Note: For first impressions of the new Rhapsody 3.0 service see the recently posted article, Rhapsody 3.0 vs. Yahoo Music Unlimited. The profile below, soon to be updated, covers the earlier Rhapsody 2.0 service and software. If you are having problems with the 3.0 version (bugs are still being worked out) and wish to rollback to the earlier version, Rhapsody has provided a page with instructions for doing so.
Better than any other service, RealNetwork’s Rhapsody has captured the promise of on-demand music. For a flat fee, Rhapsody subscribers have unlimited access to a large catalog of major label and independent music. For $0.79 per track, users can burn selected tracks to CDs in CD audio format, making them playable in any CD player and available for “ripping” into MP3 files as well. Add to this a set of premium Internet radio stations, and the ability to create customized radio stations, and you have an impressive online music offering. This service is only available in the United States.
The player software that comes with Rhapsody is well designed, providing good sound quality and a good interface for browsing and music discovery, one that significantly adds to the value of the service. Unfortunately it is available only for Windows PCs. Upon logging in, users will see a search box, a music genre browsing menu, and music that is currently being highlighted by Rhapsody’s editorial staff, including a featured album, a radio station, and a featured playlist devoted to a particular theme. Also visible are a list of the most popular artists on Rhapsody and a list of just added albums. Photographs and album art add to the display. Other features include:
My Library
Bookmark songs, albums, and radio stations for later use. You can also create and save playlists—either for playing or for CD burning. You can access your library from any PC that has Rhapsody software loaded on it.
Playlist Sharing
Send playlist links by e-mail to other subscribers. When they click on the link, the playlist will load into their Rhapsody player. These playlist links can also be posted to Web pages or blogs.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard equivalents exist for all commands. (e.g., Ctrl-P to play or pause)
User Settings
Here you can enable a mini-player that takes up less screen space, and control certain behaviors such as auto-login on startup or what happens when you click on the play now icon.
Music Discovery with Rhapsody
As far as music discovery is concerned, an on-demand music catalog is only as good as the paths provided into it. Luckily for us, Rhapsody has done an excellent job here.
If you know an artist, song, or album you’d like to search for, you can use the search feature to check on availability. A perusal of the just added albums list can alert you to new music of interest, as can highlighted albums, mixes, and radio stations.
Genre Information
The browse genres menu opens up lots of other options. Each genre page offers the following opportunities:
Learn More About the Genre
Genre Spotlight
Genre Sample Mix
Subgenres
Radio Stations
Identify Important Artists in the Genre
Key Artists List
Most Popular Artists
Browse All Artists
Find Albums / Recordings to Play
Just Added
Key Albums
Unlike some other services, Rhapsody will highlight artists and albums that are critically acclaimed and not just those that are most popular with their customers.
Artist Information
Once you’ve found an artist page, you can review a one-paragraph artist snapshot and review a list of the artist’s main releases and other recordings. Rhapsody displays both the releases it has the rights to play and those it doesn’t have the rights to play. This helps you determine the strength of its holdings for that artist, and whether there are albums that you may need to pursue elsewhere. Also present are links to related artists, a sampler playlist, and radio stations which play that artist. Links to relevant genre information pages are also available. In some cases, there are links to videos. The RealPlayer software is required to view these.
Rhapsody’s community features are limited. Though it supports playlist sharing via e-mail and blogs, it provides no message boards or central clearinghouse where Rhapsody fans can communicate and share playlists. One other compaint with Rhapsody is the skimpiness of the record and artist information. For albums you can’t get much in the way of reviews or ratings. Without this information, the process of selecting records becomes more of a hit-or-miss affair. Therefore, I recommend that you use Rhapsody in conjunction with the free Allmusic Web site (http://www.allmusic.com/), which provides much of the information that Rhapsody lacks. For more information, consult Part Two, Music Information on the Internet.
Rhapsody Radio
When you hear a song you like on one of Rhapsody’s radio stations, you have the option of clicking the album information button on the playlist. If the album is part of the on-demand listening collection, you then have the option of adding it to the MY LIBRARY area for later use. This is a great way to discover new albums of interest.
Rhapsody provides 90 plus stations of commercial free radio and gives you the ability to create custom radio stations by entering the names of up to ten artists whose music you like. The pre-programmed stations include a wide variety of genre specific and thematic stations (including Classical). Five stations are programmed in conjunction with Rolling Stone magazine, including a Top 500 songs of all time station and a “New Faces” station featuring up-and-coming artists. Rhapsody also has a “Best of 2004” station, which features music selected by Rhapsody’s editorial staff.
The Catalog
As of March 28, 2005, Rhapsody’s catalog contained:
- 60,874 artists
- 88,439 albums
- 1,087,093 tracks
Content from all Big 5 record labels is included: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Brothers Music, and BMG Entertainment. Content from over 450 independent labels, including the Naxos Classical label, is also included. More specifics are available on the Rhapsody Web site at: http://www.rhapsody.com/music.jsp?sect=labels.
Access Options
There are three access and payment options for Rhapsody:
Rhapsody All Access
Provides unlimited access to streams, all Internet radio functionality, and the ability to burn CDs for $.79 per track, less than what a la carte services like the iTunes Music Store are charging. Cost: $9.95 per month, billed monthly, or $8.32 per month, billed quarterly.
Rhapsody Radio Plus
Provides access to Rhapsody’s Internet and personalized radio offerings but not to the on-demand archive or CD-burning capabilities. Cost: $4.95 per month, billed monthly, or $3.30 per month, billed quarterly.
Rhapsody Preview
This no-cost option provides access to a limited number of free radio stations, and to 30-second clips from the Rhapsody music catalog.
Payment is by credit card. Free trials are offered, which allow you to try the full Rhapsody offering at no cost. Three-month “starter pack” certificates can be purchased at Best Buy stores and used as a gift. Periodically, Rhapsody runs specials and extended free trials to encourage people to sign up.
Getting Started
Go to the Rhapsody Web site (http://www.rhapsody.com/) and sign-up for a free trial of the All-Access plan. Follow the instructions for downloading and installing the Rhapsody player.
System Requirements
Windows XP, ME, 2000, 98SE, or NT 4.0 (Service Pack 6)
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
Pentium II, 350MHz processor or better with 64MB RAM
250 MB hard drive space
In addition, a CD burner needs to be connected to your computer if you wish to use Rhapsody’s CD burning feature. See Chapter 30, Rhapsody Discovery Plan, for a detailed seven-day plan showing you how to get up-to-speed with Rhapsody.
Rhapsody Pitfalls
Despite my warm recommendation, Rhapsody is not without drawbacks. A few to be aware of:
Missing Tracks
Many albums on Rhapsody have tracks that are unavailable: these tracks are grayed out on the track listings. Permission has not been obtained to play these songs. A typical scenario involves an artist performing a song that was written by another artist. Thus, more than one copyright holder has to give permission. This leaves some album listings looking like Swiss cheese. For more information see the sidebar on page 45, “Why It’s Taking So Long to Assemble the Celestial Jukebox.” This is a problem that afflicts all the on-demand music services, not just Rhapsody.
Missing albums for an artist
Using the view all releases option will indicate, that for many artists, only some of their albums are available. Again, there may be different copyright holders involved that have not given permission to use particular albums. Many artists record for different record labels during their career, which complicates the process of getting permissions to play all their music. Note that at least Rhapsody tells you which albums they don’t have. Other services simply show you what they have, leaving you to guess at what you’re missing.
Some tracks are not burnable
Some copyright holders will allow a song to be played but not burned to CD. At present, 88% of Rhapsody’s catalog is burnable. I expect this percentage to continue to increase over the next year or two.
Rhapsody Summary
Pros
Easy to use online jukebox service, with a clean, uncomplicated interface
Big catalog of major label and independent label music
Unlimited streaming access to catalog for a flat monthly rate
Excellent for music discovery; critical recommendations are provided
CD burning feature supplies portable tracks more cheaply than other major label download stores. ($0.79 instead of $0.99)
Cons
Skimpy artist and record information
Available only for Windows PC users
Inability to download tracks direct to your computer
No message boards or forums for music sharing between fans
Best for
People looking for a robust, easy-to-use online jukebox service
People who place high importance on new music discovery
People in a position to listen to music while connected to the Internet
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