Below is my take on Rhapsody 3.0.
Let me say in advance that it's still my digital music application of choice, and I respect the hell out of everyone in the San Francisco Real Networks office for the hard work they put into this. But... there are some issues.
Let's start with the positives:
- I love the new "staff picks" and "new releases" sections. Rhapsody has the best editorial staff in the land, and I'll always give an album a fair shake on their say-so. As for the new release list, it makes my life a lot easier. Previously, I had to go to newreleasetipsheet.com or ice magazine, get my list of new releases, and return to Rhapsody to check them out.
- The Rhapsody to-go feature is an extremely welcome addition. For an extra five bucks, you can download tracks to your hard drive, upload them to your portable player, and head off into the sunset. Literally. I would use this to check out new music on my hour-long drive home each night. It would also be handy for long runs. Problem is, I can't get to-go to work. At all. But that's a negative. I'm getting ahead of myself.
- Similar albums! Finally! This is a great discovery tool. And from what I've seen so far, it's fairly accurate.
And now, the issues, in ascending order of magnitude:
- Basing the "albums for you" feature on what I've recently listened to rather than what I've rated or genres I've listed as favorites - bad idea. One of the best things about Rhapsody is that I can check out all the pop dreck that I would never buy. Once in a while - like with the new Tori Amos , there's something in there that has redeeming qualities. But that doesn't mean I want to be recommended Vanessa Carlton or Jewel. Maybe, this is just me. Maybe, most people only listen to things on Rhapsody that they really want to hear. Maybe, most people aren't such music snobs that they would turn their noses up at a Vanessa Carlton recommendation. But I do tend to think that recommendations should be based on stated preference rather than behavior. That was always the problem I had with those automatic personalization engines on the market a few years back.
- Does the world really need another jukebox/media player that can manage local files, rip CDs, and so on? I'm not convinced that this stuff will drive usage. I am convinced it clutters up the product with a lot of things that aren't Rhapsody's core competency. The net effect is to dilute the power of Rhapsody's music acquisition and music discovery elements. Admittedly, this may be a personal preference thing. But research has shown that adoption of digital music services is largely driven by product focus and ease-of-use. I think this feature is a mistake.
- Subscription downloads (downloading a track to your hard drive, with the ability to play it offline) are largely irrelevant these days. More than half of the country has broadband, which means they're always connected. And for the times when they're not, there's Rhapsody to-go. On that note, didn't anyone consider that offering the ability to play tracks offline for $9.99 would muddle the upsell to Rhapsody to-go at $14.99? Again, it's an added feature that doesn't add anything but clutter.
- I can't get many of the new features to work. At all. Can't purchase downloads. Can't upgrade to Rhapsody to-go. Can't import my entire local library. Can't edit the metadata on the few tracks I was able to import. Error messages and crashes abound.
Bottom line: Too many features. Not enough QA.
Let me say in advance that it's still my digital music application of choice, and I respect the hell out of everyone in the San Francisco Real Networks office for the hard work they put into this. But... there are some issues.
Let's start with the positives:
- I love the new "staff picks" and "new releases" sections. Rhapsody has the best editorial staff in the land, and I'll always give an album a fair shake on their say-so. As for the new release list, it makes my life a lot easier. Previously, I had to go to newreleasetipsheet.com or ice magazine, get my list of new releases, and return to Rhapsody to check them out.
- The Rhapsody to-go feature is an extremely welcome addition. For an extra five bucks, you can download tracks to your hard drive, upload them to your portable player, and head off into the sunset. Literally. I would use this to check out new music on my hour-long drive home each night. It would also be handy for long runs. Problem is, I can't get to-go to work. At all. But that's a negative. I'm getting ahead of myself.
- Similar albums! Finally! This is a great discovery tool. And from what I've seen so far, it's fairly accurate.
And now, the issues, in ascending order of magnitude:
- Basing the "albums for you" feature on what I've recently listened to rather than what I've rated or genres I've listed as favorites - bad idea. One of the best things about Rhapsody is that I can check out all the pop dreck that I would never buy. Once in a while - like with the new Tori Amos , there's something in there that has redeeming qualities. But that doesn't mean I want to be recommended Vanessa Carlton or Jewel. Maybe, this is just me. Maybe, most people only listen to things on Rhapsody that they really want to hear. Maybe, most people aren't such music snobs that they would turn their noses up at a Vanessa Carlton recommendation. But I do tend to think that recommendations should be based on stated preference rather than behavior. That was always the problem I had with those automatic personalization engines on the market a few years back.
- Does the world really need another jukebox/media player that can manage local files, rip CDs, and so on? I'm not convinced that this stuff will drive usage. I am convinced it clutters up the product with a lot of things that aren't Rhapsody's core competency. The net effect is to dilute the power of Rhapsody's music acquisition and music discovery elements. Admittedly, this may be a personal preference thing. But research has shown that adoption of digital music services is largely driven by product focus and ease-of-use. I think this feature is a mistake.
- Subscription downloads (downloading a track to your hard drive, with the ability to play it offline) are largely irrelevant these days. More than half of the country has broadband, which means they're always connected. And for the times when they're not, there's Rhapsody to-go. On that note, didn't anyone consider that offering the ability to play tracks offline for $9.99 would muddle the upsell to Rhapsody to-go at $14.99? Again, it's an added feature that doesn't add anything but clutter.
- I can't get many of the new features to work. At all. Can't purchase downloads. Can't upgrade to Rhapsody to-go. Can't import my entire local library. Can't edit the metadata on the few tracks I was able to import. Error messages and crashes abound.
Bottom line: Too many features. Not enough QA.
posted by isaacjosephson at 7:20 AM
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