per month you can play specific songs or albums on demand or create a station dedicated to one specific artist.

The new kid on the block is Spotify. It’s free to use on your computer at home and $10 per month to use on a mobile device. I used it for about ten minutes and was amazed. After talking with some friends and keeping an eye on my Facebook feed, I’m sold on this app as the best music app for music fiends. More casual listeners will likely be turned off by Spotify’s policy of limiting free users to playing the same song to only 5 times and 10 hours of music playback per month. Premium users get unlimited access, unlimited plays, and no ads.

Last.FM is an app that integrates music with an online social community similar to Facebook. Last.FM can be a little bit polarizing depending on your music needs. If you’re looking for music only to jam out on at the gym or at work then you’ll be better served elsewhere. However, if you’d like to compare music tastes with friends or find info on local concerts then Last.FM may be up your alley. One nice feature is called Scrobbler that will create radio stations based off the music already stored on your computer or mobile device.

iHeartRadio gives you the ability to listen to old fashioned radio stations over the internet. This can be a hit or miss proposition because not every radio station streams through this app. Sometimes you have to look through your devices app market to listen to a specific station.