GOM Audio from Best Music Player For Windows

Thanks for the compliment but I'm afraid I fall in the older than 25 crowd. Bandwidth cap! I had not thought of that. Valid point. I wonder though, have you run the numbers on the cost difference between physical purchases and going unlimited bandwidth? If you purchase 2 or more cds a month it might make a difference. With spotify and many other online platforms, you can cultivate a collection that works as well as digital family photo collection. And like I said elsewhere, if I ever have it taken away, there will always be a way for me to get it back. One that will upset the corporate bureaucrat as much as they upset me by taking it away. I can understand fully someone that just prefers vinyl, but buying a CD to digitize it or buying on iTunes seems so expensive considering the amount of new music I'm used to listening to now with Spotify. I listen to soooo much more music now than I did in college when I had to go down to Tower Records to look for a CD to buy. Short-lived. You might be on to something. Physically owning something does help create permanence. But in this sense there just memory placeholders aren't they? I guess i see the appeal there too. I could easily create a playlist of 90s alt rock or 80 hair metal bands but its not the same as packing and finding that old Nirvana tape. Hmmm ... idk. cheap sentimentality >> expensive sentimentality?

Hmm ... I can understand the bitrate thing. I used to think it was a big deal when I downloaded music on Napster. I've realized that (like skim milk), if I only drink (sorry use) one format, I don't ever notice the difference. I'm definitely not an audiophile, but I can respect that position quite a bit. The part that gets me is the ownership thing. I've been on both sides of this issue so I feel quite the hypocrite, but I just don't understand the ownership as an issue here. Let's say the worst happens and Spotify shuts down. Either (a) something will replace it of comparable quality and cost or (b) I'm using one of the wonderful usenet articles on lifehacker and boom; I'm in the same position as you in like two weeks with a proxy through Germany. I understand the importance of ownership in a lot of areas, but here ... access to a treasure chest of media seems fair to pay for when its netflix, why not with Spotify? As for the player/service/something ... I'm pretty sure lifehacker has some great recommendations for format converters as well. You guys helped me get Audible books onto my mp3 player. Now DRM, that is an area where ownership rights should be fought for bitterly. Plus a physical library or collection seems so annoying to cultivate. I have to care about it being organized because I paid for it. I'll save that headache for things that are really and truly mine in every sense of the word like family photos. Great discussion here though.

I'm not anti-subscription services. In fact, I use Spotify, but only as a means to discover new artists and such. I will never use Spotify as a primary source of music until/unless: - They manage to plug all of the holes in their library (songs missing), or - They let me upload my own songs to their server, so I don't have to copy them to every device I use Spotify on - They find a way to pack Spotify into a device the size of my Sansa Clip, where I don't have to pay a separate monthly fee to use it. I'm not really into keeping a phone in my pocket when I go to the gym, plus phones don't have physical buttons to navigate with.

Locally stored music makes more sense if you live in an area with low/poor bandwidth, dial-access and/or low data caps. Plus, even the biggest online streaming service gets plagued with issues that my reverberate back down to its end users (maintenance, lower fidelity offered on certain tracks, inventory changes, music licensing issues, etc...). Plus a lot of folks may have already spent their hard earned money on Albums & CDs. So why pay for a service for the music you already have? Instead rip them to your computer and enjoy :)

Lots of people. I don't really like Spotify, Pandora, or any similar alternatives. I'm a musician, so I'm really into music, really specific music at that. I'm not the type of person that enjoys turning on Jango and listen to random songs that are similar to what I like. I like certain bands, and certain songs, and I want to listen to those and those alone. Not saying I'm not open to new music of course. I'll hunt new music from time to time, and if I find something I like, I'll buy it and add it to my collection. Also, I despise the idea of using my precious mobile data to stream movies or music. Sure, Youtube is fine, but if I want movies or songs on my phone, I rather have them directly in my SD card. Hell, I even prefer having the actual CD rather than a digital-only copy. I do what I can to get the physical media, but if for some reason it isn't available, I avoid iTunes. I like my music DRM-free. On top of that, I don't live in the U.S. or in Europe, so many online services like those aren't available, or are very limited.