An eMusic browser toolbar is now available for Internet Explorer users. Though not yet officially released, it is being discussed on the eMusic message boards. The toolbar lets you search the eMusic catalog, and provides quick access to a free "download of the day."
It also lets you play a set of radio streams that correspond to the major genre categories in the eMusic catalog. Clicking on a genre category will launch a player within another Internet Explorer window. The streams are provided in conjunction with Live365, and come with pitches to sign-up for Live365's premium radio subscription offering. Unfortunately, this player window doesn't display the currently playing song or link it in any way to eMusic's offerings. Other buttons on the toolbar provide quick access to other parts of the site. Pop-up blocking is also provided. If you have anti-spyware software loaded on your PC, you may have to grant permission for the toolbar plug-in to be installed, as browser "helper objects" like this are often suspect.
Is it Worth the On-Screen Real-Estate?
While some eMusic fans may be eager to cede browser real-estate to their favorite service, I find the case for doing so less persuasive. The search feature doesn't let you discriminate between searches for tracks, albums, or artists, while the bundled "Internet search" option doesn't let you specify which search engine to use. If your search engine of choice is Mamma.com, this won't be a problem. Most of the other buttons replicate links that are easily found on the Web site.
The radio streams are a good idea, but have not been taken to their logical conclusion: that they be used for discovering music in the eMusic catalog. The lack of a playlist display, plus the inclusion of music from outside the eMusic catalog, make this difficult. If you want a robust Internet radio service, I suggest that you skip the toolbar and go right to Live365, a service I highly recommend, or to any of the many other good radio services that are available. Beyond this, the only compelling reason to use the toolbar is to access the free download of the day, though it can also be accessed via a separate link, as well.
Hopefully, eMusic will find ways to improve the toolbar and come out with a version that can be used by people who use browsers other than Internet Explorer. The toolbar aside, eMusic is better than most services when it comes to accommodating users of differing Web browsers and operating systems. In the meantime, eMusic's catalog continues to strengthen. It now has 730,000 tracks from over 5,500 independent record labels.
—Andy Breeding
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